Garrett Herbst
Project Manager and Architect at Little Diversified Architectural Consulting
Education: BS in Architecture, University of Buffalo (2015)
Master of Architecture, UNC Charlotte (2017)
Hometown: Webster, NY
Garrett Herbst is a project manager and architect at Little Diversified Architectural Consulting in Charlotte, where he oversees commercial projects from initial design through to documentation and construction. He has worked on many notable projects, including the Ally Charlotte Center and the BMW Technical Training Center in Greer, South Carolina. These projects and so many more led to Garrett being named one of the 2024 Charlotte Business Journal’s Power 100 list, celebrating the Charlotte region’s top innovators.
Garrett’s path towards his career began in high school, where he took his first Revit course and immediately fell in love with computer modeling. This love led him to his decision to pursue architecture, and he soon realized he would need an art portfolio for college admissions. During his junior and senior years in high school, Garrett took as many art courses as possible and soon found himself spending all his free periods and time after school in the studio, fully immersed in developing his creative skills.
All of his hard work paid off in high school, and he enrolled in and received his BS degree at the University of Buffalo. He then decided he wanted to pursue a masters degree and decided UNC Charlotte was the best place to do it. When speaking about his time at Charlotte, Garrett said, “The School of Architecture’s Career Expo not only introduced me to Little, which led to my current job, but also helped me build relationships with professors and alumni. These connections have provided me with valuable research and teaching opportunities that have shaped me into the architect I am today.”
While a student, Garrett worked on several assignments that helped prepare him for his career, including working with the KUKA robot to build an art installation for the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens, being recognized for the top diploma/thesis project in his class, and spending countless hours in the Fabrication Lab helping students create projects of all scales and types, which Garrett said, “have been some of the most rewarding experiences of my career.” Perhaps most significantly, he connected with Dr. Kyoung Hee Kim and the Integrated Design Research Lab, becoming a key contributor to her research on microalgae façade systems. Even post-graduation, Garrett has remained active in that ongoing project, most recently helping to install a microalgae system at the Innovation Barn in Charlotte.
His advice for current students: “Never say no! While it might seem daunting at times, you never know where an opportunity may lead. For example, my work for Dr. Kim as a student in her studio led to a Research Assistant position in my final year, which then opened the door for me to contribute to both the initial and subsequent phases of the microalgae project. You’re young, and there’s no better time than now to work hard and showcase your talents!”
Pictured above: Ally Charlotte Center
Pictured above: BMW Technical Training Center