- May 5, 2024
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As you walk into Joseph Pozzuoli’s office, Charlie, the 2-year-old golden retriever confronts you at the door to make sure you’re only there for business. Then, once you look up, you’re met by dozens of material sample boards, presentation drawings. His personal art and past designs crowd the reception and conference areas, imparting colorful life to what would otherwise be a dark and lifeless room. That introduction into Pozzuoli’s work-life is just the beginning of a 25-year winding road of a passion for art.
As far back as he can remember, Pozzuoli could always be found with a drawing utensil and something to sketch on at his mother’s kitchen table in Glens Falls, New York. He would also design random objects with his Erector Set, neglecting any instruction plan that came with the features. Those hobbies led him to join art class in seventh grade, where he first observed Frank Lloyd Wright’s stained glass windows, and where he first heard the term “architect.”
“I thought, ‘Engineering and art combined?’” he said, gazing into the air through his trademark brown and gold frames, strolling down memory lane.
After high school, he attended the University of Miami rather than Syracuse, due to all the snow he had shoveled as a kid. After graduating with his degree in architecture, Pozzuoli joined a firm, but was laid off the day after New Year’s, due to a South Florida recession, which led to him starting his firm.
With every new project he gained, his clientele increased, and business continued to boom, as he was able to move into a 2,500-square-foot office building. But, in 2008, he nearly lost everything to another recession. Pozzuoli couldn’t do anything as 85% of his firm collapsed.
“My initial thought was to roll on the floor in an embryonic state and cry,” he said. “But, I started marketing, and that was critical in keeping me busy and active while figuring out how to survive a recession.”
Pozzuoli moved out of his office building to the, now, 850-square-foot one in Flagler Beach, where his clients say is a lot more comfortable than the other place. He has been in Flagler County for 10 years and has become an intricate part of the community.
“My college dean used to always say it’s important for an architect to find a community that he can be engaged in, and I found that here,” he said. “Flagler’s a diamond in the rough, and in my heart of hearts, it’s where I want to be. It’s great to live here and to make a living here.”
In the past 25 years, Pozzuoli has designed resort hotels, high-end condominiums, tennis facilities, country clubs, etc.
He recalled a married couple who would often ask him questions about their house after he had finished it, and the wife would say things like, “Do you know how talented you are?” or “You’re really brilliant.”
“I would sign my signature on something, and she would say, ‘I’m going to keep these, because one day you’re going to be somebody,’” he said. “That’s always a joy.”
Pozzuoli says that the biggest change over the years has been the advancement of technology. When he got started, he drew out everything. Now, there are computers and other forms of machinery that gets the job done a lot quicker.
When asked about the best advice he can give someone starting in his trade, he replied, “If you’re going to do it as a profession, and you don’t have a strong drive, find something else to do that makes more money. You have to have a passion for it. You can’t teach ‘hungry’; it’s either in your belly, or it isn’t.”
Joseph Pozzuoli Architect is located at 314 Moody Blvd., Flagler Beach. Call 439-5650.
