About Lance Mercado
I work across design, engineering, fabrication, and the built environment.
SquareBuilt began as my custom bicycle-frame business and has grown into a record of the things I design, build, repair, and try to understand.
How I work
I tend to understand the complete system before changing individual parts. My background combines client requirements, mechanical design, fabrication, testing, manufacturing, troubleshooting, and long-term ownership of the things I build.
I am most interested in work where physical details and larger systems meet: how a bicycle fits and handles, how a product moves from prototype to production, how an old building manages heat and moisture, or how an automation system can become useful without becoming fragile.
Background
I founded SquareBuilt in 2003, completed degrees in industrial design and mechanical engineering, and later served as Director of Design & Engineering for Hurley Electric Bicycles.
After moving from Brooklyn to Highland and beginning work on an older house, I became increasingly interested in building science, HVAC, ventilation, moisture, insulation, and retrofit sequencing. That practical interest led to formal training through SUNY Ulster, Willdan, BPI, and EPA Section 608 certification.
The common thread is not a single industry. It is the process of understanding a problem well enough to make a durable change.