102 | JULY 14 • 2022
E
li Forta has plans to use
his architectural skills to
better the community.
The 23-year-old recent
Lawrence Technological
University undergraduate, who
is now pursuing a master of
architecture degree at the same
school, is working on a thesis
about using advanced digital
fabrication methods to alleviate
financial devastation in Detroit.
“It’s a huge urban zone that
suffered tremendously through
various waves of movement
and social change,
” Forta
explains. “Now that it’s working
its way back up, how can we
utilize new technologies in a
way that benefits the existing
community?”
It’s one area of architectural
design, among many others,
that Forta is currently learning.
His role as assistant project
manager at Ferndale-based
architectural firm Fusco, Shaffer
& Pappas Inc. (FSP), is also
giving him firsthand experience
in numerous aspects of
architectural design, his favorite
of which are the smaller, finite
details.
“I love looking into details,
”
Forta says. “When you really
zoom in on something and you
put it all together … sometimes
it’s very generic and there’s a
way to do it and then it’s done,
but sometimes it requires a very
thoughtful solution.
”
For example, like working
with elements that are one-
quarter inch by 2 inches, Forta
says, which isn’t uncommon
in his line of work, which
also includes keeping water
out of windowsills or fitting
door jambs into a wall. It’s
completing and figuring out
these little details, he explains,
that make the job rewarding.
THE INS AND OUTS OF
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
Since being hired at FSP during
his junior year of college after
working with the company as
an architectural intern, Forta
has steadily increased the types
of projects he’s taking on.
“When you start an
architectural job, you start
doing much simpler things
because school teaches you
a very theoretical side of the
profession,
” he explains, “and
not so much the practical.
Those are skills you’re intended
to pick up as you become a
professional.
”
It was a learning curve, but
one that Forta enjoyed. He
began his career by working
on fencing for parking lots and
simpler tasks that were more
detail-oriented, understanding
along the way exactly how
everything comes together.
“
As you pick up skills and
as you learn these things, then
you can start transitioning into
bigger projects,
” he says.
FSP owner Jim Pappas says
Forta is catching on quickly. “Eli
is an outstanding
employee and
future architect,
”
Pappas explains.
“He has progressed
further and faster
than any intern in
recent memory. He has shown
the ability to handle projects
to a level I would expect from
someone with much more time
and experience in this field.
”
A “sharp intellect” paired
with a “real drive for the
profession” is what helps Forta
succeed, Pappas continues.
“We look forward to working
with him and being able to
contribute to his professional
development.
”
GIVING BACK THROUGH
ACTIVIST ARCHITECTURE
For now, Forta is gaining
experience in a wide variety of
projects. With a busy summer
season ahead at FSP
, he begins
his day at 7 a.m. Throughout
the week, he’ll work on
anything from figuring out roof
drainage to maintaining fire
safety compliance. “There’s a
decent amount of code work
that has to happen,
” he explains
of architectural design.
Yet, each scenario he handles,
no matter how unique, boils
right back down to the details
that make the job interesting.
“In the professional world,
it’s something that has to be
considered in every single job
in every single scenario,
” Forta
says of details.
Working at FSP is also
rewarding to Forta, who
has a history of community
involvement and activism. He
calls FSP a company that prides
itself on activist architecture or
using architecture to give back
to those in need. One way they
do so is by partnering with local
nonprofit organizations to build
housing for homeless or at-risk
individuals.
“You don’t get to see it that
often,
” Forta says of activist
architecture. “The fact that
it’s right here in Michigan in
Ferndale near where I grew
up, that’s just something that
really appeals to me, that they’re
willing to help people.
”
The firm recently did work at
both campuses of Jewish Senior
Life.
FINDING A NEW
PERSPECTIVE
Growing up in Oak Park, where
he continues to live today,
Forta never truly considered
architecture until his father
brought up the idea to him.
It sounded promising, Forta
explains, so he decided to
pursue the field. Little did he
Adding Quality
to Lives and
Neighborhoods
Improving Metro Detroit’s community
with smart architectural design.
ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Eli
Forta
Jim Pappas
business SPOTlight
brought to you in partnership with
B I R M I N G H A M
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