Vermont Timber Frames - JUSTIN MURRAY

JUSTIN MURRAY

Project Manager

Justin Murray had no idea what he was getting himself into when he joined the Vermont Timber Frames shop crew during the summer of 1998. Justin’s dad, Dennis, a custom builder, was working alongside VTF on a project in Shaftsbury, VT. It occurred to him that timber framing might be an ideal summer job for his son while he was attending college. Justin was hired soon thereafter, and spent the summer surfacing timbers and handling materials as he began to learn the craft. Over the course of the next two years, Justin gradually assumed more responsibility and became a valuable part of the VTF crew in between sessions of school.

Shortly after graduating from college, company president Tom Harrison decided to secure Justin as a full time employee and hired him as a designer and project manager. “Justin was a bit younger than most of our project managers,” says Tom, “but his background was perfectly suited to the position, and he had convinced us that he was more than ready to assume the additional responsibility of overseeing entire projects.” Indeed, Justin had already ascertained a solid understanding of both architectural and building concepts, and he was adept at the design program AutoCad. Combined with his experience in the VTF shop learning joinery and participating in raisings, Justin’s diverse background was ideal.

At the time, Justin was not so sure. “In all honesty, I was very intimidated to work with Paul Martin,” Justin says of VTF’s vice president and resident timber frame expert. “When you’re working next to a guy who has been designing and building timber frames for thirty some-odd years, it’s easy to feel pretty inferior. At the same time, I realized it was an opportunity for me to learn from one of the masters.” Paul immediately made Justin feel comfortable, and he hit the ground running.

“Paul taught me from the start to be disciplined yet creative,” Justin says. “The VTF design philosophy is stringent and very traditional, but Paul enabled me to understand that there can still be plenty of latitude for artistic expression.” Justin relied heavily on Paul for his first few projects, but before long he developed the confidence to tackle more demanding projects with minimal supervision. By his second year, he had been project manager for projects including the Central Synagogue in Manhattan and several large homes. In 2003, among other projects, Justin completed the design for the re-creation of an intensely intricate Buddhist temple. This year, he is responsible for a complicated renovation in Greenwich, CT, as well as a large commercial project on the boardwalk of Ocean City, MD.

It’s been a heck of a ride. “I know Justin had aspirations of becoming an architect out of college, but he really seems to have embraced his role here as designer and project manager,” Tom says. “His impact on our company has been immeasurable.” As Justin puts it, “It’s been so fun for me to become specialized in such a unique field, and it’s an honor to work alongside so many distinguished architects who rely on me and my company for our expertise.” His relationships have already yielded multiple projects from several architects and builders. “That’s the most rewarding thing – knowing I must have made a good impression if the architect or builder is coming back to us, and to me, with another project.”

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JUSTIN MURRAY

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