Currently an architectural designer for PDT Architects, Aaron Klein, LEED BD&C, grew up in Bismarck, North Dakota. After spending a few summers working in a custom cabinetry shop, he felt that a career in architecture seemed to make sense and compliment his interests. The next five years of his life were spent in Bozeman, Montana, where he acquired a Masters in Architecture from Montana State University.

In late 2006, Aaron drove from Montana to Maine in search of adventure. He wanted to explore the east coast and after doing carpentry and a few independent residential jobs, he was ready to dive into the profession. Also, a lifelong guitarist, he wanted to play music and do some touring. The band didn’t work out, but a job did and at age 29, Aaron continues to enjoy life living near Sebago Lake in Windham.

At first, he was surprised by how he felt nearly claustrophobic here out east. There are obviously a lot more trees and driving through the Maine woods is like driving through a tunnel compared to the vast open plains of the Dakotas. Aaron looks at this sort of experience with a certain fascination and examines the space around him. He saw a certain beauty in the openness of the Great Plains back home and Montana’s “big sky” country with the Rocky Mountains. In Maine, space is defined by the ocean, lakes and deep woods. Also, Portland is an enjoyable city and it’s nice to be near Boston. For Aaron, the greater Portland area offers a lifestyle of balance between the urban and rural environment.

Living where he has, Aaron developed an appreciation of how things as vast as the landscape of a region can relate to the detailed design of a cabinet door. He believes good architectural design is inspired by its surroundings. These spaces also then have the power to become influential to their surrounding environment, from locally to globally, and individually to humanity at large. Aaron feels the profession of architecture comes with a certain sense of excitement and challenge that will continue to be a lifelong learning process. The experience of the space around him will always offer him inspiration to strive towards great architectural design, from which he hopes that others are then inspired.

Aaron is now working primarily on site for PDT Architects, doing construction administration at Lake Region High School and Vocational Center in Naples, Maine. He continues to volunteer with PSA by helping maintain the website and working with the various committees involved.