Agenda

Darling is CEO, creative director, and co-founder of The Architect’s Newspaper, celebrating its 20th year. The A|N media company consists of print and digital publications covering architecture and design news, as well as the Facades+ and TECH+ conferences. As A|N’s publisher, Darling won the AIA National Collaboration Award, Grassroots Preservation Award, and ASLA NY’s President’s Award. She began her publishing career as director of print production for The Gap’s European markets. She holds a BS from The University of Texas at Austin.

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.

Blake Middleton FAIA LEED AP is a Partner at Handel Architects LLP. His work includes a variety of large-scale projects that have broken new ground in approaches to sustainable design and urban living. Expanding on the firm’s experience at Cornell Tech, Blake is overseeing the design of two other precedent-setting Passive House projects: 115 Winthrop Square, a hybrid building featuring over 700,000 SF of high-performance office use in Boston’s Financial District; and in East Harlem, Sendero Verde, a 760,000 SF mixed-use complex including a high school, health center, community services partners, coupled with 650 100% affordable apartments. The diversity of Blake’s previous work includes a 2.4 million SF, four building complex that dramatically revitalized Boston’s Theater District; academic and performance buildings for The Boston Conservatory; the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Natatorium and Ice Rink in New York; and the renovation of the historic Santa Barbara Bowl Amphitheater in Santa Barbara, California.

Walcott oversees marketing, communications, branding, and product management, for YKK AP America’s commercial facades and residential businesses; she also supports communications for Erie Architectural Products group. Walcott brings nearly 20 years of B2B marketing experience with manufacturing companies over a variety of industries. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Syracuse University and earned her M.B.A. at Wichita State University; she also served in the armed forces as a U.S. Air Force officer.

As the leader of KPF’s institutional practice, Jill brings over 40 years of experience to the planning and design of large and complex projects in the US and around the world. Her local portfolio includes award-winning healthcare, research, and academic facilities, along with major infrastructure work.

Jill is extremely active in the design and development industry in New York City. As President of AIA New York in 2013, Jill created the Global Cities/Global Practice exhibition and spearheaded the Post-Sandy Initiative and the Blueprint for the Future of the City, establishing a framework for the profession to address challenges related to climate change. She is a Board Member of the Regional Plan Association and the New York Building Congress, and Planning Chair for the Municipal Art Society. Jill is also on the External Advisory Board of Cornell’s Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future. In 2019, Jill was appointed to the New York City Climate Advisory Board to advise city leaders on achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 through Local Law 97, an unprecedented commitment to increase the sustainability of buildings and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Marlon Blackwell, FAIA, is a practicing architect in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and serves as the E. Fay Jones Distinguished Professor at the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas. Work produced in his professional office, Marlon Blackwell Architects (MBA), has received national and international recognition with significant publication in books, architectural journals and magazines and more than 160 design awards. Blackwell is the recipient of the 2020 AIA Gold Medal, the Institute’s highest honor, which recognizes those whose work has had an enduring impact on the theory and practice of architecture. e isHe He is a lifetime member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. MBA received the 2016 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award in Architecture and ranked #1 in Design as part of the 2016 Architect 50. Marlon was a 2019 William A. Bernoudy Architect in Residence at the American Academy in Rome, inducted into the National Academy of Design in 2018, and selected as a United States Artists Ford Fellow in 2014. He received the E. Fay Jones Gold Medal from the Arkansas AIA in 2017 and the 2012 Architecture Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. A monograph of his early work, “An Architecture of the Ozarks: The Works of Marlon Blackwell”, was published in 2005 by Princeton Architectural Press, who will also publish a new monograph titled “Radical Practice” to be released in Fall 2022.

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.

Lisa leads Eckersley O’Callaghan’s West Coast offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles. She joined EOC in 2013 to support the practice’s emerging facade engineering group in London and after playing a significant role in the group’s exceptional growth, Lisa has been responsible for the expansion of EOC’s West Coast presence.

Lisa directs EOC’s R&D efforts, focusing on innovative glass designs and technology.

She remains heavily involved in academia particularly with the Facade Research Group at TU Delft where she pursued her doctoral research and has built strong links between research and industry.

Sara Gonzalez joined Gilsanz Murray Steficek’s Building Envelope Consulting Group in 2017. She has an architectural background and specializes in wall panels, curtain wall and window consulting, including involvement in all phases of design and construction. Sara has worked on a wide range of projects, both new construction and renovation with emphasis in the energy code compliance.
Her recent projects include the panelized precast facades for 130 William Street in the Financial District and 11 Hoyt Street in Downtown Brooklyn, the window wall at 355 Exterior Street in the Bronx and the curtain wall facade at Riu Hotel in Times Square. Sara’s recladding and restoration projects include 11 Penn Plaza, 550 Washington Street, 498 Seventh Avenue and 875 Fifth Avenue, each in Manhattan.

Marc McQuade is Associate Principal and co-heads the New York studio overseeing projects in North & South America and the Caribbean. Since joining the firm in 2010, he has been crucial to the growth of the US office having led numerous cultural, civic, and commercial projects.

Marc was responsible for the Sugar Hill Mixed-Use Development in Harlem, a LEED silver low-income housing project that challenges the traditional housing typology and accommodates the Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling and a preschool. He also led the design of the interior spaces of the Smithsonian National Museum for African American History and Culture (2016), a LEED gold accredited building.

Blake Middleton FAIA LEED AP is a Partner at Handel Architects LLP. His work includes a variety of large-scale projects that have broken new ground in approaches to sustainable design and urban living. Expanding on the firm’s experience at Cornell Tech, Blake is overseeing the design of two other precedent-setting Passive House projects: 115 Winthrop Square, a hybrid building featuring over 700,000 SF of high-performance office use in Boston’s Financial District; and in East Harlem, Sendero Verde, a 760,000 SF mixed-use complex including a high school, health center, community services partners, coupled with 650 100% affordable apartments. The diversity of Blake’s previous work includes a 2.4 million SF, four building complex that dramatically revitalized Boston’s Theater District; academic and performance buildings for The Boston Conservatory; the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Natatorium and Ice Rink in New York; and the renovation of the historic Santa Barbara Bowl Amphitheater in Santa Barbara, California.

Since joining Erie in 2016, Whittington injects a blend of technical expertise and a passion for design into the firm. After graduating with a Bachelor of Industrial Design from Carleton University, he started as a 3D product designer with Erie where he developed a technical knowledgebase of facade systems. He advanced his career into Sales and Marketing, where he engages high-profile clients and partners to conceptualize and develop effective facade solutions.

Stephen Dayton is a founding member of Thomas Phifer and Partners, having joined at its inception in 1997. He has been a partner since 2004. He has been responsible for the design and management of such diverse projects as the United States Courthouse, Salt Lake City, Utah, office tower designs in Washington, DC and Boston, a prototype modular office building for Steelcase Furniture, the renovation of courtrooms for the United States Bankruptcy Court in Phoenix, Arizona, and a 6,000-square-foot residence in the Hudson River Valley.

He is currently engaged in the design of two academic buildings at Indiana University Bloomington and the construction administration of the TR Warszawa Theatre in Warsaw, Poland. He also recently oversaw the design and construction of a 34-story office tower in San Francisco, California. As a partner, he is involved in all aspects of the practice, including conceptual design, detail development, project team management, consultant coordination, client communication, and construction administration. His professional focus is on creatively solving and managing complex projects, such as Salt Lake City Courthouse.

Prior to Thomas Phifer and Partners, Mr. Dayton was a Senior Associate at Richard Meier & Partners, serving as a project architect and designer on several projects, including the United States Courthouse in Phoenix, Arizona, a master plan and office tower for Compaq Computer in Houston, and the United States Courthouse in Islip, New York. Previous to Richard Meier & Partners, Mr. Dayton was a designer at Maki and Associates in Tokyo, Japan.

Louis has been with AGNORA since its’ early days and has played an instrumental role in the development and success of the company. As Senior Technical Specialist, he brings a unique mix of international experiences in float manufacturing, high performance vacuum coatings, large building glazing, and high-end glass fabrication. Louis consider architecture as the purest form of art and he loves glass. He likes to explore the limits of materials and process to come with innovative solutions that can be build easily. Most ambitious projects include More London Plot 1 and Plot 6; Mid City Place, London UK; Tour Granite, Paris FR; Sperone Westwater Gallery, New York USA, QMA and Onassis Center staircases.

Bob is the Sales Director of Tianjin Northglass for North America, the leading fabricator of specialty and oversized architectural glass for the global construction industry.
Bob has many years of experience working with Quality Control department. Bob was the project manager for Apple Park project in Cupertino, supporting the design team on the glass selection for Apple’s new headquarters. In 2015, Bob came to the US to make more connections with architects and support their designs of future projects with the innovation and capabilities that Northglass has to offer.

Manuel Schnüpke is responsible for Pohl sales activities in North America with strong focus on New York City. Manuel joined Pohl in 2016 and he consults with architects, developers, and contractors throughout the design development stages regarding suitable façade systems, materials and surface finishes. Pohl is an international specialist for standard and custom metal facades and has realized a number of landmark projects worldwide over the last 150 years.

Alborz Razavi is the Chief Design Officer of Cladify/Mitrex. He is proud to be part of an organization where the vision is to drive automation and efficiencies and meet the needs of architects, property developers, and building owners with top-quality design, innovative product development, and world-class manufacturing of sustainable construction materials.

Alborz’s passion is to design and innovate building solutions, systems, and materials that aim for better buildings and a brighter future.

Having earned his B.Sc. of Architectural Science from Ryerson University in Toronto, he considers himself a true believer of the ideology that defines architecture as the ideal mix of two passions: protecting the environment and effecting positive change.

Sophie Aliece Hollis is the Associate Market Editor of The Architect’s Newspaper. She leads AN’s building product coverage, manages the “Best of” awards programs, and contributes to AN Interior. Before joining The Architect’s Newspaper, Sophie Aliece worked on the editorial team at Texas Architect Magazine in Austin, where she also graduated from the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture with a minor in Journalism.

Elaine Molinar is an architect and Managing Partner of Snøhetta’s US practice, a 100-person interdisciplinary design studio which takes an integrative approach to architecture, landscape, and interior design.

Elaine started her career as one of the designers of the Alexandria Library, the competition-winning project which launched Snøhetta’s practice over 30 years ago. Since then she’s lead many of the firm’s significant cultural projects and co-founded the New York office in 2005.

A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, Elaine is a 2019 recipient of the Texas Medal of Arts and serves on the board of trustees of the Van Alen Institute as well as the Advisory boards of the University of Texas School of Architecture, The Penn State School of Architecture, and the online editorial platform, Madame Architect.

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.

Andrew Brown is a senior architect at Marvel with a special focus on adaptive reuse and urban redevelopment projects. Andrew served as project architect on the recently completed historic preservation and adaptive reuse of the Battery Maritime Building, working full-time from a site office to oversee all daily construction activities. He is currently spearheading the restoration of the Orchard Beach Pavilion, an historic 1930s-era bathhouse located in Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx. Andrew leads Marvel’s high school education outreach and university student internship programs. He joined the firm in 2018 following several years of work on public spaces around the United States at James Corner Field Operations. Andrew holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Waterloo, and a Masters of Architecture from McGill University.

Mark is a partner at COOKFOX and has spent his career focused on sustainable architecture. He believes that the best design helps connect people to nature, and that every project should be viewed through that lens.

Mark joined the COOKFOX studio in 2003 and leads the practice in managing the design of large-scale mixed-use urban projects. Among his work is One Bryant Park, the first LEED Platinum Skyscraper. He served as Project Director for City Point in Downtown Brooklyn, which received the Public Design Commission Annual Award for Excellence in Design and the Brooklyn Building Award for Retail (2013). He is currently the Partner-in-Charge for the St. John’s Terminal project spanning two city blocks on the west side of Manhattan.

Marguerite joined COOKFOX in 2015 and has worked on a wide range of projects including large commercial offices, multi-residential and high-end residential projects, as well as various competitions. For the last three years she has worked on St. John’s Terminal. The project team has re-imagined this historic infrastructure as part of the next generation of high-performance and biophilic workplaces. Her role has focused on developing both the massing and the facades of the building.

Pat Arnett joined Silman in 1999 and has been a Principal of the firm since 2017. As a studio leader, he has actively designed and managed a diverse range of adaptive reuse, renovation, and new construction projects. He frequently works with cultural institutions, universities, public agencies, developers, non profits, and he collaborates with artists on designs for temporary and permanent installations.

Since 2011, Pat has been a studio consultant for the Rice School of Architecture, and he has been an adjunct professor at Columbia University since 2013. He is currently a professional mentor for the Engineers without Borders Manhattan College chapter and was formerly the mentor for Princeton University. As a mentor for the organization, he has worked with students on projects located in Ghana, Morocco, Cameroon, and Puerto Rico.

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.

Joshua Ramus, founder and principal, leads REX’s think-tank of diverse professionals and all the firm’s projects. In 2016, Joshua was the first American recipient of the Marcus Prize, the $100,000 biennial, international architecture award conferred by the Marcus Corporation Foundation and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He has also been credited as one of the “5 greatest architects under 50” by The Huffington Post, one of the world’s most influential young architects by Wallpaper*, one of the twenty most influential players in design by Fast Company, listed among “The 20 Essential Young Architects” by ICON magazine, and featured as one of the “Best and Brightest” by Esquire. In 2020, Joshua was honored by the experimental performance company STREB with their Action Maverick Award.

Joshua Ramus has been the Eero Saarinen Visiting Professor at Yale University and the Cullinan Visiting Professor at Rice University, and a visiting professor at Columbia University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Syracuse University. An early member of the TED Brain Trust, Joshua shared REX’s design methodologies at the TED2006 and TEDxSMU conferences, and lectures frequently at universities, cultural institutions, and symposiums around the world. Joshua holds a Master of Architecture from Harvard University, where he earned the inaugural Araldo Cossutta Fellowship and the SOM Fellowship, and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, magna cum laude with distinction in the major, from Yale University.

Vishwadeep Deo joined Thornton Tomasetti as a Vice President in 2022, bringing over 20 years of global experience. He leads the design of façades across various sectors, including cultural, institutional, commercial, sports, aviation, transit, and residential. As a Façade Consultant, he investigates façade system designs that intersect analysis, fabrication, assembly, optimization, materiality, and computation—driving designs to achieve more with less. Vish holds a Master of Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the School of Planning and Architecture in New Delhi, India.

His project experience includes Princeton University Hobson College, Princeton; Columbus Airport, Columbus; Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center, Cleveland; Air Traffic Control Towers, across continental US; Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center, New York City; Seaport L5, Boston; MIT Metropolitan Warehouse, Cambridge; ERC Hotel, Allston; Google campus in Mountain View; Tianjin Juilliard School, Tianjin, China; Qatar Education City Light Rail Stations, Doha, Qatar; the Canadian House of Common Glass Roof and Entrance, Ottawa, Canada; and, Barclays Center, Brooklyn, among others.

Kevin Lamyuktseung is Senior Associate at SO–IL. His work at the practice focuses on institutional work and culture spaces. His project experience ranges from large-scale work such as the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at UC Davis and K11 Arts and Culture Center in Hong Kong, to private artist studios in Brooklyn New York. He was project leader of the recently completed Amant Foundation, a new 22,000 SF arts and artist residency campus in New York.

He received his Masters of Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2013 and continues to engage in academia, having taught at the Pratt Institute GAUD and Columbia GSAPP. Kevin is a frequent guest critic and has lectured at the University of Florida SOA, Parsons School of Design and School of Visual Arts NYC.

Regan is a Engineer with Simpson Gumpertz Heger with experience in design, investigation, evaluation, rehabilitation, commissioning, and construction administration of historic and contemporary buildings. Focused in Building Energy Analysis, Finite Element Analysis, Roofing, Waterproofing, Curtain Wall, Glass, Facades, Below-Grade Waterproofing.

Sean specializes in building science and building enclosure performance, including analysis and simulation of heat/air/moisture migration and energy efficiency issues. He has a particular interest in iconic New York City cultural buildings, helping to make them more sustainable with high-performing enclosures. Sean has investigated and designed repairs for a wide variety of building types and has published papers on topics including mechanical system impacts on building enclosure performance and condensation resistance of windows and curtain walls. He is an active member of several professional organizations in New York and nationally. In addition to his extensive experience in building enclosure design, Sean brings to each project his genuine desires to improve the built environment, meet the client’s specific needs, and help to educate both clients and team members along the way.

Blake Middleton FAIA LEED AP is a Partner at Handel Architects LLP. His work includes a variety of large-scale projects that have broken new ground in approaches to sustainable design and urban living. Expanding on the firm’s experience at Cornell Tech, Blake is overseeing the design of two other precedent-setting Passive House projects: 115 Winthrop Square, a hybrid building featuring over 700,000 SF of high-performance office use in Boston’s Financial District; and in East Harlem, Sendero Verde, a 760,000 SF mixed-use complex including a high school, health center, community services partners, coupled with 650 100% affordable apartments. The diversity of Blake’s previous work includes a 2.4 million SF, four building complex that dramatically revitalized Boston’s Theater District; academic and performance buildings for The Boston Conservatory; the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Natatorium and Ice Rink in New York; and the renovation of the historic Santa Barbara Bowl Amphitheater in Santa Barbara, California.

Darling is CEO, creative director, and co-founder of The Architect’s Newspaper, celebrating its 20th year. The A|N media company consists of print and digital publications covering architecture and design news, as well as the Facades+ and TECH+ conferences. As A|N’s publisher, Darling won the AIA National Collaboration Award, Grassroots Preservation Award, and ASLA NY’s President’s Award. She began her publishing career as director of print production for The Gap’s European markets. She holds a BS from The University of Texas at Austin.

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.

Blake Middleton FAIA LEED AP is a Partner at Handel Architects LLP. His work includes a variety of large-scale projects that have broken new ground in approaches to sustainable design and urban living. Expanding on the firm’s experience at Cornell Tech, Blake is overseeing the design of two other precedent-setting Passive House projects: 115 Winthrop Square, a hybrid building featuring over 700,000 SF of high-performance office use in Boston’s Financial District; and in East Harlem, Sendero Verde, a 760,000 SF mixed-use complex including a high school, health center, community services partners, coupled with 650 100% affordable apartments. The diversity of Blake’s previous work includes a 2.4 million SF, four building complex that dramatically revitalized Boston’s Theater District; academic and performance buildings for The Boston Conservatory; the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Natatorium and Ice Rink in New York; and the renovation of the historic Santa Barbara Bowl Amphitheater in Santa Barbara, California.