AYON Studio Principal Angel Ayón recently joined “Tangible Remnants” podcast host Nakita Reed in a conversation about his journey into and within the historic preservation profession. In Episode 37, Angel discusses his young professional life in Cuba, his continued education and professional career in New York, the power of mentorship, and the future of his firm.
Established professionals, peers, and students alike will delight in hearing firsthand of Angel’s triumphs, as well as his challenges. Highlights include his transition from his native Havana, Cuba, to the US; and his detailed preservation work on the building enclosure and glazing systems at the iconic Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City, which inspired Reglazing Modernism ― Intervention Strategies for 20th Century Icons (Birkhäuser, 2019).
He also shares his early-career meeting with James Marston Fitch, and his good fortune of later winning the mid-career fellowship in his name, which helped fund the development of Reglazing Modernism. The resulting publication, co-authored with Uta Pottgiesser, won the 2021 Lee Nelson Book Award from the Association for Preservation Technology International (APT) for the most outstanding and influential book-length work on preservation technology. Going full circle, Angel now serves on the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation.
Throughout Angel’s conversation with Nakita, you’ll hear how he learned the values of relationships, maintaining historic integrity, and doing the right thing. Take a listen here!
Nakita Reed, like Angel, is also a sustainable preservation architect. Her “Tangible Remnants” podcast explores the interconnectedness of architecture, preservation, sustainability, race and gender. On it, she invites BIPOC practitioners (like Angel) and other women who are impacting the built environment today to join her in discussing the people, buildings, and policies that made a historical impact. It’s geared towards lovers of existing buildings who want to learn from the past to shape a better future.