“I started here as a college student so everything I learned about the industry, I learned here.”

Brain Hatzung was born and raised in the Milwaukee area and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1999 with a degree in architecture before going on to getting his Master’s at Cardinal Stritch University. He is now a principle, vice president and director of Zimmerman Architectural Studios Inc., which welcomed visitors for Doors Open Milwaukee.

Sian de Beer: So, you are on the Board of Directors for Doors Open?

Brain Hatzung: Yes, I am on the Board of Directors. Doors Open is an event that is in Historic Milwaukee puts on. So, I’m on the Board for Historic Milwaukee, and Doors Open is one of our major events that we do throughout the year.

Q: Is there any place you have been for Doors Open that you discovered or something that you didn’t think you would, see?

A: Probably like the stuff at Jones Island I think is the coolest stuff out there. It’s the inner workings of water treatment plants and stuff that people aren’t always able to go to.

Q: Are you from Milwaukee originally?

A: I grew up in West Bend and I live in Waukesha, and I work here.

Q: What has been your favorite part about working here?

A: I like being an Architect, I like working with people to figure out what they need or can afford and design buildings that help them complete their mission whether it’s a social mission or a business mission or a residential or whatever it is.

Q: Is there anything that you have learned from working here that you didn’t necessarily know before?

A: While I have worked here a long time, 23 years, a lot of what I learned here I didn’t know before. I started here as a college student so everything I learned about the industry, the construction, I learned here.

Q: How was UW-Milwaukee for you?

A: It was a great experience, a great school. I made a lot of good friends there and learned a lot about Milwaukee and kind of grew to appreciate Milwaukee and never left. It’s a very good school, they prepared me well for the industry.

Q: What is your favorite part about Milwaukee?

A: It’s a really big, small town, you can run into people you know anywhere you go. There are just a lot of neat things packed into a small town. It’s not huge like Chicago or New York.

Q: Is there any location specifically that you really like in Milwaukee?

A: I think it’s very cool that we are a city in the middle of our country, and we have a beach in Milwaukee, and you can’t even see across the lake, it’s the third coast you know? Also, the lake front, Summerfest grounds, the art museum and all that stuff on the lake front is such a valuable resource for Milwaukee.

Q: Is there anything that you need to take into consideration when you’re designing things in Milwaukee? Like for example the seasons?

A: I’d say it’s not too much, we’re not in an earthquake zone, we are pretty normal in terms of freezing in the Winter and heat in the Summer so it’s not terrible. We’re not in a major flooding zone, so it’s pretty normal I would say.