Every few weeks, we're handing over our social media to a different partner for an entire week. This week, it's Ethan Levine's turn, so join us here and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to learn more about what makes him tick!
Ethan studied architecture at The University of Tennessee and abroad in Krakow, Poland. He joined MZA in 2013 when he relocated to Nashville from Hawaii with his family. He is a licensed architect in Hawaii and is National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) certified, a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and a LEED professional. Several of the projects Ethan has led while with MZA have received AIA Middle TN design awards. Prior to joining MZA, he owned and operated his own architectural firm in Honolulu
1. What did you want to be when you grew up?
A fire truck
2. Where did you go to college and why did you select that institution?
The University of Tennessee College of Architecture. Program ranking at the time, unparalleled dedicated studio space students, proximity to the Smokey Mountains, and a long night’s drive back home to central Florida.
3. Who are your architectural influences?
Louis Khan, Peter Zumthor, Ricardo Legorretta, Oscar Niemeyer, Brian MacKay-Lyons
4. If you weren’t in the architecture business, what would you be doing?
Bioengineering
5. Where is your favorite place to eat in Nashville?
I can go out to eat in Nashville?
6. What was the last concert (before times) you attended? What venue?
Dolly Parton - Von Braun Center Huntsville AL
7. Where haven’t you been to visit yet, but have at the top of your bucket list?
Sequoia National Park. To be with and among living things that have persisted for thousands of years.
8. Have you ever had a nickname?
Truck. I was a big kid before the age of 13
9. What do you collect?
Obscure houseware and decor with animal motifs.
10. Favorite film?
Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel. As always, the composition of every frame and the beautifully choreographed kitsch.
11. What is something that you’re really passionate about?
Good peanut butter.
12. What current or past musical group do you wish you were a part of?
The Dead Kennedys
13. What’s the most beautiful city you’ve been to?
Oslo
14. Where do you get your coffee from? How do you take it?
Pumphrey and Beard. With coconut milk and CBD.
15. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Real Blueberry
16. Is there a Nashville building that you admire?
W.A. Bass Learning Center on Delaware Ave. The clarify of massing and façade composition. Quietly in dialogue with I-40. Also super cool if my assumptions are correct - It looks like the gym may have had a series of operable glass louvers for natural ventilation before was retrofitted for HVAC
17. Sounds, Predators, Nashville SC or Titans?
Preds
18. What initially excited me about working with MZA was…
Casually countercultural
19. Is your glass half full or half empty?
It is a black and tan
20. Where do you volunteer?
Habitat for Humanity
21. Where did you grow up?
Central Florida
22. What's the best career advice you've ever heard?
A job and a career are very different. If you are working to live, then work ON a career not AT a job.
23. What’s your favorite place to go for a vacation?
TN State Parks
24. What are 5 adjectives to describe you?
Optimistic, Energetic, Idealistic, Empathetic, Frazzled
25. What is something surprising that you good at?
Holding my breath. Can push 3 minutes with a little bit of practice.
26. What do you put on your pizza?
Arugula and an egg