Agenda

Ashley Heeren has over 12 years of experience creating built environments across many scales and typologies. Ashley studied architecture at Yale and Harvard Graduate School of Design, and helped start Low Design Office with colleagues out of graduate school. After completing design-build work in Austin, she joined Lake|Flato in San Antonio to design larger projects across the US. In 2016, Ashley helped open LF’s Austin office, returning to Austin with a focus on public-spirited projects that prioritize sustainable place-making and celebrate local ecologies in this rapidly-transforming region.

Aaron Seward is Editor-in-Chief of The Architect’s Newspaper. Seward is an award-winning editor whose career has centered on interpreting architecture for the profession and the general public. He was editor of Texas Architect magazine for six years and prior to that held several positions at AN, including executive editor. In addition to those publications, Seward’s writing on architecture, culture, and the built environment has appeared in Architect, Curbed, Domus, Metropolis, and other publications. He has a BA in Literature, Writing and the Arts from The New School for Social Research.

Jeff Haber is a Managing Partner at W&W Glass and has been working with specialty architectural metal and glass systems for over 25 years. He is directly responsible for sales, marketing, and estimating for Pilkington Planar and other highly engineered systems sold throughout North America. W&W Glass, LLC is a family owned business based in the NYC Metropolitan area that has operated for over 70 years in the industry and is currently one of the top 10 glazing contractors in the U.S. with an annual turnover of approximately $160M.

John Ishihara is a Principal in the San Francisco office and has 21 years’ experience in design, management and project delivery for some of Handel Architects’ most notable projects. Most recently, Mr. Ishihara served as Project Manager for 340 Fremont Street in San Francisco, acting as the primary client contact and managing the extensive design and consultant teams from concept through building completion. Mr. Ishihara is currently the Project Manager for Austin Proper Hotel and Residences in Austin, Texas and the 950 Market project in San Francisco.

Prior to joining Handel Architects, Mr. Ishihara worked in several high profile architecture firms in San Francisco. His previous experience in diverse project types such as broadcasting and conference facilities, laboratories, corporate and academic campuses and historic renovations, has helped to diversify the firm’s portfolio.

Mr. Ishihara’s projects have been published in Architecture, Architectural Record, Metal Architecture and San Francisco Chronicle. He has taught design at Laney College and is an active guest critic at City College of San Francisco, Diablo Valley Community College and University of California, Berkeley. Mr. Ishihara received his Bachelor or Architecture degree from Cornell University.

David Green is a building enclosure consultant specializing in curtain wall, glazing, and cladding systems. Collaborating with talented architects, Mr. Green designs, details, and oversees the construction of building envelope systems for various building types, including high-rise hotels and residences, museums, retail storefronts, universities, and office buildings. Mr. Green works closely with architects to turn their facade concepts into reality while meeting an ever-increasing array of performance criteria. In addition to consulting on new construction, Mr. Green also works on the recladding of existing buildings and conducts forensic investigations of building envelope failures, such as glass breakage or water leakage.

Andrea Hellerman brings more than ten years of experience in the design of various building typologies, building code research, building systems coordination, construction documentation development, and construction administration. Ms. Hellerman’s experience includes performance testing of enclosure systems as well as investigative testing to detect water infiltration. Her experience and knowledge of construction practices enables her to manage complex projects, underpins her ability to analyze building enclosures, and is key in the design of successful building enclosure solutions. Ms. Hellerman’s work has focused on helping architects integrate aesthetics with high-performance building enclosure systems.

Prior to joining WJE in 2017, Ms. Hellerman was a design architect in Houston and Austin, Texas, where she served as both designer and project manager. Her previous work includes mid-rise and high-rise multifamily residential, mixed-use, retail, institutional, healthcare, education, single-family residential, and historic preservation projects. In addition, she spent a year working at an architectural brake metal fabrication shop producing shop drawings and cost estimates for high-end retail storefronts.

Brannon Heake is an architectural designer at Lake|Flato Architects who strives to bridge the gap between sculptural art and architecture. He uses his sensibility from graffiti and other arts to create a new perspective on form-making. Having specialized in tower design, he is now more focused on the study of building envelopes.

Rachel Calafell is a Principal and Project Manager at Walter P Moore, and a licensed Professional Engineer with over 14 years of experience in structural engineering. She has worked on a diverse range of projects including healthcare, commercial, sports, performing arts venues, education, and significant renovations. Rachel’s passion is rooted in solving unique challenges and collaborating with coworkers and clients. From 2014-2018, Rachel managed the structural engineering efforts for the 957,000 sf Houston Methodist Walter Tower which was awarded the 2019 ENR “Best Healthcare Project” in Texas & Louisiana. In 2015, Rachel received Walter P Moore’s esteemed Horvilleur Award, which is presented annually to one young structural engineer at the firm who has best exemplified excellence in technical design, client service, and business acumen. Rachel has mentored young engineers and shared an adjunct professorship in the Architecture Department at the University of Houston. She has also authored several publications in Modern Steel Construction, Panstadia, and other magazines.

Joseph Welker is Studio Director at James Carpenter Design Associates, managing the studio’s cross-disciplinary staff and coordinating its collaborations with landscape architects, architects, structural engineers, environmental engineers, fabricators and materials engineers. Welker works across the studio’s diverse range of projects, from public art to design elements and spaces that enhance the public realm. Fundamental to each project is an enhanced experience of light, unique to each project site and resulting in integrated art and structural designs that transcend form and style. Welker studied architecture and design at Cornell University, holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree. He recently led JCDA’s design efforts at the Nordstrom NYC flagship store.

Nicholas Hofstede is a Project Manager at Johnston Marklee leading the delivery of national and international projects. Originally from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Nicholas has been with JML since 2007, overseeing the management, design and development of projects including the Menil Drawing Institute in Houston, Texas, the Museum of Contemporary Arts (MCA) in Chicago, the UCLA Graduate Art Studios in Los Angeles, Poggio Golo Winery in Tuscany, Italy, and the Hut House in Kauai, Hawaii.

Sophia is a leader in Lake|Flato’s Austin office. Her experience designing buildings in urban cities all over the world influenced her return to her Austin roots, where she strives to contribute to the city’s vibrant renewal and growth. Her broad portfolio and knowledge of regional context has led to successful collaborations to design memorable community spaces within our urban cores that feel meaningful and tied to their particular place.

Ashley Heeren has over 12 years of experience creating built environments across many scales and typologies. Ashley studied architecture at Yale and Harvard Graduate School of Design, and helped start Low Design Office with colleagues out of graduate school. After completing design-build work in Austin, she joined Lake|Flato in San Antonio to design larger projects across the US. In 2016, Ashley helped open LF’s Austin office, returning to Austin with a focus on public-spirited projects that prioritize sustainable place-making and celebrate local ecologies in this rapidly-transforming region.

Lewis is an Associate Partner at Lake|Flato who strives to create extraordinary community places that bridge cultures, celebrate the arts and connect to the natural world. He leads the design of high-performing institutional and commercial buildings and master plans exhibiting a strong fusion of creative rigor, connection to context and data-driven performance. He also directs the firm’s pro bono studio providing nonprofits with equitable access to architectural services.

Bungane Mehlomakulu, Head of Building Science and Building Performance at ICON, is responsible for overseeing the overall performance of the ICON wall system. He oversees the overall building performance for the ICON home. This includes establishing performance metrics such as energy, and water, thermal comfort and leading the effort to develop design solutions that make the ICON home a leader in sustainable and resilient building performance.

Burton Baldridge is a native Texan, originally trained as an attorney at the University of Texas. After a mercifully brief legal career, he earned a Masters from Columbia University in 1999. Following a ten year stay in New York, Burton moved back to Austin in 2002 to act as the on-site architect and builder of the award-winning Floating Box House in connection with his work at Peter Gluck and Partners. Burton founded the Austin-based Baldridge Architects in 2006, creating a firm that has consistently eschewed trend in favor of a more deliberate practice, striving for an element of rigor, quiet and timelessness in its work.

Michael Hargens is principal and co-founder of Agenda Architecture based in Austin, Texas. Prior to starting his own office, he was a Project Architect at Baldridge Architects for over eight years where he oversaw the design and construction of the Arrive Hotel. He has also periodically taught design studios at the University of Texas School of Architecture as well as UT San Antonio. Prior to moving to Austin, Michael worked for a number of offices including Resolution 4 Architecture and SOM in New York as well as Zaha Hadid Architects in London.

Aaron Seward is Editor-in-Chief of The Architect’s Newspaper. Seward is an award-winning editor whose career has centered on interpreting architecture for the profession and the general public. He was editor of Texas Architect magazine for six years and prior to that held several positions at AN, including executive editor. In addition to those publications, Seward’s writing on architecture, culture, and the built environment has appeared in Architect, Curbed, Domus, Metropolis, and other publications. He has a BA in Literature, Writing and the Arts from The New School for Social Research.

Throughout his career in architecture, James Warton has maintained an interest in cutting-edge manufacturing processes and developed specialized concentration in high-resolution additive processes. He is currently focused on highly articulated metal structures and direct-to-fabrication methodologies. Within HKS | LINE his responsibilities encompass a broad range of activities that span from preliminary analysis and conceptual design through the design development and documentation of complex architectural systems. His role demonstrates proactive engagement with practice leading to implementation of additively manufactured building-scale assemblies. These efforts represent a cumulative contribution to professional and academic discourse surrounding computational design and digital fabrication, as well as serve to further application and advancement in real-world construction scenarios while expanding the field’s awareness of emerging technologies.

As a recent addition to the LINE team at HKS, Ilia has a keen interest in the reciprocity between poetics of architectural space and the technicality in sustainability and building technology. After receiving his second master’s degree at Harvard Graduate School of Design in sustainability, his focus has been on the relationship between computationally driven environmental design and the discourse of architecture as a production of knowledge. His interest in architecture is rooted in optimization, simulation technology, computational design methods, material tectonics, history and theory and the semiotics of representation and drawing. After joining HKS LINE, he has been able to implement and extend his knowledge of computational optimization in a variety of projects spanning a range of scales that include detailed façade articulation to macro level planning explorations.

Natalie Terrill launched her career as a Sustainability Analyst at Steven Winter Associates in 2005 after earning her Bachelor of Architecture from Iowa State University. Prior to joining The Beck Group, she was a Senior Associate at Vidaris, Inc., where she served as a group manager and provided technical leadership. Natalie’s project management helps create innovative solutions and drive behavior change by translating complex technical issues for diverse stakeholders across the built environment, real estate, and construction sectors. Natalie has achieved over 60 LEED Certifications totaling 15 million square feet of built space under multiple rating systems. Her experience spans the globe with cross-functional project teams from the UAE, France, Mexico, and Turkey.

Her environmental issues management covers land use, water use, waste diversion, air quality, sustainably sourced materials, and energy efficiency. Natalie has been a LEED AP and an AIA Associate since 2006. As part of the USGBC LEED Implementation Advisory Committee, she co-developed the LEED v4 Rating System.

Brian is passionate about elevating architecture and design for our clients and in our communities. As Chief Design Officer, he leads the design vision for our firm and the execution of plans, assuring design continuity and the highest quality standards on all Beck’s projects.

In his over 20 year career at Beck, Brian has designed some of our most notable projects. These include Hunt Oil Company Headquarters in Dallas, Duke University’s Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, Omni Barton Creek Resort and RiverSouth Austin.

Brian brings a deep understanding of technology and Beck’s integrated process to his role. He was a founding member of Studio I, Beck’s first integrated studio.

As a National Director of Design and a Principal of Beck, Michael focuses on providing an optimal experience for the people who will use the spaces Beck designs and builds. Michael works collaboratively with project teams in various market sectors, including interiors, office, mixed-use, retail, hospitality, and entertainment. Michael received his Masters’s Degree from The University of Texas in Arlington in 94. His career includes working as a senior designer at RTKL, HOK, and Laguarda. Low before joining Beck in 2007.

Andy Kennedy is a licensed Architect in Austin Texas with 18 years of industry experience. He was worked on a wide variety of project types including Cultural, Commercial Office, Higher Ed, Medical, Retail, Restaurant, and International Design Competitions while at Beck’s Denver Office. Since moving to Austin he has had the opportunity to continue working on large Commercial Office, Mixed-Use, Hospitality, Urban Residential, Faith, and Cultural Projects. Andy is passionate about excellent design in all forms whether it be print, product, or architecture and believe that design adds value to peoples everyday lives and experiences. As Architects we have the opportunity to effect the fabric of the city and improve it, while expressing our point of view.