Jun 14, 2023

FSi

Gaballah

FSi has hired Faheem Gaballah, as an electrical engineer. FSi's newest electrical designer, Gaballah, brings a degree from Benha University (2014), LEED Green Associate credentials, and nine years of practical experience designing complex electrical systems for corporate clients.

Graphite Design Group

DiRaimo

Berg

Alice

Ochs

Oplinger

Sundstad

Matt Marek

Joe Marek

Graphite Design Group has expanded its leadership group with the promotion of two new principals and six directors.

Marc Oplinger has been promoted to principal. With 33 years in the design profession, Oplinger is a seasoned project manager serving both institutional and commercial markets. His portfolio includes life sciences, healthcare, corporate offices, mixed-use and educational facilities. Since joining Graphite in 2014, he has led the design of projects for a range of clients, including RED Development, Vulcan Real Estate, and Northwest Administrators.

Brian Ochs has also been promoted to principal. Ochs is an experienced design leader with projects found throughout the country. Ochs is Graphite's residential market lead. His projects in the Pacific Northwest include Clise's 40-story McKenzie tower and the Parque Kirkland with Henbart Development.

Nancy Alice is now director, building technology. Alice has decades of experience as a senior project architect, manager, and specification writer. Her expertise ensures that design teams may balance innovation, performance, and risk throughout the life of a project. She is currently overseeing the Graphite team delivering the three-tower West Main project in Bellevue, Washington for Vulcan Real Estate.

Bryan Berg is now director, experience design. Berg thinks deeply about design decisions and the depth of meaning that goes into making them. Curiosity tends to drive his process and spark questions aimed to unveil significance to his client's brands. His creativity and curiosity are leading him to explore ever more responsive environments at the intersection of architecture, art, and technology.

Ryan DiRaimo is now director, sustainability. DiRaimo has both domestic and international design experience and has worked on both small and large-scale mixed-use projects, with an eye towards integrated, sustainable solutions. As director of sustainability he finds opportunities in projects across the broad spectrum of markets Graphite serves, integrating the needs of the client, user experience, and the surrounding environment.

Joe Marek is now director, project delivery. Marek is a veteran project architect with over three decades of national and international experience. As director of project delivery, he leverages real-world experience to ensure Graphite's design and documentation process is efficient and complete. Recent projects include Lakefront Blocks and Bellevue Plaza.

Matt Marek is now director, retail. Since joining Graphite in 2014, Marek has continued to leverage his skills in multi-project delivery programs to aid retail brands such as, Amazon Retail and Starbucks reach their aggressive growth goals. He specializes in prototyping, standards, team building and innovating to improve project delivery processes. Marek has managed and grown numerous retail accounts, helping his Graphite team successfully complete over 400 projects across 44 states.

James Sundstad is now director, brand strategy. Sundstad is an award-winning creative director, brand strategist and store designer. For over 35 years his expertise has set the course for some of today's most successful brands. Sundstad's focus on branding and telling the brand's story through environmental experience is informing current Graphite design efforts with clients such as Starbucks Coffee and MiraWorld. His experience spans hospitality, fashion retail, convenience stores, grocery, drug stores and restaurant projects spanning the globe.

Herrera

McKernan

Herrera has welcomed environmental data scientist, Shannon McKernan to the firm. McKernan is based out of Herrera's Seattle office and has a diverse background ranging from lab quality control to environmental geology data management and field work. She comes to Herrera from PES Environmental, Inc. where she worked as a senior staff geologist. McKernan has a Bachelor of Science in Zoology, Geologic Sciences from the University of Florida and a Master of Science in Groundwater Geochemistry and Geomicrobiology from the University of Oregon.

Jun 07, 2023

Ethos Civil

Williams

Clausen

Babb

Ethos Civil announced the recent additions of John Babb, Megan Clausen, and David Williams to their growing firm.

Babb is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with three years of professional experience. He most recently worked at Gray & Osborne, where he focused on municipal infrastructure projects. Babb has joined Ethos Civil at their Tacoma office and is currently serving as the lead civil designer for the West Sound Technical Skills Center progressive design-build project with Bremerton School District.

Clausen is a recent graduate of George Fox University and has prior experience as an intern with the Yamhill County Public Works Department. Clausen joined Ethos Civil in February on a part-time basis, while earning her degree. She recently moved to a full-time engineering position from Ethos Civil's Wenatchee office. Clausen is serving as the lead designer for a 123-unit assisted living community project located in Spokane.

Williams joins Ethos Civil's Wenatchee office as a civil technician. He is educated in cyber security and has prior experience surveying for the U.S. Forest Service. Williams is providing support on several Ethos Civil projects, including a building demolition and parking lot project at Tacoma Public School's Central Administration Building site.

HNTB

Kapur

Jugesh Kapur, PE, SE, has joined HNTB Corporation in Bellevue as a bridge and structures department manager, bringing nearly four decades of experience driving strategic direction and leadership in project management, bridge design and construction. He holds licenses as a professional and structural engineer in multiple states, including California, Oregon, Idaho and Washington.

Prior to joining HNTB, Kapur was with the Washington State Department of Transportation for 22 years and held several positions. He designed and managed a wide range of bridge projects across the state, including the Hood Canal Floating Bridge, State Route 16 Nalley Valley, SR 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct and the seismic retrofit of many bridges along I-5 and I-405.

Kapur earned his Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from the University of Washington, where he was an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Makers

Barbusca

Gipaya

Farrington

Makers architecture and urban design announced new staff recently hired in its Seattle and San Diego offices.

Claire Farrington has joined Makers as a planner, supporting the facilities planning team. Her prior experience includes work with Seattle Public Utilities' Solid Waste Division, conducting outreach to help improve waste diversion programs and promote equitable application of environmental regulations. She has a master's degree in urban planning, and her thesis explored how public green and recreational spaces impact the place attachments of multi-unit dwellers in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood.

Queenie Gipaya has joined Makers as planner and urban designer as part of the urban design and community planning team. She has a bachelor's degree in urban planning and holds a geographic information system (GIS) certificate. Her academic experience includes projects relating to placemaking and affordable housing, as well as waterfront, park, and open space revitalization.

Mike Barbusca is a senior planner supporting Makers' federal facility planning team from the San Diego office. He has over 40 years of NAVFAC experience supporting Navy clients and service members at the project planning and project levels. Barbusca has contributed to many successful projects as a project Leader, NEPA planner, environmental coordinator, and a housing, regional, and senior planner.

Parametrix

Tavel

January Tavel has joined Parametrix as a senior cultural resources specialist. She brings more than 14 years of experience providing professional cultural resource management and historic preservation services throughout the Western United States.

Tavel comes to Parametrix from ICF where she served as senior manager of historic preservation. She has worked for a variety of clients including the Washington State Department of Transportation; Sound Transit; King County Metro; California High Speed Rail Authority; City of San Francisco Department of Public Works; Ports of Bellingham, Portland, and San Francisco; Vale Oregon Irrigation District; Seattle City Light; Seattle Public Utilities; Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management; Bureau of Land Management; Oregon Department of Forestry; as well as private clients.

She has a master's in historic preservation and is a qualified historian and architectural historian under the Professional Qualification Standards of the United States Secretary of the Interior.

At Parametrix, Tavel joins the firm's Greater Washington Cultural Resources Group which provides professional cultural resources planning and management services to clients across the Pacific Northwest.

TCA Architecture + Planning

Architect Darin Wate, senior associate, is celebrating his 25th year at TCA Architecture + Planning this month.

With over 25 years of experience designing fire stations and public facilities, Wate has contributed a wealth of knowledge to many of TCA's most challenging and notable projects, including the award-winning Issaquah Maple Street Fire Station, the first fire station in the United States to achieve a LEED Platinum rating and given the 2012 ASHRAE National Technology award; Central Pierce Fire & Rescue Station, winner of the 2017 and 2018 Firehouse Magazine Station Design Gold Awards; Portland Fire & Rescue Fire Station 21 & Marine Rescue Boathouse, presented with the 2016 OCAPA Public Facility Excellence in Concrete Award; and Snoqualmie HQ Station, awarded with the 2005 National Station Style Silver Joint Use Facility Award.

In a press release TCA said Wate's position as a project architect and technical manager, combined with his system-based programming, conceptual design, and cost management skills, has benefited multiple municipal clients and a generation of architectural professionals.

The Society

Scalf

The Society, an independent interiors-led hospitality design collective, announced the appointment of Casey Scalf to director. In his new role, Scalf will embrace a significant shift in responsibility, with a primary focus on strategic leadership. He will also shape the future vision of the organization, determining key partnerships, selecting project types, and ensuring the execution of projects.

SPVV Landscape Architects

Smith

SPVV Landscape Architects announced that Gina Smith has been promoted to landscape architect, having successfully completed her licensure exams. Smith, who previously served as a landscape designer, also holds a LEED accreditation, and is responsible for designing, estimating, and managing the development of landscapes for governmental, commercial, and educational commissions.

Recent projects in which Smith has provided landscape design services include Peperzak Middle School for Spokane Public Schools; West Village Park for the City of Richland; and Skyline Elementary School for Mead School District.