If Chris Hytha ’21, Bachelor of Architecture, was reduced to one word, it would be “versatile.” An alum of the Westphal College of Media Arts and Design, nothing else quite captures his unconventional résumé: design professional, photographer, digital artist, drone pilot, general contractor, Instagram influencer and YouTube creator. If one thing is clear, it is that he is not afraid to step out of his comfort zone.
Hytha spoke with the Triangle about how his time at Drexel University shaped his unique career path from architecture and photography to becoming an independent artist, and renovating his home with an online audience while letting passion lead the way and being willing to take leaps of faith.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Ryan Keating: Could you introduce yourself, and take me through the many hats you wear?
Chris Hytha: I grew up in a small town outside of Philadelphia. It’s been 10 years now living in Philly and I love it. I was interested in architecture from a young age. I used to draw–I’ve never been great at reading, writing, spelling, that side of academia–so in my English classes I would always be drawing floor plans of buildings. And then I played a ton of Minecraft too, and it was like a 3D modeling software at that point. I ended up going to architecture school and really was happy with Drexel’s program. It teaches you such a wide range of skill sets, which is what eventually enabled me to be independent and not have to work at a firm. But the other piece is that through architecture school, I found photography as a passion and that became one of the many hats, as you said.
RK: So you did one of the six-year [architecture] options at Drexel. What did that look like for you?
CH: So it’s kind of small, kind of niche, but it’s two years [of] full-time school and then your latter four years are part-time night classes and you’re working at a firm during the day. It’s a little different than the co-op program because co-ops, which Drexel is known for…[are] a set period of time: you’re on the co-op and then you’re done the co-op. Whereas with architecture, it wasn’t prescribed by the school. You could not work if you wanted, I guess. But you had to find your job and Drexel would help.
I worked at a company for three years while I was at Drexel…I think staying there for longer helped me understand the industry better rather than a summer intern [could] where you might not see all the responsibilities.
RK: Was there anything you did as a student to make your life easier, or anything in hindsight you wish you had done?
CH: For architecture, it’s tough. It’s easy if you’re passionate about it, I think, is the easiest answer, because it’s a lot of work. I think [that] applies to any major…It’s unfortunate that [for] a lot of young people it’s hard to find what you’re passionate about. There are times in school where I wasn’t as invested, and I was doing a project that I just didn’t really care about. And I was having trouble finding the desire to work on it, and the counterintuitive move of scrapping it and doing twice as much work, but to find that spark that gets me excited to do it, you know, was well worth it.
You have a little bit of autonomy to find the pathway that gets you excited. And sometimes you can break the rules and you kind of make your assignments. That definitely helped me.
RK: On your site, you list two of your big projects. One was the HOK Design Futures entry and the other was your 2021 thesis, and you got some recognition for both of them. What do you think it is that makes a successful–or literally winning–idea? Do you think it’s that passion, or is there more to it?
CH: Yeah, largely I think it is the passion. It was kind of in the thread of “I hate cars,” and I wanted to make some kind of cool public transit thing, and at first it was like a bike highway. The biggest reason why people didn’t want to bike or ride scooters is because you have to share space with cars and if a car hits you, you could die. So how do we solve that? Just make their own infrastructure for the bikes.
And I was excited about it, but got awful reviews. I had to go back to the drawing board. It’s an interesting balance: I was passionate about that idea, but outside forces were like, “I don’t know that that’s the direction.” So I think it’s a good balance of not being so passionate that you’re blocking everyone out, but passionate enough to put in a ton of work but also open to critique.
I learned a lot in school about compromising, and just kind of coming to the realization that I don’t really know what I’m doing. I should probably listen to these professors who have done this for a whole lot longer than me. I always like to go back to a simple mantra of “undeniable work,” which is way easier said than done…and I think that is where the passion comes in.
And it’s kind of unfair because that project won the gold medal Pearson Prize. A lot of my classmates were working full time as they were doing their thesis, but I made a really intentional choice to not be working so I could dedicate all my time to the project. I put a whole lot of energy, effort and work into it.
RK: After you graduated, what did you lean into?
CH: It was the summer and I felt the burnout and that like post-project depression. So I moped around for a couple months and then was like, “Alright, let’s get my portfolio together and find a job.”
And then I created the “Rowhomes” photo series, and that was an inflection point for me because prior to that, photography was just a side thing. Architecture was the main thing. Now that I didn’t have architecture to worry about, I put the process of architecture, the rigor of the design process and critique and all the thought that goes into that, into photography. A lot of it, in the early days, was just wandering around the city taking photos of things I thought looked cool. It ended up being 100 images to tell a larger story about the city. And then that became a book, and then that sparked my independent pursuit. And it’s really because of that project that I was able to not get a job, that I was able to make it work, and I was like, “Alright, let’s give this a shot and see if I can support myself.”
RK: What inspired you to start with Rowhomes. It’s the iconic Philly thing–was that it for you?
CH: My parents, growing up, were musicians, but their fallback was construction and renovating old houses. The town we lived in was not a great place, so there were a lot of abandoned, deteriorating houses that you could buy for like $20,000… and as I was growing up, I was able to see my dad fix up these houses, and a lot of them were rowhomes or twins.
I think rowhomes become like a fixture, where you almost don’t see them anymore. Like they’re just such a part of the fabric of Philadelphia. But when you really take one, and a lot of my photography is isolating it but by looking at them individually, you can see all of the character and all the changes over the years. Every different occupant over the years leaves their mark, whether they [replaced] the window or redid the steps or closed in the porch on the front, these are all little ways that people are changing the built environment and it gives you a peek of like, “What was that person thinking? Why did they close it in? What did they use the space for? What was the context?”
I’m just fascinated by all those questions and how rowhomes have adapted and changed, and many are 100+ years old.
RK: So you moved from “Rowhomes” into the “Highrises” project. That was when you started using drones, right?
CH: Yeah, I was really intentional about needing to still be creatively satisfied. “Rowhomes” was great and I could still do it again at some point. But I think I chose highrises [because], one, as a kid…skyscrapers have always been fascinating to me. But two, it’s not just Philly, it’s the whole country. So rather than just San Francisco or just New Orleans or whatever, it’s like this project can be all of them, all of these big cities.
Another big difference is the way to capture that. That was a whole other logistical challenge. And the only way to do it, really, was with drones. So I had to get my drone license, I had to get my drone insurance, I had to figure out how airspace works and work with the FAA and submit all the paperwork involved with getting permits and airspace approval–that was a whole part of the project.
RK: Getting into the social media aspect: your Instagram account @hytha.cg is sitting at just over 150,000 followers and you’ve used it as a platform for these two projects. What has the process of growing that following been like? Has it been a hands-on thing or did it build its own momentum?
CH: Over time, the relationship changes. It kind of started freshman year of college. I met a photographer on my floor; his name is Andrew Collins. He was into the urbex scene and he showed me his Instagram and he had like 2000 followers and these awesome photos of abandoned places. That got me into photographing the abandoned schools and warehouses and stuff in Philly.
I was super fixated on it. I’d want to go out and shoot, and then I’d get so excited to get home and edit the photos, and then so excited to share them. And it was this positive feedback loop…it kind of snowballed. [T]here was a crazy time in my life when I was working full time in architecture, going to class at night and then also trying to post every day and eventually that was kind of grueling.
But now it’s [Instagram] Reels and stuff, and it’s a weird dynamic, because my following hasn’t grown in probably six months, [since] I posted a Reel that got like two million views…you get 20,000 followers in a week, and then nothing. Right now I’m just focusing on YouTube and other things, so I’m content with it. Trying not to tie your worth to virality is important.
RK: So that brings us to your current project, which is a rowhome of your own in Fishtown. When and how did that get started? Was designing your own home, or renovating it, always in the back of your mind, given your background?
CH: Yeah, 100 percent. I think through the whole “Rowhomes” project I fell in love with these old homes. My whole life, I’ve lived in old homes…and so with my parents’ background that was my first inspiration with rowhomes. [I]t was always a dream.
[And] you gotta find that balance of what’s perfectly outside your comfort zone that will push you just enough, and you’ll learn a ton from, and you’re not quite comfortable with. That’s why from rowhomes, I didn’t just do shotgun houses. I wanted to introduce all this extra complexity, and also I worked with a writer to tell [the] history.
I didn’t wanna stay stagnant and I think doing the house freaked me out. Like it’s a dream, but it’s so scary. I think you can drive yourself crazy just thinking of the what-ifs and eventually it was like alright, I gotta just give it a try. And then I found one that was like, maybe this could work. And it all went a little quick: putting in an offer and not being sure…and then all of a sudden like, “Oh, I got it.” And then you know, through one phone call, my whole next two years of my life really changed. But I think in a good way – I hope in a good way. It’s been fun so far.
RK: Was it always the plan to take on a home renovation project and turn it into art, or content, and to put it on YouTube?
CH: No–that wasn’t until later. I’ve just kind of stumbled into it. And it’s been great because it’s really cool to have a community of people responding each week, and having people on this journey with me is incredible. And then the ad revenue and sponsorships to help from the financial side.
It’s funny with the house: finding termite damage and all this crap, that’s probably why the first video went semi-viral. Because people are watching it like, “Oh, I wanna watch just to see this fall apart.” So it’s funny that on the me-owning-the-house, wanting-to-save-money side, it’s awful. If I was a flipper, I’d be down bad.
But when you factor in other things like the learning experience…it’s hugely valuable to learn how to do this…plus I get total ownership of the project…And the final value, of course, is YouTube. To build this audience that I can roll over into future creative endeavors and that can, for now, pay my mortgage–just that piece alone makes this feel overall like a success.
RK: Is there anything else that you’d like to add about this whole experience or where it’s taking you?
CH: One thing that I think a lot about is, in this new, digital world, there are so many opportunities outside of the conventional career path. I heard that the number one career choice of middle schoolers, they all wanna be influencers, right? I think that what I’m living is like the realistic avenue of what those kids hopefully are looking for.
I think that there’s a disconnect, because that’s what kids want, but the institutions around us–school, college–all the professors didn’t live through this. It’s such a new thing. So I take any opportunity I can to show how it’s worked for me, because I didn’t really have anyone to follow. I just had to figure it out, and now I’ve built a network of other people in similar places, running their own business and leveraging social media and making it work. But for young people figuring it out, or students at Drexel, reach out if you have questions. [I’m] happy to help [by] educating about this new industry and illuminating the possibilities. And like I said, architecture school set me up with so many skill sets that could be leveraged in more ways than just an architecture firm. So yeah, think big.
For more information about Chris Hytha and his work, see his website or YouTube channel.