Other Sides of John Zsolt
At Space Database, we knew John as a great business developer. He was the type of person that could talk to anyone and was good friends with everyone he worked with. He had a talent for understanding people and understanding the real estate industry. He had the vision and the imagination to dream up new products and services that clients would want to buy.
But there was more to John than his business career. In addition to his work, John actively pursued interests in sports, art, architecture and real estate development.
Outdoors
John was busy skiing in the winter and sailing in the summer. In the short down-time between seasons he was focused on further improving 02 - the boat that he had painstakingly restored. John, along with friends and family cruised and raced their boat in Georgian Bay. They made long excursions into the wilderness of the North Channel.
John at the helm of O2in Georgian Bay
Winter weekends were spent at Beaver Valley Ski Club where John was a familiar fixture on the slopes, in the club house but also on the podium! John had been an excellent skier since childhood and picked up snowboarding as an adult. He worked hard at it and was snowboarding champion in his age group at Beaver Valley.
John at Beaver Valley Ski Club
Architectural Projects
John enjoyed building things. He liked architecture but he also liked to swing a hammer. He built a beautiful little guest house (the bunkie) next to his cottage. He designed a large number of houses and additions for friends and family.
A Boat House Designed by John Zsolt
Development Ideas
On a larger and more ambitious scale he continued his interest in sustainable development. John saw real estate development as his second career, something he would do after Space Database. When John graduated from architecture school in 1990 his master's thesis focused on sustainable rural community development. In 1994 John received a grant from CMHC to further develop his ideas and to publish a research paper. You can find out more and purchase a copy here.
The research elaborates the technical feasibility of the thesis project. His argument was that by clustering housing and using natural systems such as vegetation and wetlands, residential development at the same density as current suburban developments could be made environmentally self-sufficient. These proposed communities would be able to treat and clean their own waste water. More trees and wilderness could be preserved within the community. And finally, energy consumption would be drastically reduced.
These were ground breaking ideas in the early nineties. Today the environmental impact of buildings is more widely appreciated and the need for sustainable alternatives is more generally appreciated. The ideas and research in his report are just as relevant today as they were when John wrote them.
Art
John enjoyed the outdoors not only as a sportsman but also as an artist. He had a great skill with watercolours. It's surprising to some that John would choose this as his medium; that it would be too gentle and quiet an activity for someone of his personality. But John had a thoughtful side too. Creativity runs in his family. Take a look at his brother Tom's photography and his sister Catherine's extensive portfolio of work.
A Watercolour Painting by John
John leaves behind a great legacy in all his fields of interest. In each one, his sphere of influence was large, generous and will be long lasting.