AKF has formally launched a new firm-wide organizational structure, forming dedicated Campus and Commercial practices .
Rudy Frank, PE,was named AKF’s Commercial Environments Leader. He brings over 30 years of engineering expertise to clients in the Corporate, Residential, Retail, and Hospitality market sectors. Selected for this role for his comprehensive industry knowledge and innovative thinking, Rudy is highly respected by owners, developers, architects, contractors, and other consultants for his ability to strategize optimal solutions for each specific project’s needs.
Mark Richter, PE, LEED AP, is National Residential & Hospitality Practice Leader. With over 25 years of experience, including 10 years as Partner at AKF, Mark brings excellent pragmatic and constructability experience to his work and is sought after for his proficiency in engineering healthy buildings. He has earned an excellent reputation in the industry for his expertise in planning, designing, and implementing complex building systems for both residential and hospitality properties.
Philip Simone, LEED AP, a 14-year veteran of the industry, has been named AKF’s National Corporate Practice Leader, having directed the design and implementation of engineering systems for new construction and/or renovation of building and tenant fit-out projects. He has developed systems and procedures for AKF to serve as an integral part of a client’s corporate facilities staff—developing standards, rolling out prototype designs, and ensuring that designs conform to the client’s facility and real estate standards.
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Cerami & Associates, Inc., the largest woman-owned acoustics and integrated technology consulting firm in the U.S., has announced the return of a Cerami veteran John Hauenstein to the firm’s acoustical leadership team. Hauenstein, who began his professional career at Cerami over 30 years ago, will serve as a principal working from the firm’s New York headquarters.
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Lendlease announced the appointment of Christie Walker to Acquisition Manager for Lendlease’s New York Development business.
In her new role, Walker is responsible for sourcing, negotiating and underwriting investment opportunities for development projects for land purchases and joint ventures. She will drive land acquisition opportunities from identification to execution, for residential and commercial projects in the New York metro area.
Walker has over a decade of acquisitions and development experience in the New York market. Previously, she served as a Development Associate with national multi-family developer, Wood Partners Inc. Prior to Wood Partners Inc, she served as an Associate in Investments for RXR Realty where she was responsible for evaluating investment opportunities for RXR’s Metropolitan Emerging Market Strategy. Christie began her career at TF Cornerstone where she was responsible for sourcing and underwriting investment opportunities for multi-family development. Christie played a key role on the deal teams for the land acquisitions of 606 West 57th Street in New York, 33 Bond Street in Brooklyn, NY and Larkin Plaza in Yonkers, NY with her contributions resulting in over 3.3M SF and 2,700 apartments developed.
Walker received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economic Policy from New York University.
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CetraRuddy has announced that Brian McFarland, AIA, NCARB, has rejoined the firm as Principal.
An experienced architect and building project manager with a strong record in residential and hospitality works, McFarland will also serve as a member of the firm’s Executive Committee to help oversee strategic direction and guide its business initiatives in existing and new markets.
With over 30 years of experience in a diverse range of building projects and firm operations, McFarland has gained recognition among peers and client groups across project work in the residential, hospitality, educational, and institutional sectors.
In his previous role at CetraRuddy, McFarland was instrumental in the successful execution of such notable projects as the adaptive reuse of Walker Tower and Stella Tower into condominiums. He also served on the design team for the 18-story condominium 200 East 79th Street in Manhattan, as well as the mixed-use residential complex Third Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Prior to rejoining CetraRuddy, McFarland served as a principal at VOA (now Stantec), where he led the design and construction commencement of Virgin Hotels’ first Manhattan property. A native New Yorker, he holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Pratt Institute.
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Arsha Cazazian, joins Stantec Architecture as a principal and sector leader in the global design firm’s New York City commercial practice.
Cazazian will lead talent development, technology integration, and design distinction within the firm’s commercial workplace/real estate studio. In this role, she will draw on experience delivering multi-million-dollar workplace and mixed-used development projects for Fortune 500 companies. Cazazian will also collaborate on commercial design projects while ensuring a boutique approach to project delivery and experiences.
Prior to joining Stantec, Cazazian served as founder and managing partner of Soho-based DIA/WRKS, a design and consulting firm for commercial, institutional, and residential clients.
Long committed to education and mentorship, Cazazian is a lecturer and a regular panel critic at New York City design and architecture schools. She has been associate professor with NYIT School of Architecture for more than 10 years. Cazazian holds a masters of architecture degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.
Stantec’s 350-person New York City office provides a complete range of design services for local, national, and international clients.
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Hoffmann Architects, announced the appointment of three staff members to new corporate positions.
Lawrence E. Keenan, AIA, PE, Director, Engineering with Hoffmann Architects, has been promoted to Senior Vice President. Both a licensed structural engineer and a registered architect, Keenan has more than 25 years of experience in structural engineering analysis and rehabilitation design.
He earned an engineering degree from the University of Connecticut. One of the owners of the firm and manager of technical staff in the Connecticut office, Keenan celebrated his 20th anniversary with Hoffmann Architects in May 2017. Active in the professional community, he is president and program director for the Connecticut chapter of the International Concrete Repair Institute (ICRI) and has presented technical papers at conferences and symposia of ICRI, as well as at Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) and Structural Engineers Coalition (SEC) seminars.
A mentor to engineering staff and a respected resource on structural analysis, Keenan has published many articles throughout his career and has recently completed a peer-reviewed white paper on fatigue analysis. He holds two U.S. Patents for precast concrete structural connections. He lives in Cheshire, Connecticut.
Maureen J. Dobbins, Director, Business Development with Hoffmann Architects, has been named Vice President and is now an officer of the firm. With more than 25 years of experience in marketing and business development for architectural services, Dobbins earned a bachelor’s degree in management information systems from Western Connecticut State University and a master of business administration (MBA) degree in marketing management and information systems from Pace University in New York.
An owner of the firm, she will celebrate her 10th anniversary with Hoffmann Architects in 2018. A long-term board member and officer for BOMA Southern Connecticut, Dobbins takes the helm as President of the organization in January 2018. She lives in Redding, Connecticut.
Rachel A. Mesite, Senior Finance Coordinator, has been appointed Corporate Secretary and is now an officer of Hoffmann Architects.
Earlier in 2017, she earned a promotion from Finance Coordinator to her current position in recognition of her contributions to the firm’s financial administration.
As Corporate Secretary, Mesite is responsible for recording and maintaining documentation in compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements, and for implementing decisions made by the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee. In addition to coordinating and documenting shareholder meetings, Mesite processes share transactions and stock transfers, maintains business insurance, executes corporate filings and reports, and keeps official records. A skilled and diligent financial administrator, she has demonstrated a meticulous approach to record-keeping and reporting. Mesite holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. She lives in Wallingford, Connecticut.
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Carrier Johnson + CULTURE has announced the addition of a new project manager to its roster of experts in healthcare design.
Julia Cousins, AIA, MPH, LEED AP, adds to the firm’s experience in medical planning and design for large hospitals, according to the firm’s leadership.
Cousins’ career spans over three decades, with more than 20 years of work focused primarily on healthcare design. Her extensive portfolio of projects ranges widely in size and scope.
Active across the United States, Cousins has built a portfolio focused on large medical care institutions along or near the West Coast.
After receiving her Master of Architecture degree from Ohio State University, she pursued a second postgraduate degree: a Master of Public Health in Health Services Administration from San Diego State University. This added dimension to her understanding of the clients challenges in the delivery of healthcare services to individual patients, as well as improving the health of our communities.
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Richard Mahoney has been named a supervising construction engineer in the New York City office of WSP USA, formerly WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, a leading engineering and professional services consultancy.
In his new position, Mr. Mahoney will serve as resident engineer on a variety of construction projects. He is a mechanical engineer with over 35 years of experience in management of large municipal and industrial design and design-build projects.
Prior to joining WSP, Mr. Mahoney was a resident engineer in the New Jersey office of a global infrastructure firm that provides planning, design and construction management services. He was responsible for construction oversight of the central residuals building at the Newtown Creek wastewater treatment plant for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.
A licensed professional engineer in New Jersey and New York, Mr. Mahoney received an M.S.in mechanical engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Rutgers University. His professional affiliations include the Project Management Institute and the Construction Management Association of America.
