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Featurepreneur: Conrad Mullins
Insight into the life of an architectural designer
By Genevieve Allen Hearn
Insight Design Co., owned and operated by Conrad Mullins, is a design firm based in Windsor. The company does many things, from conceptual drawings and drafting to consulting and project management, and it all started from a love of building tree forts.
The Grapevine (GV): Tell us about what got you into architectural design.
Conrad Mullins (CM): As a child I had a fascination with tree forts, endlessly redesigning my bedroom, carpentry, and now building science.
GV: We have watched Insight Design work on some cool projects over the years. Do you have a couple of favourites that come to mind?
CM:
I love the Valley and we are fortunate that many of our projects are
here. Our focus is cool projects, and luckily we have been entrusted
with visions of some of the coolest clients. We consider all of projects
favorites but some of our most recent are The Church Brewing Company,
The James Roue Beverage Company, The Station Food Hub, and Acadia
University Makers Studio, to name a few.
GV: New builds vs. old buildings. What is your preference?
CM:
I enjoy both as they have unique challenges. I am passionate about
historic and deteriorating buildings. The methods that were used, and
the challenge of replicating or improving them for efficiency is
exciting to me. With new construction I enjoy being able to administer
the best building techniques and materials available.
GV: What do you love about your job? What are the major challenges?
CM:
I love the results of the hard work of all the tradespeople that make
it all come to life. If it weren’t for them I wouldn’t be featured in
this paper. In particular, Eryn Dagley with her creativity and many late
nights to ensure we meet our milestones. The challenges? They are
neverending, which is the reality of business, architecture,
construction, and life, but it’s the challenges that make it all
interesting and worth waking up for.
GV: You have some other ventures in Windsor in addition to Insight. What else are you working on?
CM:
My other passion is business. In June we opened RETROuve Architectural
Salvage and Redesign, which is an eclectic shop designed to bring cool
repurposed items to market, from lighting and windows to pinball
machines and gas pumps, for the purposes of interior designers, set
designers, collectors, restaurateurs, and the general public. We will
also be officially launching two more companies in the spring, which
will compliment RETROuve and Insight.
