Chicago

Travis Soberg

Goettsch Partners

Travis Soberg is a principal at Goettsch Partners, as well as the firm’s director of sustainable design. He joined GP in 1998 and has worked on some of the firm’s most prominent projects. With the growth and expansion of the firm’s international work, Travis has played a pivotal role in leading the technical design direction on large-scale office, hotel and mixed-use projects, with a primary focus on supertall towers. Travis is a member of the AIA and a LEED Accredited Professional. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Penn State University.

Philip Castillo

JAHN/ Studio

Philip Castillo, FAIA brings over 30 years experience, working on a variety of building types, including the more complex projects the practice has been engaged with. As Managing Director he works in every capacity of a project and is responsible for planning, design, management and systems integration ensuring that the design intent is maintained throughout the process. His resume includes projects on a global scale such as Sony Center Berlin, The Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, Shanghai New International Expo Centre, Tokyo Station Yaesu Development in Japan and 1000M in Chicago as well as smaller projects that foster innovation like the Harold and Margo Schiff Residences in Chicago and a system of Urban Furniture for the JC Decaux Company. Philip’s background allows him a unique perspective on buildings with complex programs and systems and the thorough understanding of how a project’s components and details are synthesized within the design concept.

Philip was inducted into College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in 2010. Speaking engagements have included World Conferences for the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat in Melbourne, Australia in 2001 and Mumbai, India in 2010.

Born in 1952 in Highland Park, Illinois, Philip studied architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. He began his association with JAHN in 1978.

Matt Gamache

Valerio Dewalt Train

AIA, LEED AP

Viewing every task as a puzzle to be solved, Matt’s work is dedicated to thinking and rethinking any challenge. Active with VDT’s Collaborative Design Workshop, he believes that good design is iterative, inquisitive, and gutsy. As a Principal and design leader at Valerio Dewalt Train, he shaped the design of numerous tech campuses, including Google, VMware, and Adobe. He led a project for Juniper Networks that received an AIA Chicago Interiors Honor Award and a Best of Year Award from Interiors Magazine. He is passionate about serving disinvested communities, successfully winning design competitions in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood to bring affordable housing, and catalytic design to spark investment.

Matt bikes to work and carries a sketchbook everywhere. He’s an art lover, nature enthusiast, urbanist and dad of three. His greatest joy is the opportunity to share his design talents with the City he loves.

Juan Gabriel Moreno

JGMA

Jennifer Suerth

Pepper Construction Group

As Senior Vice President of Virtual Construction, MEP and Operations Technology, Jen provides strategic direction for Pepper Construction in these areas and serves as a key advisor to project teams on constructability and implementation strategies throughout the early stages of project design through construction and facility management. With more than 16 years of experience in architecture, engineering and construction, Jen leads teams to think creatively and solve problems for our clients in ways that are not expected, incorporating technology and virtual construction tools in to how we deliver work. She is a forward-thinking industry-recognized innovator, continuing to work to pilot new technologies and leverage tools in new ways. Jen helps deliver a consistent experience for clients, aligning technology with the firm’s operational needs from the office to the field. This includes setting standards across all locations, improving workflows and ensuring technology is consistently implemented and teams are thoroughly trained.

Jen’s career spans award-winning structural engineering projects, leading our industry to adopt 3D design and construction practices while serving as one of the foremost thought leaders, conference speakers and interviewees on the use of virtual construction technology to deliver better buildings more efficiently. She has been recognized among Crain’s Notable Women in Stem, Autodesk Construction Champions, BD+C’s 40 Under 40, Builtworlds Top 50 Technology Adoptions Leaders, Women in Construction by Constructech Magazine, Chicago Building Congress Future Leaders and ENR Midwest’s Top 20 Under 40.

Jen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Studies and a Master of Architecture, Structures, both from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Samra Pecanin

JGMA

Samra is a senior project designer for JGMA. She holds an M. Arch from UIC, and spent time studying abroad in Berlin, Germany. As being a Chicago-native, Samra is passionate about how architecture can positively impact communities within the city. Her work at JGMA includes the design for Esperanza Health Center, as well as her current work for Humboldt Park Health Wellness Center.

Tom Daly

Valerio Dewalt Train

AIA, LEED AP

Tom specializes in simplifying complex problems and building consensus toward solutions. He is a firm leader in project management, technical advising, and in the use of Integrated Product Delivery methods. He has led the implementation of advanced rendering technologies across Valerio Dewalt Train, and is the co-founder of the firm’s Collaborative Design Workshop. His wide-ranging experience includes the new urban mid-rise residences and transformative office building renovations at 25 W. Main in Madison, Wisconsin, the urban residences Seven27, and restaurants L’etoile and Graze. In addition to sailing and playing soccer, he appreciates photography and spending time with his family.

Brian Abell

Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects

Brian Abell joined Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects (TWBTA) in 2008. Since then he has managed and been an essential project team member on some of TWBTA’s most complex campus projects including the Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago, the Hood Museum at Dartmouth College, the Banyan Park Campus of TATA Consultancy Services in Mumbai, India, and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. Currently Brian is one of the project team leaders for the 19-acre campus of the Obama Presidential Center. Among other responsibilities Brian has led the design and implementation of the project’s envelope from concept through construction. Prior to joining TWBTA, Brian worked at Heintges & Associates as a Building Façade Specialist, working on a range of institutional projects including the Museum of Arts & Design, Atlantic Terminal, and the Brooklyn Botanical Garden Visitor Center.

Jennifer Dempsey

Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects

Jennifer Dempsey joined Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects (TWBTA) in 2017. She has played a key role on TWBTA’s campus projects including the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, which was completed in 2019. Currently Jennifer is one of the project team leaders for the 19-acre campus of the Obama Presidential Center. Among other responsibilities Jennifer has led the coordination of the Museum Tower structure from early design through construction. Before joining TWBTA, Jennifer was a project manager at GLUCK+, a New York City design-build firm, where she managed several residential projects through both design and construction phases.

Dan Spore

JGMA

Daniel Spore brings with him ten years of applied architectural experience. While Daniel’s passion for architecture is rooted in clever design solutions, he is an expert in developing those initial concepts into completed structures. He has been a working manager through all phases of project delivery, from pre design through construction. In his years of experience he has been involved in various civic, commercial, educational, healthcare, laboratory, and recreational project types. Daniel has worked on a diverse portfolio of buildings throughout the united states and has been a contributing designer on many international design proposals.

Lucas Tryggestad

Skidmore Owings & Merrill

Interested in the craft of architecture and the applications of digital design, Lucas Tryggestad specializes in designing and realizing technically complex building systems. A native of Illinois, Lucas draws upon his Midwestern roots, as well as a global portfolio spanning five continents, to apply his contextual knowledge to projects both locally and abroad.

His project work includes 100 Mount Street, an office tower that is efficiently designed to minimize the carbon impact of construction, and AMIE 1.0, a research partnership between SOM and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory exploring energy efficiency and the applications of 3D printing.

Paulina Szpiech

BuroHappold

Paulina Szpiech is an Associate Principal with BuroHappold and leads the firm’s Midwest Facade Consultancy efforts. With a creative and multidisciplinary approach, Paulina focuses on solutions which meet architect’s and client’s goals. Recognizing the impact façade systems carry in lowering buildings’ embodied and operational carbon, she believes that implementing sustainability goals is a critical parameter throughout all design stages. Her portfolio of work includes national and international projects within the higher education, cultural, residential and commercial sectors. Paulina is also an Adjunct Professor at Illinois Institute of Technology where she teaches a facades-focused course