Agenda

Dionne Darling

VP of Brand Partnerships

The Architect’s Newspaper

Dionne Darling has been with The A|N Media Group for over six years. As VP of Brand Partnerships and Associate Publisher, she manages A|N’s Texas headquarters and handles accounts in the West, Southwest and Europe territories. Dionne has over 28 years of direct B2B sales, management and business development experience.

Michelle Old

Partner & Design Director

Kirksey Architecture

Michelle Old is a registered Texas architect with over 15 years of experience that designs innovative buildings that excel in beauty and high performance. She is a partner and lead designer at Kirksey Architecture. Several of her projects have won design awards including the San Jacinto College Anderson Ball building that won national recognition for Wood in Schools in 2023. She has shared at several conferences on different topics including the impact of mass timber structures as well as lessons learned. In 2023 she was named Building Design + Construction 40 under 40 Honoree.

Gary Machicek

Partner & Managing Director of Design

Kirksey Architecture

Gary Machicek, AIA

Throughout Gary’s career, he has worked on award-winning projects in Germany, Nepal, New York, and Texas. However, he has always prioritized giving back to his community and worked hard to give back to Houston through design, industry involvement, and mentorship. As the Managing Director of Design, Gary is involved in every aspect of design at Kirksey, and his leadership on the Design studio helps shape the tenets of our firm’s design approach. Gary cites his greatest accomplishment as educating and inspiring future architects. In addition to practicing architecture, Gary has been a professor at the University of Houston and a visiting juror at several other institutions.

Mark Motonaga

Partner & Creative Director

RIOS

Mark Motonaga joined RIOS in 2009. His extensive experience architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design enable him to manage complex projects and has made him a leading voice in the design community for creating memorable experiences. His grasp of creative culture and placemaking has led him to speak at such events as the Fast Company Innovation Festival to share his insights into the qualities that make great spaces succeed. His interest is in understanding the underlying cultural currents of a site to create bold, distinct designs that reveal the story that defines a place. His trans-disciplinary approach allows him to integrate both architecture and landscape architecture in design, as well as understand the complexity and inter-related nature of both practices.

Matt Ragan

Managing Director of Repositionings

Rebees

Matt Ragan is Rebees’ Managing Director of Repositionings. After earning History and Business degrees from the University of Kansas, Matt tried his hand at acting (where he found just enough success to still be talking about it) before finding his true calling in the world of hospitality and food and beverage. Matt would go on to run and develop multiple upscale restaurants in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas prior to joining Rebees in 2019. Outside of work, Matt enjoys brewing beer, researching current trends in the attempts to reconcile quantum physics and general relativity, and passionately arguing with friends and colleagues about matters large and small.

Gary Machicek

Partner & Managing Director of Design

Kirksey Architecture

Gary Machicek, AIA

Throughout Gary’s career, he has worked on award-winning projects in Germany, Nepal, New York, and Texas. However, he has always prioritized giving back to his community and worked hard to give back to Houston through design, industry involvement, and mentorship. As the Managing Director of Design, Gary is involved in every aspect of design at Kirksey, and his leadership on the Design studio helps shape the tenets of our firm’s design approach. Gary cites his greatest accomplishment as educating and inspiring future architects. In addition to practicing architecture, Gary has been a professor at the University of Houston and a visiting juror at several other institutions.

Michelle Old

Partner & Design Director

Kirksey Architecture

Michelle Old is a registered Texas architect with over 15 years of experience that designs innovative buildings that excel in beauty and high performance. She is a partner and lead designer at Kirksey Architecture. Several of her projects have won design awards including the San Jacinto College Anderson Ball building that won national recognition for Wood in Schools in 2023. She has shared at several conferences on different topics including the impact of mass timber structures as well as lessons learned. In 2023 she was named Building Design + Construction 40 under 40 Honoree.

Wes Good

President, Chief Executive Officer

Kirksey Architecture

Wes Good, AIA

Wes is responsible for facilitating the firm’s advancement and strategic direction. He began his career as a designer at Kirksey in 1990, after graduating from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Environmental Design and a Master of Architecture. In 2001, he was awarded the AIA Houston Ben Brewer Young Architect Award. Over his 30-year career at Kirksey, he has worked on every higher education project in the firm’s portfolio and is an expert in campus planning and student living facilities. He maintains considerable involvement in collegiate and community projects.

Michelle Murray

Architectural Sales Representative

SAFTI First

Michelle Murray has over 15 years of experience in the architectural glazing industry. As the Architectural Sales Representative at SAFTI FIRST®, she brings her extensive knowledge and expertise of fire rated glazing systems and fenestration in general when working closely with architects, specifiers, glazing contractors and code officials. Michelle is a dynamic presenter and speaker who has been delivering our AIA-registered presentation to various architecture firms, AIA local chapters, CSI local chapters, and at other architectural and glazing industry events.

Marc Angelillo

Director of Architectural Systems

Gate Precast

Prior to joining GATE Precast, Marc served as an Outside Sales Engineer for nine years serving the industrial market, oil & gas, chemical, aggregates, cement manufacturing and power industries. His sales management experience is invaluable in his current role working with architects, contractors and owners in the early stages of design.
Education: University at Albany, Bachelor of Arts: Mathematics (2006)

Gary Machicek

Partner & Managing Director of Design

Kirksey Architecture

Gary Machicek, AIA

Throughout Gary’s career, he has worked on award-winning projects in Germany, Nepal, New York, and Texas. However, he has always prioritized giving back to his community and worked hard to give back to Houston through design, industry involvement, and mentorship. As the Managing Director of Design, Gary is involved in every aspect of design at Kirksey, and his leadership on the Design studio helps shape the tenets of our firm’s design approach. Gary cites his greatest accomplishment as educating and inspiring future architects. In addition to practicing architecture, Gary has been a professor at the University of Houston and a visiting juror at several other institutions.

Ivan Devora

Senior Design Professional

HOK

As a Senior Design Professional and Associate at HOK, Ivan works closely with clients to develop successful solutions. His attention to detail provides him with the leverage to deliver projects that are on time and well crafted. Ivan provides his team with strong confidence in his abilities, while remaining flexible to changing project circumstances.

Acho Azuike

Chief Operating Officer

DC Partners

Mr. Azuike is the Chief Operating Officer at DC Partners where he oversees all development, acquisition, and management activity. He joined DC Partners in 2009 and has helped lead product type and market area expansion by spearheading its first multifamily and hotel development in San Antonio, TX and a 6-acre mixed-use development in Houston, TX. With over 16 years of experience in the real estate industry, Azuike also leads investment activities including compliance with all EB-5 Program requirements and fundraising. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in economics and received an MBA from Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business. Mr. Azuike currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at University of Houston’s Bauer Graduate School of Business where he teaches real estate development. 

Bob Carnegie

Principal | Senior Project Manager

HOK

Bob previously served as owner and President of a real estate development and project management firm based in Houston. He has over 40 years of experience working in project management in Texas and around the United States. As a Senior Project Manager at HOK, his experience includes corporate, commercial, mixed use, government and hospitality, and his specialty is high rise and highly complex design and development. Many of his projects are from repeat clients including commercial office, mixed use and hospitality developers, government agencies and corporations. Bob’s strength is his ability to manage complex project delivery from beginning to end, from preliminary site selection and feasibility, budget and schedule tracking, design development and documentation, scheduling and management, construction administration, through commissioning and occupancy.

Gary Machicek

Partner & Managing Director of Design

Kirksey Architecture

Gary Machicek, AIA

Throughout Gary’s career, he has worked on award-winning projects in Germany, Nepal, New York, and Texas. However, he has always prioritized giving back to his community and worked hard to give back to Houston through design, industry involvement, and mentorship. As the Managing Director of Design, Gary is involved in every aspect of design at Kirksey, and his leadership on the Design studio helps shape the tenets of our firm’s design approach. Gary cites his greatest accomplishment as educating and inspiring future architects. In addition to practicing architecture, Gary has been a professor at the University of Houston and a visiting juror at several other institutions.

Hugh Lowry

Technical Sales & Engineering Manager

Elemex

Hugh Lowry is Technical Sales & Engineering Manager for Elemex. He has a passion for BIPV. After his undergraduate at Queen’s, Hugh worked in the solar industry, specifically ground-mount utility projects. Taking a year to pursue an M.Eng at Western University was followed by Hugh’s current role, where he has applied his solar knowledge to facades.

Erin Lindsay

Director of Architectural Business Development

CRL

Erin has spent the past twenty-two years representing manufacturers within the architectural community. Twelve of the most recent have been in Los Angeles with an emphasis in façade materials. Erin joined C.R. Laurence two years ago to build a team of dedicated architectural specialists who assist the design community with specifying systems and components related to glazing applications.

John Penta

VP of Facades Business Development

GV Facades

John Penta is a VP of Facades Business Development at GV Facades Group. GV Facades is a leading industrial fabricator, and supplier of porcelain façade panels in the USA. John pulls together his porcelain façade technical expertise while facilitating all aspects of project assistance and installation management. He has provided invaluable knowledge for over 33 years to architects and developers by supporting their façade design intent, aesthetics, and façade functionally. His portfolio includes numerous high-rise buildings, and airport façade projects throughout the USA and Canada.

Michelle Old

Partner & Design Director

Kirksey Architecture

Michelle Old is a registered Texas architect with over 15 years of experience that designs innovative buildings that excel in beauty and high performance. She is a partner and lead designer at Kirksey Architecture. Several of her projects have won design awards including the San Jacinto College Anderson Ball building that won national recognition for Wood in Schools in 2023. She has shared at several conferences on different topics including the impact of mass timber structures as well as lessons learned. In 2023 she was named Building Design + Construction 40 under 40 Honoree.

Ahmed K. Ali

Associate Professor of Architecture

Texas A&M University

Dr. Ahmed K. Ali is the Harold Adams endowed professor of architecture and the director of the award-wining Resource-Based Design Research Lab (RBDR/Lab) at Texas A&M University. Dr. Ali’s research and scholarship investigate the relationship between the architecture of waste, circular economy, and industrial symbiosis. He is well-known as “the Wasteman” for his patent designs and his incredible ability to transform industrial waste streams into valuable building products and systems. Dr. Ali’s work has been cited in numerous prestigious press including the Steven Holl Foundation’s critical research archive, William Zahner’s Steel Surfaces book by Wiley, General Motors Green, Living Architecture Monitor, and Texas Architect Magazine

Mili Kyropoulou

Assistant Professor

University of Houston

Mili Kyropoulou is an Assistant Professor at the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design at the University of Houston and the founder and director of the Building Analytics and Sustainable Environments (BASE) Lab. She holds an MSc in Sustainable Environmental Design from the AA (Architectural Association) in London and is a RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Chartered Architect and LEED AP. As an international architect, educator, and researcher, her work manifests through climate-based, human-centric design using experiments and building performance simulations. With over 15 years of experience in architecture, Mili has been involved in built projects or proposals in the US, Europe, the UK, Africa, Latin America, Russia, the Middle East, and East Asia. She serves on expert organizations such as IBPSA (International Building Performance Simulation Association) and IES (Illuminating Engineering Society), publishing in several places such as PLEA, Façade Tectonics, eCAADe, and SimAUD.

Michelle Old

Partner & Design Director

Kirksey Architecture

Michelle Old is a registered Texas architect with over 15 years of experience that designs innovative buildings that excel in beauty and high performance. She is a partner and lead designer at Kirksey Architecture. Several of her projects have won design awards including the San Jacinto College Anderson Ball building that won national recognition for Wood in Schools in 2023. She has shared at several conferences on different topics including the impact of mass timber structures as well as lessons learned. In 2023 she was named Building Design + Construction 40 under 40 Honoree.

Martin Voelkle

Partner

Bjarke Ingels Group

Martin Voelkle is a Partner at BIG who focuses on architecture, sustainable construction and technology. Martin has been leading BIG’s collaboration with ICON Build, a developer of advanced construction technologies, including 3D-printed buildings, which are produced with less waste and in a more expedited manner than typical construction methods. Collaborations with ICON have included affordable housing communities, market rate residential, hospitality and event spaces, and NASA’s Project Olympus – a research base that will be the first lunar surface construction on another planetary body. Martin is also leading BIG’s transportation portfolio with the Zurich International Airport Dock A in Switzerland – a design that celebrates the passenger experience and ease of movement by way of its flexible framework constructed of renewable timber, the largest of its kind – and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Central, a reconsideration of the BQE transit corridor through Brooklyn with a focus on accessibility, integration with growing neighborhoods and an incorporated public realm. Martin’s work varies from cultural and infrastructural to residential and commercial, including the Shenzhen Energy Mansion HQ in China; Gowanus active community hub and residence in New York; and the Qianhai Prisma Towers in Shenzhen, China, designed to be a landmark gateway integrated thoughtfully with the existing skyline and public realm. Martin’s design interest and expertise expands to the urban scale with the development of King’s Cross Google HQ in London and Telosa, the vision for a new city in America that sets a global standard for urban planning, expands human potential and becomes a blueprint for future generations and future urban environments. Martin began working at BIG Copenhagen in 2010; he helped build the BIG New York office in 2012; and in 2016 he led the enterprise of BIG’s London office before returning to BIG New York, where he is currently based

Ben Llana

Vice President – Development

Skanska

Ben Llana serves as Vice President of Development for Skanska USA Commercial Development’s Houston region.

Since joining Skanska in 2013, Ben has contributed to several of the company’s notable large-scale projects, including Bank of America tower and the development of 1550 on The Green.

Prior to joining Skanska Ben oversaw the land development of ExxonMobil’s 4 million-square foot Corporate Campus in Spring, Texas.

Ben holds a Master’s in Design Studies from Harvard University and bachelor’s in Architecture and Architectural Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He currently serves on the Houston Downtown Management District Board.

Michelle Old

Partner & Design Director

Kirksey Architecture

Michelle Old is a registered Texas architect with over 15 years of experience that designs innovative buildings that excel in beauty and high performance. She is a partner and lead designer at Kirksey Architecture. Several of her projects have won design awards including the San Jacinto College Anderson Ball building that won national recognition for Wood in Schools in 2023. She has shared at several conferences on different topics including the impact of mass timber structures as well as lessons learned. In 2023 she was named Building Design + Construction 40 under 40 Honoree.

Dionne Darling

VP of Brand Partnerships

The Architect’s Newspaper

Dionne Darling has been with The A|N Media Group for over six years. As VP of Brand Partnerships and Associate Publisher, she manages A|N’s Texas headquarters and handles accounts in the West, Southwest and Europe territories. Dionne has over 28 years of direct B2B sales, management and business development experience.

Michelle Old

Partner & Design Director

Kirksey Architecture

Michelle Old is a registered Texas architect with over 15 years of experience that designs innovative buildings that excel in beauty and high performance. She is a partner and lead designer at Kirksey Architecture. Several of her projects have won design awards including the San Jacinto College Anderson Ball building that won national recognition for Wood in Schools in 2023. She has shared at several conferences on different topics including the impact of mass timber structures as well as lessons learned. In 2023 she was named Building Design + Construction 40 under 40 Honoree.

Gary Machicek

Partner & Managing Director of Design

Kirksey Architecture

Gary Machicek, AIA

Throughout Gary’s career, he has worked on award-winning projects in Germany, Nepal, New York, and Texas. However, he has always prioritized giving back to his community and worked hard to give back to Houston through design, industry involvement, and mentorship. As the Managing Director of Design, Gary is involved in every aspect of design at Kirksey, and his leadership on the Design studio helps shape the tenets of our firm’s design approach. Gary cites his greatest accomplishment as educating and inspiring future architects. In addition to practicing architecture, Gary has been a professor at the University of Houston and a visiting juror at several other institutions.