Bradynn Petersen is just like any other 8-year-old: He does his homework, plays soccer, and his favorite food is pepperoni pizza.
But there’s one thing that sets him apart from others his age: He’s already a licensed residential architect — and he does it all with Microsoft Paint!
Wow, talk about a prodigy!
His designs for houses have been spotted in Ballard, Greenwood, Capitol Hill, and anywhere else you see a building that just looks like a mass of incongruent rectangles. As a matter of fact, that’s exactly what Bradynn sets out to make when designing!
“It’s pretty fun,” said Bradynn. “I just open up the paint app on my dad’s computer, use the rectangle tool, and start clicking.”
Thomas, Bradynn’s father, said he got started designing houses two years ago, when he accidentally left his computer unlocked.
“I left him alone for a few minutes and when I came back, he filled my screen with rectangles of all shapes and sizes,” he said. “I remember looking at it and thinking, ‘I would raise my family there.’”
When asked to demonstrate his design technique, he was able to draw up a blueprint in about one minute!
“I think there are like 20 rectangles in this. This one can be made of wood,” he said, pointing to one of the rectangles. “This one can be metal. This one can be made of a different wood; I don’t really care.”
What’s next for Bradynn? Right now he’s working on apartment complexes by making a bunch of the same square in a really tall rectangle.
“It’s basically the same exact thing,” he said of the process.
Best of luck, Bradynn! We can’t wait to see what you’ll do for Seattle’s future skyline!
