senior project designer, associate, Plunkett Raysich Architects
Title: Senior project designer, associate
Company: Plunkett Raysich Architects LLP
Education: Bachelor of architecture, University of Minnesota, 1984
Family: 8-year-old daughter Tristen; and two sons, Kellen, age 10, and Devlin, age 13
City of Residence: Downtown Milwaukee
What are you working on? "Mayfair Woods, a 170,000-square-foot office building for Irgens Development Partners in Wauwatosa. A 220,000-square-foot addition to West Bend Mutual Insurance in West Bend. And several conceptual designs for prospective projects, including a 4 block parcel in Milwaukee’s Park East Redevelopment area."
How does the market look to you? "While the economic news continues its downward trend, we are still seeing a lot of activity in our Health Care Studio, where we are working on hospital additions and new clinics in Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as a Healthy Village in Roscoe, Ill., where a health club and clinic are built together to share services. We are also seeing a lot of work in specialized housing, including federally subsidized and student housing, and assisted living facilities. Corporate work is also strong right now, with the two projects I mentioned above and two more in our Madison office. And environmentally sensitive design is a rapidly growing market for us, with Mayfair Woods achieving a LEED Certified rating and the Tri-North Office in Madison achieving a LEED Gold rating."
What was the best deal you’ve ever been involved in? "Any project where the client is fully satisfied with the project I design for them is a great project for me. Two of my most recent favorites include the West Bend Mutual Insurance project and Blackhawk Church in Madison. I felt fully in tune with both of those clients, and fully enjoyed the process and the results. My proudest achievement so far is the Sixth Street Viaduct in Milwaukee, which I designed before joining PRA."
What was the funniest moment of your career? "Being an architect is pretty serious business most of the time, but one moment sticks out in my mind – My oldest son was at the beach building his first sand castle when he said, ‘Look, Mommy! I made the scaffolding!’ We still tell that story today as an example of how this profession can affect every aspect of an architect’s life."
