We often try to keep our personal and professional lives separate, which is generally a good idea.
However, when it comes to happy moments, combining a bit of work and home seems just fine.
Yiming Guan did that by celebrating a family milestone in a building he designed.
The recently completed improvements at Cascade Lake Park in Rochester represent Yiming’s first major project at TSP.
With that, and some good timing, Yiming and his wife, Lin, decided it would be the perfect location to celebrate their daughter, Yila’s, first birthday.
Cascade Lake Park offers a near-downtown experience for park users and visitors. The work completed by the TSP + Schuler Shook + Stantec team includes a pavilion, a new amphitheater, and related site improvements.
The event hall at the pavilion features a year-round center to host multipurpose events serving Rochester and nearby communities.
The amphitheater is an open-air stage and uses Cascade Lake as a backdrop for theatrical performances, concerts, and other park programming and event support.
“I have been very excited about this project from the get-go because I knew this was going to be my first signed project at TSP,” Yiming said.
The Cascade Lake Park project was very meaningful, Yiming explained, because of the trust given to him by the TSP leadership team.
“I had a lot of freedom to work with the owner to design buildings that they like, and I also like,” he said.
He also appreciated the amount of detail that went into the project and the opportunity to work with disciplines such as MEP, interior design, and various consultants.
“I really tried to fine-tune everything,” he said.
Rochester Principal Von Petersen noted that Yiming’s straightforward communication style helps to keep projects moving.
“He can say, ‘this is what we’ve got to do, and here’s why we’ve got to do it,’” Von said.
That skill set was particularly helpful for Cascade Lake Park, which faced significant reductions in the original project scope.
“His approach to keeping important things in the project, while at the same time reducing significant costs was very good,” Von said.
At Yila’s birthday party, many people were asking Yiming about the Cascade Lake Park improvements, and if the pavilion space could be rented for future events.
“That’s impressive,” Yiming said. “That means we did a good job.”
The first year of parenthood goes by fast!
The interrupted sleep patterns that every parent endures took getting used to, Yiming said.
“But when I think back to that, it seems like many years ago,” he said. “You forget about the pain and the no-sleep nights. What you remember is all the fun and the precious moments you have with this girl.”