Talk Shop: Tom McManus // Ferguson & Shamamian
Photo by Matt Licari
ABOUT TOM
Raised in Massachusetts, Tom McManus is as inspired by the Colonial architecture of his native New England as he is by the late-nineteenth century warehouses that line the waterfront in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, where he lives with his wife and daughter. While receiving his bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of Notre Dame, he met Stephen Chrisman and Damian Samora, now fellow partners. Since joining revered architecture firm Ferguson & Shamamian in 1998, Tom has understood the importance of fostering the relationship between clients and their teams. He was named Partner in 2021, and is instrumental in the firm’s commitment to utilizing the best tools for drawing, modeling and communication. Tom has designed new residences and worked on renovations across the country and in Canada, from Manhattan to Santa Monica, Nashville to Nantucket, and Hobe Sound to Toronto. A Fellow Emeritus of the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art, Tom served on the editorial board of the organization’s annual journal, The Classicist, as well its 10-year-anniversary publication, A Decade of Art & Architecture. He led the teams for the firm’s 2016 Bulfinch Award, 2018 Mizner Award and 2020 Palladio Award, and has worked with many returning clients on multiple projects, each distinct in style and location. Most recently he, along with the Ferguson & Shamamian firm, published Collaborations: Architecture, Interiors, Landscapes. We so enjoyed chatting with this talented architect, and hope you do too!
Congrats on your new book, Collaborations: Architecture, Interiors, Landscapes! Can you tell us a little bit more about it, and how it came to be? How does this book differ from your first book, New Traditional Architecture?
There is so much creative energy that goes into all of our projects – energy that comes from our clients, from the architects in our office, and from the other design professionals with whom we have the privilege of working. For our second book, rather than a simple follow-up to our monograph, we really wanted to tell the stories behind that collaborative energy and to include our key collaborators in the writing of the text. Collaborations tells the stories behind 14 of those projects from around the country, featuring photos of projects we’ve created with leading interior designers, builders, landscape designers, and artisans, including Michael Smith, Victoria Hagan, Bunny Williams, Douglas Durkin, Tino Zervudachi, Jacques Grange, Miranda Brooks, and Arne Maynard.
Describe your style in three words or less:
Rooted in history.
What have been the three biggest influences on your aesthetic in your life:
My education at the University of Notre Dame really opened my eyes to the art of building, from simple vernacular structures to the highest expressions of classicism within a number of building traditions.
My mentors after graduation helped teach me how to put those aesthetic lessons into practice. At Ferguson & Shamamian I had the good fortune to be guided early in my career by Mark Ferguson, Oscar Shamamian, Moira McClintock, Gil Schafer, Joseph Singer, and Stephen Chrisman (now my partner at F&S along with Mark, Oscar, Damian Samora, and Scott Sottile).
And finally, except for our recent hiatus over the last 18 months, travel has been the greatest aesthetic influence. The ability to see new and inspiring places helps reinvigorate the creative process.
How did you start your company, and/or what is your favorite thing about what you do:
We get to work with clients who have a passion for architecture, and with other professionals who value the rigor that goes into the highest expression of design. That is the best part of the job!
Do you have a mentor in your career, and if so, how have they helped to shape your trajectory:
I have been working with Mark Ferguson and Oscar Shamamian for over half of my life at this point. I’d say that those two men, and specifically Oscar with whom I’ve worked very closely for the last two decades, have shaped my career by providing challenges they thought I would overcome, opportunities that they knew I would not squander, and guidance when I didn’t have as much faith in myself as they had in me.
What does your home say about you:
Currently? That a spoiled two-year-old lives there.
Where do you find inspiration:
Lately, from the aforementioned two-year-old. She sees everything with new eyes and takes nothing for granted because she’s experiencing everything for the first time. The first time she said the word, “beautiful” was when she woke up and looked at falling snow outside her window (true story). Meanwhile, my wife and I were bemoaning the chaos that accompanies snowfall in New York City. Imagine if we could all just focus on beauty like that?
Who are your style icons:
This is a difficult question for me to answer for some reason. I think because I admire the work that people create, and I don’t equate it specifically with their individual style. For instance, I find the work of architects Hays Town, H.T. Lindeberg, and Paul Williams incredibly inspiring, but perhaps not always stylish, and I have no idea if Town, Lindeberg, or Williams were, themselves, stylish individuals.
What are your key ingredients for entertaining:
A signature cocktail and a good playlist.
Do you collect anything:
I have a small collection of bicycles. Bikes remind me of architecture – they have specific geometries and proportions that make them beautiful and functional, and they rely on mechanical systems, either simple or complex, in order to work properly.
Favorite Instagram accounts to follow for inspiration:
@newclassicalarchitecture, @milieumag, @galeriemagazine, @grandcentralatelier, @thierryduvalaqua, @ad_magazine, @vogueliving, @iss, @nasa.
What design “rule” do you always follow, and which is made to be broken:
Always follow – Beauty should be the goal of all good design.
Made to be broken – “Form follows function”
What are you working on right now:
An amazing renovation to an H.T. Lindeberg home in East Hampton, New York, and a small addition to the summer estate of a valued and long-standing client on Martha’s Vineyard.
Wardrobe staples:
This is embarrassing – magenta socks. (Maybe my style icon is really Daniel Day Lewis as Reynolds Woodcock in Phantom Thread?!)
Best career advice you ever received:
We get paid the same to erase as we do to draw.
Types of home purchases you invest in, and save on:
Art – specifically art related to travel – is the most valuable investment in our home. And, although I never thought I would be this person, we save by not having televisions in the house.
Your greatest extravagance:
A week on the beach in Vietnam.
Most prized possession and why:
My wife recently gave me a toy racecar with the number 4 on it when she told me we were expecting a son this fall. I’ve come to fatherhood relatively late in life, so anything/everything related to my kids is most valuable.
Your architecture motto:
Draw. Refine. Refine. Refine.
Your life motto:
“Do or do not. There is no try.” – Yoda
Advice for someone looking to define their own style:
I guess I would say to always keep your eyes open. Always look for the beauty around you and let it shape and mold everything you do.
Take Ten: My Favorite…
Food: Fillet Mignon from my grill.
Drink: A glass of good Cabernet Sauvignon to accompany the steak (or a Bourbon on the rocks with anything else).
Film: The Godfather
Hotel: Reverie Saigon.
City: Brooklyn!
Bedding: Plaid flannel sheets from my first ski house in Vermont.
Tea or Coffee (and how do you take it): Coffee. Black.
Playlist: My family shares our streaming service so there’s a mix of 80’s Hair Bands, Taylor Swift, and Elmo. I won’t tell you which is who’s favorite.
Weekend Activity: Winter – Skiing. Summer – riding my bicycle through the City.
Design Book: The Louisiana Homes of A. Hays Town.