01/WHAT I REALIZED After Decades of Work + Travel — ELEMENTAL LIVING
Elemental Living is fresh air, silence, privacy, sunlight + nature — so is deep-relaxation, enjoying a nice view, laughing, dancing, good conversation, intellectual stimulation and sex.
Music, literature, poetry, attending gallery openings, museum exhibits, enjoying outdoor sports (hiking, biking + beach volleyball) & streaming filmed entertainment (live sports + movies) are democratized — so throw that in too.
Do You See? EVERYTHING YOU NEED to live a good life is elemental or democratized, yet we over-complicate our lives, entirely dominated on a day to day operating level from our early 20’s to gain advantage + material wealth in order to impress our partner, family & friends, becoming obsessed with control and power — a better quality of life exists!
02/YOU NEED SOME KIND OF A MINIMAL SETUP OF YOUR OWN — Our Awareness [Visual + Sensory] Has No Limits Once You Have the Requisite Time & Space
I believe in a minimal elemental life for myself, not imposed on others because it’s entirely situational what is deemed minimal. Why? Lower your cost of living is, the less dependency you have thereby more flexibility & space — optimal conditions for living a high-quality life!
I don’t have kids, never for one day have I woken up in the morning filled with regret for not having kids, but if you have kids, that’s wonderful and if you don’t that’s also wonderful!
Go further: if you have good taste and an instinctual sense for the art of living, then you don’t need a lot of money to live a good life, so focus on a minimal elemental life — fresh air, good view, music, art, photography, literature, poetry, beach hikes, food & wine/beer, laughing, dancing, good sex and so on.
At some point, you realize once you reach a certain minimal elemental living level — entirely situational —then no limits exist for moments of bliss or ecstasy.
Critical to note: my realization is not that you don’t need any money to live but rather that you can have a higher quality of life, much higher I would say than someone making literally 5X/10X or however many times more because that’s how dramatically shifting to a minimal elemental life affects your flow on a day to day level.
Reflect on this: elevated moments don’t change between generations or geo-locations, even though the set/setting does along with the means + methods — learn from history! People that were cool/intellectual with good taste 50 years ago or 200 years ago discovered the same flow that we roll with today — expansive awareness.
03/CRITICAL TO DROP OUT OF FOLLOWING THE NEWS CYCLE ON AN EMOTIONAL OR ENGAGED LEVEL — Today’s Fragmented News Media Has Devolved Into Eunuchs At the Capitalist Harem
Let’s start here: human consciousness in the mid-1960’s was for the first time definitively opened up by our predecessors and explored via LSD — a massive generational shift happened; before then, without exaggeration, human beings as a mass populace hideously stagnated by not tapping their collective intellectual capacity, thereby existing for thousands of years as ignorant, violent/cruel, anxiety-filled beings. Before the Civil Rights Movement that began in the late 1960’s, no doubt women, blacks & minorities were second-class citizens — inferior in standing + available opportunities.
I won’t go on a long walk down history but it fascinates me (utterly blows my mind) as a critical data point for historical context that the Civil War over slavery was from 1861 to 1865; we’re only 159 years removed, 2 lifetimes ago (avg. life expectancy of 76x2) slavery existed and was vehemently defended to the death to keep it going. People have an extremely short memory of history (head in the sand or up their ass so to speak) but it’s critical to understand human evolution because you see the roots of ignorance & cruelty everyday in the news cycle.
I don’t spend more than 10 minutes per day perusing the news cycle, began this practice starting in 2020. Why? It’s a negative utility to deep dive the news cycle because this is how reporting works: everything you need to know is either in the headline or the first graf, rest of the piece is reactions and spin. So in less than 10 minutes, I skim the headlines, sometimes read the first graf and have an overview of what’s happening without any emotional burden. It’s helped me a lot because I consider myself an emotional being who is affected by injustice and human cruelty.
When you drop out of the news cycle, what happens over time is you become an independent observer completely liberated from day to day noise — a big deal, life-changing. This is coming from someone who used to be a long-time New York Times subscriber and read it at least an hour (usually more) everyday while starting every morning with NPR radio — no longer! To be fair, NYT has quality pieces in Arts, Film & Literature but the false equivalency of the politics coverage on the front page is what made it I’ll pass.
Now consider this: what we have to work with historically over time is radically different but the flow or vibe we get into is the same — emerging from planes of consciousness. On any given day, we have a wide range of stimuli we can choose to tune into, but you need to drop off noise and distractions in order to have the necessary space or clarity.
Everywhere, throughout human history, we wake up to start the day with an aperture of sunlight! /MP
04/VANTAGE/MP — Local Vibes Affect You Deeply
Born - 08
09 - 24
25
26
27
28 - 29
30 - 33
34 - 39
40
41
42
43 - 53
TEHRAN
DENVER/BOULDER
MIAMI BEACH
NYC
PARIS
BROOKLYN
SANTA MONICA/MARINA DEL REY/VENICE BEACH
SAN DIEGO
BROOKLYN
SAN DIEGO
DENVER
MIAMI BEACH
WORK EXP at award-winning architectural practices including real estate development in Venice Beach, I received my M.Arch with Honors (Dean’s List) from NewSchool of Architecture & Design in San Diego (2008).
I gained operational, technical EXP working on complex hospitality projects at Gensler plus a boutique hotel design shop but was derailed by the financial crisis in 2009, spent 09/10 actively pursuing micro-development in my own backyard of Venice Beach.
I’ve spent the last decade (2014 - 2024) living my dream: reading, writing + painting. I’ve created a world for myself despite living with very little means — converting a 825 SQFT 1 BR condo directly on the intracoastal in North Miami Beach into my dream pad with full-time painting studio.
What I offer in addition to operational know-how is decades of EXP in the field — travel, direct EXP at hotels, bars + restaurants. I have a deep understanding of [pleasure + memory] in context of crafting an EXP.
PROJECT INQUIRIES | Contact Marc Pakbaz for a Free Initial Consultation
REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT
CASA LADERA is a Hillside Residence located in Pacific Palisades that was developed in response to highly restrictive code requirements, tight budget constraints and the requisite retention of the existing foundation. Outcome: warm modernism that plays to indoor/outdoor living.
Details
ID Project Designer Location Status Published
EXP/MP Marc Pakbaz Private Unbuilt 2016
Project Overview
Single Family Residential Baseline Hillside Ordinance Re-Use of Existing Foundation New Type V Construction 2,650 sq.ft. 4 Bedrooms/4 Baths
R5 LOFTS Venice. Concrete, Stone, Weathering Steel & Wood. Live. Work. Retail Showroom.
Details
ID Project Designer Location Status Published
FORMDENSITY LLC Marc Pakbaz 542 Rose Avenue Venice, CA 90291 Unbuilt 2010
Project Overview
Mixed-Use Residential 5 Live/Work Units 7,057 sq.ft.
MARKET CAFE & BAR. Beach Takeout. California Draft Beers + Wine. Hand-cut Sandwich Shop. Morning Espresso with Crispy Almond Croissant.
Details
ID Project Designer Location Status Published
FORMDENSITY LLC Marc Pakbaz 37 W. Washington Blvd Venice, CA 90292 Unbuilt 2009
Project Overview
Hospitality Bar & Restaurant 2,400 sq.ft. 45 Seats
CV/MARC PAKBAZ
b. 1971 Farhad Pakbaz in Tehran, Iran Currently Lives/Works in North Miami Beach, Florida marcpakbaz@gmail.com
EXP/MP June 2015 - Present expmp.com
01 Available On Per Engagement Basis as Design Director, Project Manager plus Construction Observation for Architecture + Interiors Projects
02 Painter Dealing My Own Work at EXP/MP Living Room Gallery in North Miami Beach
My paintings are sold direct without any middleman or dealer markup from my Living Room Gallery. Abstract paintings need to be viewed in-person to EXP the visceral energy; if it moves you, then you can take it home (fits in SUV’s with back seat rolled down). I can also arrange local delivery in South Florida or coordinate shipping. While the paintings are super-light, the size is just over the limit of what UPS or FedEx accepts for ground. I can ship with the aforementioned carriers by freight: will be delivered by a huge UPS or FedEx Freight semi-truck.
I have a modest setup, despite this, you EXP the full affect of the paintings at my place, that’s why I advocate for coming over to see the paintings and don’t sell online. Why? Scale is absolutely critical in context of art, my paintings are 5 feet high by 4 feet wide — immersive in presence. In fact, the potency of my work is validated when you see how I’ve created a strong vibe working with a minimal ‘no budget’ setup; it helps that I have a nice view of the intracoastal (got lucky in my condo search back in 2015), fresh air + lovely golden sunshine to go along with flowing beer/wine, food and the paintings!
An illusion perpetuated by our social conditioning is that living with art is a privilege reserved for people with wealth, status and a lot of money to burn; not so, what it’s about is an intuitive understanding of atmospherics and how the aforementioned radically improves your life.
In closing, I offer Studio Visits with Reggae Music, Food & Drinks in my backyard — come on down! /MP
SCOPE OF WORK | WHAT I DO
— Architecture + Interiors: Design Direction and Project Management — Managing Sub-Contractors — Parcel and Property Scouting, Site Feasibility, Permits, Pre-Design to Contract Documents, Sourcing FFE (Furniture/Fixtures/Equipment), Drawings, 3D Renderings, Local Project Advocacy, Market Positioning and Client Presentations
WORK | SELECT PROJECT LIST
01 | CASA LADERA
Single Family Residential Pacific Palisades, California 2016 EXP/MP Role: Owner | Design Director
02 | R5 LOFTS
Mixed-Use Residential | 5 Live/Work Units Venice, California 2010 FORMDENSITY LLC Role: Owner | Design Director
03 | MARKET CAFE & BAR
Hospitality | 45 Seat Restaurant Venice, California 2009 FORMDENSITY LLC Role: Owner | Design Director
04 | SOUTH HOTEL
Hospitality | 500-Key Hotel Abu Dhabi, UAE 2009 GENSLER Role: Architectural Designer
05 | BANCOMER TOWER COMPETITION
Workplace | Headquarters & Data Center Mexico City, Mexico 2008 GENSLER Role: Architectural Designer
06 | VARIOUS WORKPLACE INTERIORS
Workplace | Tenant Improvement San Diego, California 2008 GENSLER Role: Architectural Designer
07 | PERI_SCOPE GALLERY
Gallery San Diego, California 2007 PERISIC DESIGN Role: Internship
08 | VARIOUS HOTEL & RESTAURANT PROJECTS
Hospitality Worldwide 2007 DODD MITCHELL DESIGN Role: Internship
09 | PUMA at the LA MERCHANDISE MART
Retail Los Angeles, California 2005 ED GABOR STUDIO Role: Internship
10 | NEUTROGENA OFFICES
Workplace | Adaptive Re-Use Los Angeles, California 2005 ED GABOR STUDIO Role: Internship
11 | LACCD CAMPUS 3D DESIGN VISUALIZATION
3D Modeling | Rendering Los Angeles, California 2004 E7 ARCHITECTURE STUDIO Role: Internship
EDUCATION
NewSchool of Architecture & Design in San Diego 2008 | M.Arch Master of Architecture with Honors (Dean’s List)
University of Colorado at Boulder/Denver 1995 | BSc. Bachelor of Science in Finance (Magna cum Laude)
SOFTWARE + HANDCRAFTED MODELS
AUTOCAD; Revit; 3Ds Max with Vray; Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator + Handcrafted to Scale Models (using balsa wood, foam core & acrylic panels)