Meet Joseph Troulos of Troulos Design and Drafting

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Troulos.

Hi Joseph, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Tijuana, México and lived for 18 years there until I went away to attend college at the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey – Campus Monterrey – in Monterrey, México for a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture; also following my wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, and was attending the same college. It took me 1 year longer to finish my bachelor’s degree and after graduating in 2015 I decided to come back to Tijuana, to start my architecture career. I worked for 6 months in construction management until I decided to use my dual citizenship (American-Mexican) to look for opportunities to work in San Diego, CA. I was given an opportunity by a small fast-growing architecture firm at the time, led by Steve Waldron, Matt Stowe and Aaron Borja, and started working as a draftsman in commercial and multifamily projects. I spend the next 3 years working at Architects Local, who happen to now be a large architecture firm and have expanded to other California cities. I learned as much as I could from Steve Waldron, during my time there. After three years there and getting married to my high school sweetheart in 2017, an opportunity opened up to partner up with a known associate, Abelardo Lopez, and for the next 6 years I worked on our own projects in Abe Design Studio. We developed a large amount of residential and multifamily projects, specializing in ADU’s, which is currently a growing sector in California. After those 6 years together we decided to end our partnership under different personal circumstances and amicably. After 6 years of partnership and having triplets, Porter, Beker and Ander in January, 2024, I decided to open Troulos Design and drafting as the only principal on March, 2024 and it continues up to this day.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I came across a couple of struggles to get where I am now. It took me a year longer to finish my Bachelor’s degree in Architecture due to difficulties in completing a couple of courses, but I eventually pushed on and graduated in May of 2015. After spending 6 months working in construction management, I realized I wasn’t doing what I really wanted or had in mind regarding architecture, so it was a struggle to eventually take the leap to the United States and work in architecture there since I had never really dived into the differences between the architectural language between México and the United States, but eventually a small fast-growing firm gave me an opportunity which I took and made the best out of it. After deciding to leave Architects Local to partner up and do work on my own, there was always the risk of it not working out and also not having a steady income, which I was already used to, but luckily everything went well for the next 6 years and I eventually grew in a lot of aspects, professionally and personal. On a more personal note, after struggling to have kids for 7 years, in January, 2024 my wife and I had 3 beautiful boys, Porter, Beker and Ander, and at the same time I was transitioning from leaving my partnership in Abe Design Studio and looking to start Troulos Design and Drafting. It was a hard decision at the time, given me and my wife had just had triplets, and I was struggling with the decision of getting a full time job or moving forward with my own firm. Eventually with the never ending support and motivation from my wife, I decided to start/continue with Troulos Design and Drafting.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Troulos Design and Drafting was founded on March, 2024. It’s a firm that specializes in residential projects; new homes, remodels, additions, ADU’s & JADU’s. Every project that we work on in Troulos Design and drafting is carried all the way from design to the approval of a building permit or any required permits for the clients to build their dream project; this includes developing construction documents. One of our most strong and continuously growing section is the ADU design. We have 8 years of experience in designing and permitting ADU’s in the San Diego County area. What sets apart Troulos Design and Drafting is that we understand that our clients come to us to look for help in designing their dream projects, which most of the time has to do with them investing in creating a project that will give them financial security for the future or providing housing for loved ones. We consider in every project that we design to provide the client what they wish for while taking care of having an efficient design and keeping within the clients possibilities. Our main priority, keeping our clients happy. We also work closely with different contracting companies who look for a partner in developing the design for the projects they are looking to build. We at Troulos Design and Drafting see this as a great and strong opportunity to work with other companies within the same sector and help each other out. Our brand was designed by Li Brand Design, based out of Tijuana, Mexico, and with this brand we look to create a modern and simple look while providing the best possible service. Troulos Design and Drafting also has a separate section focused on streetwear to show how the brand can also transition into other sections and not only architecture.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
In architecture everything is continuously changing, design, styles, building codes, municipal codes, clients needs, trends. Therefore we always look to adapt to these on-going changes. We always need to respect the past but there’s definitely ways to do that and also adapt and make way for new things. I would also say that patience has been one of the strongest and most important lessons I’ve learned as a small growing architecture firm. The work needs to speak for itself; and what better way than seeing our project built, occupied and seeing a happy client.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.trodesigndrafting.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tro.designdrafting?igsh=ZnNwemJxNTd1bmhs&utm_source=qr