By Roberto Hugo Gonzalez
As originally Published by Texas Border Business
Meeting Giovanni Peña is quite an experience. He is an American citizen born in Rio Grande City to Joel Peña and Hermelinda Santana. He graduated from the University of Nuevo Leon in 2000 and completed his education in a competitive architecture program. He originally returned to the Rio Grande Valley to open a branch for the Monterrey company that he was working for. This company specializes in architectural services. “I represented them for ten years and now I have decided to open my own firm,” Giovanni told Texas Border Business.
His new company is NEU Plan, its a design and 3D rendering firm. Giovanni pointed out that it was created to give the Rio Grande Valley a chance to visualize a project in its entirety before beginning to build, and avoiding costly mistakes. “It is also the most effective way to attract investors who want to see what is being offered before they become involved,” he said.
Giovanni is a very talented and gifted 3Dimensional Designer and offers a unique service at competitive prices. It is important to say that Giovanni selected his profession because he was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works.
“I knew that I was on the right path when I read the biography of Frank Lloyd Wright and how he fought to bring his vision of design to life, and I realized that same passion drove me,” he said.
He said that the challenge is to bring the dreams of a client to life and the passion for the artistry in architecture. “Every project is a work of art,” he said. “We need to bring back the art of design to architecture creating beautiful structures and not cookie cutter floor plans in which every house produced looks exactly the same.”
One of the challenges of his industry is that it is a difficult time to introduce new ideas into the market. “We are competing with drafters and builders who provide generic inferior designs at a cheaper price,” he said. In my case, I went to the university to study design, dimensions and space allowing us to develop a unique structure that fits the needs of the client and avoids any costly building flaws, which can arise in more generic designs,” he stated. “This means that we can provide a house with a sustainable design which is a good investment that lasts a lifetime and beyond.”
One important thing is that Giovanni treats every client with respect and he works diligently to make his or her structural dreams a reality. Giovanni’s satisfaction is the look of satisfaction on the people’s faces when he delivers the product that they entrusted to him.
Giovanni is married to Jennifer Burden a “beautiful Canadian” as he said. “We have two boys, Jonathan who is 9 and Joel who is 1 1/2 years old.” He is a dedicated father and very involved in parks and recreation activities with his children. His hobbies are to run 5k, 10k, and half marathons.
“In the short term, it is my hope to build NEU Plan into a competitive design firm in the Rio Grande Valley; my long-term goals include expanding into the Austin market and beyond.
You can contact him at 956-844-6814 or neuplan@hotmail.com; you can also visit his website www.neuplan.net TBB
Written by Roberto Hugo Gonzalez the 2009 SBA Journalist of the Year Award Winner & The 2009 and 2012 Paul Harris Award recipient.
