TRAHAN ARCHITECTS - Key Persons
AIA Louisiana, Member's Choice Award, The Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture Park at Laguna Gloria - Arrival Garden and Moody Pavilions
As a transdisciplinary designer, April brings 20 years of experience navigating the intersectionality of architecture, planning, and systems thinking. Her work, inspired by her experiences growing up in the Bronx, New York, cultivates reframed opportunities within pedagogy and processes, advancing opportunities within the practice of architecture to spatialize healing, equity, and restitution. In 2015, April co-founded Designing the WE where she launched the co-curated exhibition and platform, Undesign the Redline, which explores the historical and contemporary spatial reverberations of unjust policies and practices like residential racial ordinances, Redlining, and Urban Renewal.
Her interdisciplinary work investigates the implicit and invisible relationship between architecture and human condition, connecting a deeper understanding of how inequity, supremacy (in its various forms), and dehumanization become spatialized and proliferated. This body of work has been infused in numerous projects demonstrating the equitable, humane, and just capacities of architecture and design mediums, including a supervised visitation site at the Bronx Borough Family Courthouse and the social enterprise venture Urban Starzz.
April continues to be an invited lecturer, speaker, and facilitator at numerous institutions. She sits on progressive boards, including the American Sustainable Business Council, and works closely on a local and national level with diverse stakeholders within the design sector, like the Urban Design Forum, on issues of race, equity, and democratic architecture.
A New Orleans native, Brad left the Crescent City to study architecture at the Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Graduating in 2002, he joined Trahan Architects as an intern and through the years quickly grew into a managerial role, becoming a Partner in 2017. Growing up with a father who worked in the machining and fabrication industry, Brad has a keen interest in precision - developing a trained eye for detail at a very young age. He is passionate about process and execution, and takes pride in ensuring that the end product meets and exceeds the conceptualized design.
Brad's expertise includes a wide range of building typologies and scales of projects, designing and executing numerous sports venues, cultural spaces, event centers, hospitality spaces and office buildings to name a few. He oversaw the rebuilding of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome following its devastation by Hurricane Katrina, a $200 million dollar renovation which was designed and constructed in just 9 months, as well as the award winning Louisiana State Museum and Sports Hall of Fame, widely praised for its low construction cost relative to the complexity of the architecture and materiality.
Brad thrives on the academic nature of the studio environment Trahan Architects has created, and views each project as a unique opportunity for study, discovery and implementation. In his free time, he enjoys boating and fishing in the unique and naturally beautiful bayous and byways of the Mississippi River Delta where he grew up.
Job Titles:
- Designer, Artist, Researcher
- Digital Practice Manager
Brian Richter is a designer, artist, researcher, and educator. After several years contributing to award-winning architecture in NYC and Los Angeles, Brian rejoined his alma mater as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Architecture to coordinate the redevelopment of the first-year undergraduate and digital media curricula in the School of Architecture to introduce advanced digital toolsets and methodologies integral to contemporary practice. During his tenure at the University of Kentucky, Brian's research and creative scholarship focused on the merging of conceptual design principles and advanced practices and technique - both physical and digital. He continues to investigate the relationships between architecture, atmosphere, materiality, cinematography, and experience utilizing design tools and engines found in parallel creative fields. Brian has led numerous workshops, lectured, and served as a guest critic at Washington University in St. Louis, Woodbury University, and the University of Kentucky.
"Trahan Architects' ambition, philosophy and extraordinary portfolio of built projects have always resonated with me from a far. I had the opportunity to listen to Trey give a lecture while I was a Visiting Professor at the University of Kentucky and I immediately connected with the work. I'm grateful for the opportunity to join Trahan Architects and share my research and experience in architecture, design, and digital methodologies."
Job Titles:
- Architect, Washington, DC
Bruce joined Trahan Architects in 2021, bringing with him extensive international experience from multiple stints living in Asia to work, study, and teach. He comes to the firm after completing his graduate studies as a participant in the esteemed Global Track Program, earning a Master of Architecture degree from Shanghai's Tongji University and a Doctor of Architecture degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. His academic design work and research has been recognized with numerous awards and publications, including his doctorate dissertation receiving a Hawaii Architectural Foundation Award for outstanding research. Prior to his graduate studies, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese with honors from the University of Utah.
Bruce's work experience includes spending time working in the Beijing headquarters of the architecture division of China State Construction (CSCEC)-the world's largest construction company, as well as working in various professional and academic capacities in Honolulu, Hawaii. His design approach is informed by his desire to create authentic contemporary spaces in harmony with existing cultural and environmental contexts.
Prior to joining Trahan Architects, Ciarán worked in Ireland and the Netherlands before spending the last decade in New York City.
At COOKFOX Architects, Ciarán contributed to a number of significant projects notably the Neeson Cripps Academy, an award winning school designed for the Cambodian Children's Fund. His New York portfolio includes numerous multi-family residential developments, a boutique office and a residence in East Hampton. Ciarán also led a design team through documentation for 760 Madison, a high-end residential and retail development for Giorgio Armani in the Landmark District of the Upper East Side.
Originally from Ireland, Ciarán's passion for craft and making was inspired by his father's work as a carpenter and the historic surrounds of his hometown Dublin. Ciarán holds professional licensure in New York State.
David, a native Arkansan and graduate from the Fay Jones School of Architecture + Design at the University of Arkansas, joined Trahan Architects' New York studio in January 2022. He believes place memory and cultural context are critical sources of inspiration in a world of increasing globalization and optimization.
Prior to joining Trahan Architects, David was a designer at MARVEL in New York and Marlon Blackwell Architects in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he gained experience on a wide range of cultural, master planning, educational, retail, and government projects. He also served 9 years in the United States Air Force as an Electrical Journeyman, including multiple tours abroad in base maintenance and new construction units. In 2019, he received The Aydelott Travel Award, a $20K travel grant focused on self-directed architectural analysis, through which he traveled to 13 countries across Europe and Asia. In presenting this work, David has lectured at the Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes, and Settlements and the University of Arkansas.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Senior Project Designer
Before joining Trahan Architects in 2018, Andrew worked in the US, Canada and Europe on projects of various scale. His prior experience spans many typologies, yet his focus has been in healthcare and cultural industries. Andrew's professional experience has not been limited to an office as he has a culminated over ten years of construction project experience which has allowed him to understand the unique dynamics and functions of architectural projects. Prior to moving to Louisiana, Andrew spent time with the Corning Institute in New York researching parametrically optimized structural glass as a building material.
He has focused on the aspect of digital craft and process driven ideologies, which contribute to sophisticated design solutions and effectively communicating architectural ideas. His design philosophy is rooted in the link between material and imagination. Investigation through the interaction of physical and the digital craft allows for creation and thought to be in constant dialogue, informing one another through a cyclical process.
Job Titles:
- Polskin Arts & Communications Counselors, New York, NY
Gabriela first joined the New Orleans office in June 2021. From a young age, she had an interest in various forms of artistic expression which included drawing, photography, and dance. Gabriela's training in modern and classical ballet helped her form a distinct spatial understanding of movement, rhythm, and balance.
A Puerto Rico native, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Design from the University of Puerto Rico before moving to Brooklyn to pursue a Master in Architecture at Pratt Institute. Through her academic work, she has explored issues of climate resilience as well as the intersections between nature and the built environment. Her interests outside architecture include thinking she can play pool like a pro and finding pocket-sized books. She also makes a really good coquito. She is a proud Puerto Rican who hopes to one day use all her acquired knowledge to make a positive impact back home.
A native of Florida, Henry Savoie joined Trahan Architects after completing his B.Arch at Auburn University in 2020. While in school, he received multiple design and academic awards including the AIA Henry Adams Medal, the Summerour Prize, and the College of Architecture, Design, and Construction Outstanding Student Award. Additionally, he participated in the school's Rural Studio and Rome Study Abroad programs. As the Auburn winner of the Aydelott Research Grant, Henry travelled Europe studying and writing about the atmosphere of sacred spaces.
Prior to working at Trahan, Henry was employed as a design intern with Savoie Architects and as a rock climbing and wilderness guide in North Carolina. He has also worked on a HUD grant through Auburn University, developing new housing typologies with a focus on aging in place. His design-related passions include his research into light and atmosphere, architectural representation, exhibition, presentation, and book design, and an appreciation for physical craft. Henry enjoys lifelong learning, being outside, and spending time with family.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Designer
- Project Designer
Jason Kurzweil is a designer with an interest in the contrast between the digital and material dialogues of architecture. His personal approach to architecture involves a study of history and site to find elegant solutions to complex problems, with diligence to craft, composition, and scale.
Originally from New York, Jason received degrees in architecture and infrastructure planning from NJIT and a Master of Architecture from Yale University. Jason's diverse professional experience includes skyscrapers across East Asia, new cities in China, Lunar habitats, and designs for museums and hotels: projects that implement new technologies into practice. At a smaller scale, his work on cafes, restaurants, and space conscious apartments helped generate a personal consideration for artisanship and materiality.
Job Titles:
- Managing Principal, New York Studio
Kyle, a South Louisiana native, earned a B. Arch from Louisiana Tech University, and participated in a study abroad program based in Berlin, Germany. While earning his undergraduate degree, he won the Louisiana Tech Research Symposium for his research and collaborative design/build with Habitat for Humanity for low income housing in North Louisiana.
Prior to joining Trahan, he worked at several architectural firms in Seattle and Dallas, before returning to New Orleans. His work experience includes both domestic and international award winning projects. Over the past decade his work has been focused in variety of project types such as historic preservation, institutional, and international mixed-used developments.
Currently he volunteers for ACE Mentoring Program for America, Habitat for Humanity, and is a member of the New Orleans Career Center Engineering and Manufacturing Advisory Board and the ULI's - Young Leaders Group.
Lesley Braxton's work strikes a beautiful balance between courage and restraint - two qualities learned during her childhood. Her family relocated to eight different states in her first 17 years, teaching Braxton to embrace change, optimism and the cultures of many. This influenced her path as an architect and interior design architect to take a wide-angle view and operate as a generalist in a seemingly very specific world. She designs across higher education, science and technology, and corporate typologies, ultimately blending influences of each project into the next. This blurring helps her discover new ideas, question traditional boundaries and build enduring friendships with her clients. Braxton is the glue that holds complex teams together by bringing nationally recognized, award-winning design leadership and an empathetic, hands on approach.
Braxton is a frequent guest speaker and critic at SCAD and Auburn University, her alma mater, where she received a Bachelor of Architecture and a Bachelor of Interior Architecture. She is also a dedicated mentor to many young women, helping them develop careers while giving her a deeper look into their cultures. She also has a love for art and travels the world with her family drawing and painting; both of her children held paint brushes before the ever holding a pencil. Her motto is: "Great design is tangible optimism."
Job Titles:
- Director of Marketing & Strategy
Liza is a creative and strategic thinker who is passionate about the intersection of art and architecture. She has worked in the design industry for a decade on an array of marketing, business development, and communications efforts for private and public projects with cultural significance, from unveiling new large-scale art institutions to small civic parks.
Prior to joining Trahan Architects, Liza led marketing and business development efforts for STUDIOS Architecture, where she positioned the firm for high-caliber design opportunities with notable cultural, civic, institutional, hospitality, and developer clients, such as Howard University's historic Bond Bread/WRECO redevelopment project and the modernization of the historic Fort Lincoln Park in Washington, DC.
Before entering the world of architecture, Liza received her Master's in Art Business from Sotheby's in New York. From there, she went on to work in editorial and public relations roles in the fine arts, where she wrote numerous articles on the state of the global art market for Art+Auction magazine. Liza's time supporting the development of strategic communications plans for leading international art and cultural clients while at Polskin Arts-such as the Fondation Louis Vuitton, The Shed, the Australian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, and the Elbphilharmonie, among others-continues to play a significant role in her approach to business development.
Job Titles:
- Business Development Specialist
Manuela is passionate about understanding the experience of the individual in varying environments. She pursued her bachelor's degree in architecture from Barnard College as a means of connecting her art passion and her interests in the spatial construct. As a student, she received the Tow Summer Research Fellowship and traveled to South Korea to research the attributes and structural layouts of traditional Korean homes and their impact on the structural decisions of modern homes in the country. This analysis helped her expand her understanding of what defines space across time periods and cultures and how that affects present architectural methods.
After Barnard, she dove deeper into the architectural process by familiarizing herself with one of architecture's best friends: construction. In her role as Assistant Project Manager at CPM Solutions, Inc., she learned to coordinate with experts in different fields and understand the collaboration needed to bring an architect's concept into reality.
What is her next step? Connecting more people to architecture. This is how she found herself at Trahan Architects as the Business Development Specialist.
In her spare time, Manuela enjoys drawing in her sketchbook, baking, and crocheting.
Job Titles:
- Director of Urban Design
- Member of the American Society of Landscape Architects
Margaret aims to improve cities through their public realm and open space. With a background in landscape architecture, urban design, architecture and theory, her deep love for cities and the energy found in urban public spaces is paired with an understanding of how large-scale environmental, social and infrastructural systems interact with and impact one another.
She has over fourteen years of design experience, from working on large-scale public realm projects in Seattle and Miami, to highly detailed garden design. Jankowsky was one of the Urban Design Forum's 2018 Forefront Fellows, where her collaborative work researching homelessness in New York City led to a proposal to create a citywide Office of the Public Realm. She was the co-editor of The High Line (Phaidon 2015), documenting the design and cultural impact of this transformational piece of urban infrastructure. She has been a guest critic for design studios at PennDesign, RISD, Columbia University's GSAPP, Kean University and Rensselaer University.
Jankowsky is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Urban Design Forum. Her degrees include a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania School of Design and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania.
Matthew Rivera is a designer committed to respecting the context of a place and firmly believes that it is the history and culture that forms a framework from which the most elegant design solution presents itself. Matthew brings expertise from his work on projects across the globe, ranging from an internationally awarded backcountry privy in Rocky Mountain National Park to luxury residential and hospitality projects in coastal Spain.
In 2019, he received his Master of Architecture from the University of Colorado Denver. Matthew remains an active alumnus of his alma mater by offering mentorship to recent graduates looking to relocate to New York City.
As part of ColoradoBuildingWorkshop, he served as the structural lead and client liaison for Rocky Mountain National Park Backcountry Privies, a student-designed and built project at 12,000 feet elevation. The project was well received by the backcountry community and has won multiple awards, including an AIA National Small Projects Award, NCSEA Excellence in Structural Engineering Award and was subsequently featured in Architzer's The World's Best Architecture.
Matthew, a New York native, enjoys exploring the city's art collections, playing basketball, and taking his dog hiking in the Hudson Valley.
Nicholas, a Louisiana native, joined Trahan Architects as an Office Manager in 2021. He earned his Bachelors degree in General Studies with a concentration in Organizational Studies from Louisiana State University. Prior to joining Trahan, Nicholas worked in Multi-Family Property Management in Memphis, TN and then as the Human Resources Manager for a local beverage company after he returned to New Orleans. He feels blessed that everyday he gets to work with so many creative minds that turn their brilliant ideas into reality.
In his spare time he enjoys singing in the choir, traveling, spending quality time with family and taking his dog, King Cake, to the park.
Oana Bunea-Velea joined Trahan Architects in 2019. She is an architect based in New York. Her diverse experience was built working on local and international projects on a large array of programs like cultural, office + mixed-used, residential, hospitality, commercial, institutional, as well as, adaptive-reuse and interiors. Few notable projects include the Brancusi Museum with Radu Architects and Waldorf Astoria Revitalization with Skidmore Owings and Merrill.
A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Patricia has been with Trahan Architects since 2001. She feels that every day at Trahan Architects is a new day and welcomes it with gratitude and pleasure, and cannot think of any other place that she would like to work. She finds it exciting to witness a thought become a building. Patricia wears every hat imaginable at the firm with the exception of architect.
In her free time she enjoys spending time with family, needle work, the beach, and traveling.
Paúl loves discovering simple, elegant solutions to complex design challenges. A licensed architect in New York State with 19 years of professional experience, he combines wide-ranging technical expertise with a collaborative leadership approach that listens and responds to input from clients, consultants, and contractors alike. He has worked with clients across cultural, academic, commercial, and government sectors in six U.S. states and two countries abroad.
Job Titles:
- Design Director
- New York Architect
Robbie Eleazer is a licensed New York architect with 12 + years of experience residing in Brooklyn with his wife and daughter. Robbie is a leading voice in performing arts, cultural and public sector projects and was a founding member in the establishment of Trahan Architect's NYC studio.
A proud graduate of Clemson University in his home state of South Carolina, Robbie expanded his studies at SCI-Arc in Los Angeles where he received his Master of Architecture. Studying at SCI-Arc ignited a passion for innovative design that has persisted for over a decade.
As a leader in the computational design community, Robbie engages with technology to expand his understanding of what architecture can be and how it can impact people's lives. On the Alliance Theatre, Robbie leveraged cutting edge BIM modeling and Augmented Reality tools to document over 100,000 Linear Feet of steam bent millwork - leading to multiple industry innovation awards. From concept to completion the project demonstrates innovation across scales - from material usage to a more egalitarian layout.
He has shared his expertise with students in Finland, Croatia, Los Angeles and New York City. Robbie has contributed his guidance to studios at Yale, Columbia, SCI-Arc, UCLA, Texas Tech, ADD Lab and Die Angewandte. In addition to teaching, Robbie has mentored Clemson undergraduate students and most recently mentored a UNC Charlotte student. He's proud that she graduated this past spring and is currently pursuing her graduate studies in architecture!
Sean, a New Orleans native and Jesuit H.S. graduate, joined Trahan Architects in 2007 after earning his M. Arch from Louisiana State University where he received the Dean's Medal of Excellence in Architecture, the AIA Henry Adams Medal, and the LSU School of Architecture Technology Award. Prior to his graduate studies, he received a B. Environmental Design from the University of Colorado.
While at Trahan, Sean worked on a number of award winning projects, including the Louisiana State Museum and Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches, LA and the Owensboro-Daviess County Convention Center in Owensboro, KY. In 2013, he began work as a project manager and senior architect with MetroStudio in New Orleans where he oversaw a variety of project types including single family homes, institutional and commercial projects, and large mixed use developments.
Sean reunited with Trahan in 2019 as a project manager. He is a licensed architect in Louisiana and NCARB Certified.
A Louisiana native, Stephen joined the New Orleans office in 2021 upon returning home with a Bachelor of Architecture from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
His architectural interests revolve around the cultural role that the built environment plays within its larger context. These interests have bled over to a variety of other design-related endeavors and hobbies, including artmaking and an ever-growing collection of art and photography books of the South.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Senior Project Designer
Prior to joining Trahan Architects in the fall of 2019, Travis worked at nationally recognized office, Touloukian Touloukian Inc., where he focused on unique civic minded projects in cities across the country including Boston, Detroit, Buffalo and others. The worked ranged between new construction and adaptive re-use projects of diverse typologies that always promoted goals of sustainable and resilient practices.
Originally from New England, Travis received a Master's degree in architecture from Wentworth Institute of Technology where he spent time abroad in France and Greece as part of his thesis studies and has also continued to stay involved in academics, teaching a variety of courses at several Boston-based universities.
In 2021, Trahan was awarded the Laureate for The American Prize for Architecture by the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. Trahan Architects was ranked the number one design firm in the U.S., by Architect 50, a national ranking of architecture firms published by Architect Magazine, the official magazine of the AIA. The firm has won over 100 national, state, regional, and local AIA awards, as well as several international design competitions. In 2005, Trahan received the Architecture Review Emerging Architecture Award in London, and in 2006 he was elected to the AIA College of Fellows. Trahan was named one of the Architectural League of New York's Emerging Voices in 2007. From 2015 to 2017, Trahan served as a member of the International Council of the Van Alen Institute and is currently a board member of The Cultural Landscape Foundation.
Trahan was a distinguished lecturer at the MIT School of Architecture and Planning, the University of Southern California, Tulane University School of Architecture, Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute School of Architecture, and Duke University. He served as the 2021 Walton Family Distinguished Critic in Design and Catholic Stewardship and Professor in Residence at The Catholic University of America (CUA). Trahan has lectured at symposiums and conventions, such as the Architecture, Culture, and Spirituality Forum's 12 th annual symposium at Fallingwater.
Vincent joined Trahan Architects with experience previously working on high profile institution projects, community pavilion, and mixed-use developments during his time in Adjaye Associates. The mantra of all community projects stems from the power of architecture or installation to give dignity back to the community. On a speculative level, he and his college friend Douglas have won multiple awards and recognitions, including the Forge Prize 2022, SARA|NY Kathy Firneis Student Scholarship, A+D Museum design awards 2021 for housing revitalization projects. He was also an invited speaker at the Swiss Architecture Museum in Basel and AISC Steel Conference Denver.
Vincent holds an M.Arch from UC Berkeley and a BA in Architecture from NUS Singapore, where he received the AKZO Nobel Gold medal for distinction in Architectural Design. In 2015, he was given a scholarship to attend ETH Zurich to investigate the role of Territory in Architecture. This foundation set forth a continuous interest to unpack the commonality of design between cultures, people, and geography.