Get to know: Tommy Hernandez

Tommy is a central California native raised in Richgrove and Delano. Although the towns were small, his passion for expansion was unlimited. He filled up his days with the marching band, reading, playing card & video games and learning to sketch by recreating Disney VHS box images. With his skill set developing (thanks Disney’s cover art), Tommy leveled up and started collecting different video game worlds to sketch up. Another limitless hobby would be -of course- music: the range went from Green Day to Destiny’s Child -he tightens up his music selection as he gets older thankfully. Between the concerts and the video games, Tommy also spent time tagging along with his dad onto construction job sites. This pushed his practice of cover art & video game world design into the realms of space planning and building design. More than just a structure, Tommy observed that there is an importance to how people feel and identify with the spaces they are in.

As Tommy made his way down to San Diego for Architecture school, travel played a significant part in his development of perspective. From a young age, he always loved spending time in architecture that carried a spirituality. Naturally, in his visit to Peru, the ancient architecture, simplicity and spirituality spoke life into his understanding of the built environment. At NewSchool, Tommy not only pursued a degree in Architecture, but invested in his fascination with culture and people and completed a minor in Neuroscience for Architecture. Tommy continues to carry and experiment with these ideologies at DBRDS with any project he is presented with. He is also one hell of a sketcher.

In his post school days, when Tommy isn’t wrapped up head down in his A.R.E. prep, you can find him exploring new restaurants, sketching up a new world, seeking out goth punk synth shows, volunteering (most recently at SDAF), and teaching at New School hoping to prepare students for the realities of the industry.