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Dave Aube,
PE
Director of Civil Engineering
"Twenty years ago I started working at an Architectural Firm in Dayton, Ohio. Realizing that I was more interested in how the structural components fit together and how the site was configured, I completed a degree in Civil Engineering. Being attached to the creativity of Architects is vital to me. They inspire me to find more visually pleasing solutions to site issues."
(PDF resume to come)
David Bayer
IT Systems Support
Without a smoothly functioning technological infrastructure the craft of architecture would be greatly hampered. I ensure our infrastructure functions well and is maintained; along with other less technical tasks.
Wendy Caruso
Project Manager
I cannot imagine choosing to do anything else as a career that would be as fulfilling. Architecture changes with every client and project, giving me an opportunity to constantly learn and grow as an individual.
Ken Cook,
AIA
Senior Architect
“I like to think of buildings in basics. Proportion - when the building’s proportions possess grace it works. Pipes, wires, stone, and plaster all must respect each other. As the pieces marry together into a well formed whole, artfully detailed and beautifully proportioned, the building transforms into architecture.” Ken Cook’s 30 years of architectural experience have given him a tremendous understanding of the design and construction of all types of buildings.
Joe Craig
Director of Professional Development
I enjoy working on cultural architectural projects, community based initiatives and environmentally sensitive developments. My association with The Design Group has helped take those undertakings to a higher level. The partners, principals and employees truly practice what they preach and to me, represent what architects and planners should embody for their community. They see the future.
“Normally, we do not so much look at things as overlook them” - Zen Quotes by Alan Watts.
Barbara Cunningham
Project Assistant
Working with the staff at the Design Group is very interesting. It is always such a good feeling being part of something special when you watch a project from the conception - the vision - to its completion, and while doing this you have the opportunity to work with some very special people. Going to work is always fun.
Melissa Cunningham
Office Manager
I love working with the people here - the work is challenging, and it is fun to be a part of the architectural team. It's fascinating to be a part of the creation of a building, and to see what the building finally ends up looking like once it is built.
Richard Deutsch,
LEED® AP, ASID, NCIDQ Certificate # 022878
Senior Project Manager
"Balance form, space, and color into a life celebration."
From cornerstone to finial, restoration to new contruction, Richard has nearly two decade's experience in education, health care, interior design and preservation.
'Le bon Dieu est dans le detail' Gustave Flaubert
Ronnie DiCappo,
NCIDQ Certificate #022111
Interior Designer
When I tell someone what I do for a living they often respond, “how fun,” and it is. I’m the one that gets to layer great materials, colors, textures and furniture into our projects.
My career allows me the opportunity to work with people in all types of professions, problem solve, and then bring it all together in a beautiful package. And, as a visually creative person I love having a tangible product when I’m finished doing what it is I do.
In this profession we are allowed to discern a client’s needs and wants, then integrate those desires into the built environment. Architecture has the power to effect how people relate to their built environment from enhancing healing, increasing productivity, stimulating learning, to helping them navigate their surroundings. I find it to be a fascinating process.
Ronnie has a Bachelor’s Degree in Art and a Masters Degree in Architecture. She brings a passion for these two disciplines into the interiors she creates for the Design Group.
(PDF resume to come)
John Gardner
Senior Project Manager
The profession of architecture is full of many complex and challenging elements. I try to manage each of my projects in the same manner as working on a jigsaw puzzle. You must first make a small group of pieces fit together before you can get the whole puzzle to take shape. I start every new project as an opportunity to fit all the little piece of the puzzle together. My goal is to create a good balance of both form and function that will compliment the surrounding environment.
Jorge Gonzales
Project Manager
"The process of creating is one that ties us to the world. I believe that my passion for creating carries throughout all aspects of a project; from the initial idea, working through the design process, coordination, documentation, and finally construction. There is no greater joy than witnessing the creation of ones vision, and sharing the experience with the world as a whole."
Jorge's background in Environmental Design and Architecture shapes the way that he approaches design and production. He brings years of experience in commercial, retail, medical, educational, and civic architecture.
Gina Griego
Designer
“I believe that there is always an opportunity to learn, if the person is up for the challenge. I have found that opportunity in the profession of Architecture. This profession is unbounded and I hope to rise to the challenge.”
Gina has worked as a draftsperson for nearly seven years, including time spent during her studies at the University of New Mexico (UNM). Her experience has mainly been rooted in healthcare, but is expanding significantly with her tasks at the Design Group. She graduated from the University of New Mexico with a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and is working towards pursuing a master’s degree in the near future.
Gregory Hartman,
AIA, CEFPI
Principal Architect
Our firm’s practice has been based on collaborative community projects. My inspiration comes from the working with other professionals with similar sensibilies as ours. Who understand the power of great places and who take joy in participating ing the process of creating great places. The realities that budget and schedule pose are the same challenges that a piece of marble poses to a sculptor. Our client ’s goals are the framework that our creative process is based on. We do not see them as restrictions or barriers but the true stuff that great Architecture is built on.
Gregory’s diverse background in fine arts, design and architectural production and planning has enhanced his ability to produce many award-winning projects, completed both on time and within budget. “My favorite projects are those that touch on the many components of architecture that I love: urban design, daylighting opportunities, and dynamic sites with great views. The positive energy I feel every time I visit one of our completed projects more than rewards me for all the challenges faced during the process.”
(PDF resume to come)
Eric Haskins
Project Manager
With ten years of experience in a wide range of building types, Eric approaches each project as an opportunity to honor the city and create a more humane built environment.
“Through a thousand small decisions, we daily create our world. With the right decisions, we can make it beautiful.”
Jimmy Hendrix
Project Manager
I like to apply design process to anything I am trying to accomplish. I love the idea of doing enough research to enable me to create my own rules or to break others intelligently. True design process also allows for integration of others’ ideas. Once you assemble enough criteria and intent in the process, you can evaluate suggestions much easier.
Design is also about making predictions. Words shape our intent, but ultimately we must create a reality from just an idea. In the last three years alone, I have seen how it is possible to model and analyze a complete building before it is built and then to gain exacting accuracy in the construction of the building. There are emerging technologies and philosophies, mostly in the gaming and movie industries, that allow more information to be added to a design process. Those technologies and philosophies can be supplemented with traditional practices to vault the profession of architecture back into leading the art and science of building.
Kirstin Kalberg,
MBA
Director of Operations
Unlike many of my colleagues, I didn’t spend my formative years contemplating space and proportion, dreaming of the day I’d become an architect. It’s not that beautiful spaces don’t inspire me. They always have and they always will. I just never thought of architecture as a career path. I therefore consider myself quite lucky to be working at The Design Group. It’s not often that a career in business allows you to work in a beautiful and imaginative environment.
I am fascinated by the practice of architecture – both the creative and business aspects. I appreciate the opportunity to work with inventive individuals who inspire and encourage me to learn more and grow professionally. Every day I enjoy discovering ways in which my skills and business background support and contribute to the team and the firm.
(PDF resume to come)
Doug Majewski,
AIA, NCARB
Principal Architect
“It’s a great time to be an Architect. Nowadays there’s a real acceptance of responding to your environment. You’re not as restricted as you have been in the past. Architecture is much more fun, much more exciting.” Doug offers a broad range of professional services, from conceptual planning and feasibility studies to project management and overseeing technical solutions for his projects.
(PDF resume to come)
Ramon Martinez
Designer
"To me, the profession of architecture is about creating buildings that people can find excitement, solace, memory and comfort in. Architecture shapes the environments that we live in and can influence our state of mind and emotion. Because of this power that design possesses, I find humility and meaning in the profession."
Bob McCabe,
AIA, NCARB, APA
Director of Planning and Urban Design
The disciplines of Planning, Urban Design and Architecture are a continuum of collaborative, contextual and interactive design processes committed to the physical enhancement and quality of life of our communities. Each project shapes the creation of a larger place and ultimately contributes to the quality and livability of our towns and cities.
(PDF resume to come)
Rut Perez-Studer
Designer
As an interior designer I look to create spaces for users, no matter their background, to feel safe and at peace in their environment. I also strive to enhance their quality of life and well being while in that space.
Amber Straquadine
Designer
Each designer adds new threads to the rich tapestry of urban living. It is up to each of us to unravel the various threads of thinking that run throughout the design process. Interweave technological innovation with cultural and historic fabrics provide opportunity to convey wonder and deeper meaning through pure form in the constructed environment. My goal in any new endeavor is to weave all the strands of innovation and talent together. Only when all the fabrics of knowledge and design entwine does the built form breathe life.
Ray Trujillo,
AIA, NCARB
Senior Architect
48 years ago, there was a young high school boy who aspired to be an architect. He went looking for a drafting job with a local Santa Fe builder named Allen Stamm. Mr. Stamm had pity on him and thus started a long career of client and contractor relationships. After many years of being active on many boards and a Principal in various architectural firms, Mr. Trujillo specializes in quality control of construction related production documents.
Ethan Twer
Project Manager
Architecture, like any other fine art, requires patience, discipline, ration and creativity. Architecture is the world around us; it embodies all of our senses, and in its most basic form, harbors us from the seas. At the end of the day, may we step back from our works of art, and determine that we've created a masterpiece (or at least something worthy of hanging on our walls).
Mark Wade,
AIA
Principal Architect
“Architecture produces environments that constantly change the way we live our lives - it sets the stage for our daily interactions with people, with nature and with ourselves. My favorite places are those places which bring these daily interactions into sharper focus.” As a Principal Architect with the Design Group, Mark brings over 23 years of experience in architecture and planning projects. His skills at problem solving, consensus building and mediation make him a valuable asset to The Design Group’s project team. Mark’s wide range of architectural and planning experience includes health care, commercial, hospitality, education, recreation, performing arts, judicial, religious and residential projects.
(PDF resume to come)
Jeff Zellner,
AIA, NCARB, LEED® AP
Principal Architect
"I believe that architecture is produced through synergy. It is the idea that people can come together in a way that produces a result far greater than the sum of their individual efforts. Architecture should be about more than a building. It is the intellectual and physical cooperative interaction of differing people and ideals that increase the overall value of any project."
Jeff has a wealth of experience in many different areas of architecture including retail, commercial, primary and secondary education facilities, as well as healthcare expertise. Jeff is also skilled in the area of integrating computer aided 3D modeling and rendering into the design and client approval process. From modeling a new downtown master plan to a state of the art executive boardroom, Jeff can provide the skill and tools necessary to include everyone involved in the design. For Jeff, teamwork and clear communication are priorities.
(PDF resume to come)
