LGA-AP.COM - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Certified Building Scientist
Partner and certified building scientist Alex Tedesco has been with LGA since 2000 and leads the firm's building science research and development department. From conceptual design to final construction, Alex ensures that his client's needs and aspirations are translated into built form, and that every building detail that leaves the office is designed for optimal performance and durability.
Alex builds relationships with his clients and stakeholders through open communication, respect and honesty. Putting aside preconceived notions of how architecture should look or operate, he works through an iterative process that allows for discovery and learning at every step. His wealth of material and product knowledge, combined with his commitment to challenging the conventions of sustainable design, allows Alex to inspire and challenge his team to innovate.
Outside of the office, Alex runs a welding business that fabricates architectural elements. Each year, Alex travels to Italy to harvest and produce olive oil which he imports to Canada. This delicate process is achieved by harvesting olives by hand and processing them naturally to produce the purest form of olive oil.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Senior Associate
Since joining LGA in 2010, Allison Janes has contributed to multiple residential and educational projects. Previously, Allison gained experience at design firms in Vancouver, Boston and Paris focusing on mixed-use developments on brownfield sites and multi-unit residential design. Allison was also member of local design firms ZAS and George Robb Architect where she expanded her skills in educational and library design. Currently, Allison is part of the design team for the re-development of Toronto Community Housing at Alexandra Park as well as project architect for the new home of SKETCH Working Arts. Allison is a graduate of the University of Waterloo School of Architecture where her graduate thesis explored the role of the public library as a physical gathering place.
Amanda graduated with a Master of Architecture from the University of Toronto in 2013 and has over 15 years of professional design experience. She joined LGA in 2022 as the Director of Strategic Communications, leveraging her background in the architecture industry to provide lead LGA's strategic pursuits and communications efforts. Amanda's experience span creative studios across the Greater Toronto Area, including MJMA, Teeple Architects, DKstudio, Commute Home, and Lio & Associates, working on projects that range from architectural design to hand-painted murals to publication design, involving technical illustration for building science textbooks. At LGA she also directs project photography and is currently exploring motion graphics and video as a medium of storytelling.
Job Titles:
- Architect
- Associate
- Senior Associate
Angie Michail is a licensed architect who received her Master of Architecture from the University of Waterloo and has more than 15 years of professional experience. Since joining LGA in 2012, she has been Project Architect on several child care, JK-12 and postsecondary projects, and has managed new construction and renovation projects on residences ranging from single-family homes to large, multi-unit buildings. Convinced that good design improves both the functionality of space and the experience of place, she strives to create environments with clean lines, meticulous detailing, and responsiveness to the client's aspirations, even on the most challenging of construction budgets. Currently a Sessional Instructor at the OCAD University's Faculty of Environmental Design, Angie previously taught in the architecture program at the University of Toronto and been a guest critic at the University of Waterloo and Ryerson University. Her current projects at LGA include a new, 500-student school for Toronto Catholic District School Board, a synagogue renovation and addition, and a major expansion to an award-winning affordable housing complex.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Senior Associate
- Registered Architect in Portugal
Antero Fonte is a registered architect in Portugal. Prior to joining LGA, he gained extensive work experience in Portugal and Italy in a wide range of projects both in the public and private sectors. Antero is strongly convinced that people deserve to be challenged and that buildings need to inspire their occupants. As an architect he believes he has a duty to expose such possibilities. His design work has been exhibited at the Beaux Arts Academy in Lisbon and has been published in several Portuguese-based architectural magazines.
Partner Brock James believes in making architecture that connects people to the history, nature, and culture of their community. Over 25 years of practice, he has specialized in making child care centres, schools, universities and libraries that foster learning and are inspired by the realities of each place and its people. Brock listens and works openly with his clients and their communities to establish a shared vision for the future, and brings the skill, determination and optimism needed to realize that vision through design and construction.
As head of operations for the firm, Brock ensures that each new project builds on the knowledge of previous work, so that every LGA client benefits from the complete value of the firm's experience. Brock leads LGA Open, a weekly discussion of the firm's latest research and innovation, where he often shares expertise on the economic, cultural and environmental benefits of wood design.
Brock is a guest critic, lecturer and sits on the provincial steering committee for Wood Works Ontario. He recently led the team that authored the Child Care Design and Technical Guidelines for the City of Toronto - a resource guide for the construction and renovation of licensed child care centers.
With a background in architecture and urban design, Daniel Comerford has worked not only on private residences and many types of buildings that serve as community hubs, but also on master plans for cities. Whatever the programming scope, he is always interested in design as a catalyst for community. In his work he strives for the harmonious integration of built form, landscape, and infrastructure. He joined LGA's team in 2018, after six years with Urban Strategies Inc., where his urban design projects included the Princeton University Campus Plan, Belfast City Centre Regeneration, and Waterfront Toronto's Villiers Island Precinct Plan. Daniel's current work at LGA includes the renovation of the University of Toronto's Engineering & Computer Science Library and the conversion of a former supermarket into the new Meaford Public Library.
Partner Danny Bartman has been with LGA since 2000. He responds directly to his clients' most critical problems by delivering meaningful and distinctive designs. Danny leads in-depth community consultations, visioning sessions and needs assessments that he uses to create the foundational concept and character behind each project.
Danny believes in the potency of bringing together diverse perspectives to drive innovation. His empathetic approach to design allows him to openly exchange ideas and collaborate with both his team members and clients. He creates customized building solutions that are reflective of his optimistic and inquisitive nature, and strengthen by his continuous exploration of advanced material applications and fabrication methods.
Danny teaches at the University of Waterloo, School of Architecture, and has lectured at Ryerson University's Department of Architecture. He frequently participates in interdisciplinary design charrettes for the Ontario's Design Industry Advisory Committee (DIAC). Danny received his architectural degree from the University of Waterloo's School of Architecture in 2000.
Partner Dean Goodman co-founded LGA in 1989. His 30 years of practice have been driven by a love and an insatiable curiosity for design, construction and technology. He specializes in working collaboratively with clients to translate their ideas and goals into innovative designs. Dean's honest and straightforward approach allows him to form strong client relationships and bring clarity to complicated issues.
Dean is skilled at creatively designing within budget and time constraints. He leads teams through collaborative problem-solving processes, actively engaging clients, engineers and specialized consultants in the delivery of well-loved buildings and spaces. From a child's play space to social housing project, his goal is always the same: to make architecture that fundamentally enriches the lives of the people who use it.
Dean began his career as a general contractor and a partner in a construction management and development company. As a founding partner, he has set the tone for a socially responsible practice. Dean headed up an LGA team that partnered with FoodShare Toronto to bring fresh, local produce to suburban dwellers in areas without grocery stores. The LGA team converted a former TTC Wheel-Trans bus into a year-round, mobile fruit and vegetable market.
Job Titles:
- Architect
- Associate
- Senior Associate
Drawing on experience in architecture, landscape architecture and urban design, Drew excels in synthesizing diverse viewpoints and finding integrated solutions for clients. He has a knack for projects with unique circumstances, especially when it comes to housing, adaptive reuse and sustainable design, and has earned a reputation equally for his creativity as for his diligence in project execution.
Drew plays active and leading roles on projects including as project architect on Evergreen Brick Works' carbon neutral retrofit of the historic Kiln Building, Eva's Phoenix Youth Transitional Housing and Skills Centre and a variety of affordable housing and laneway housing projects. He has also designed carbon neutral housing in Yellowknife and net zero housing in San Francisco. This work has been recognized with features in Architectural Record, FastCompany, Canadian Architect and other publications, as well as with design, heritage and green building awards.
Drew is a licensed architect and has taught at the University of Waterloo and University of Toronto. He is a longtime volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.
Emira Galeteanu is a licensed architect who has played key roles on several award-winning cultural, institutional and educational projects. Before joining LGA Architectural Partners, she worked for nine years with G. Bruce Stratton Architects on projects including the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) Design Excellence Award-winning Mount Dennis Public Library and the ARIDO Award-winning office of Bloor West Dental Group.
She has also been the Project Architect on several Toronto Catholic District School Board and Waterloo Regional District School Board child-care additions and primary schools projects. Emira believes that the environments in which children learn and play have a huge impact on their overall mental and physical well-being. Through her work, she tries to harvest the power of space, light, colour, materiality, and program to better students' learning experience, interaction with others, and personal growth.
She is an active participant in the maker movement and believes that design thinking should touch every part of our daily lives. When she is not designing buildings, Emira is often designing and making furniture, lighting fixtures, ceramics, and art objects. She has also written and illustrated three children's books.
Janna Levitt co-founded LGA Architectural Partners (formerly Levitt Goodman Architects) in 1989. She believes architecture is an essential tool for creating living, working, and learning environments that improve the quality of people's lives. Her projects often involve implementing transformative cultural and environmental agendas that are developed through a collaborative process with diverse communities. As Partner in Charge, she has led LGA projects throughout Ontario that include Laurentian University's new McEwen School of Architecture, the University of Waterloo School of Architecture, the Mabelle Arts Park Pavilion, Kitchener Public Library's central location, the Toronto Birth Centre, and the Kiln Building Redevelopment at Evergreen Brick Works. She is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture and Dalhousie University School of Architecture. Janna lectures widely on architecture and the arts and is an active jury member and panellist on architectural and urban design issues across the country. She has been an Arts Build Ontario mentor, and from 2011 to 2015 served on the RAIC Steering Committee for Canada's Architecture Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Janna is currently on the Metrolinx Design Excellence Review Panel and the Waterfront Toronto Design Review Panel.
Jonah Lewis, a graduate of Conestoga College's Architectural Construction Engineering Technology program, is a soon-to-be CET (Certified Engineering Technologist) with a passion for using 3D modelling to understand buildings. Using BIM (Building Information Modelling), Jonah can analyze the impacts of design decisions relative to a building's energy performance and the effects of the building on its surroundings. Jonah has an insatiable curiosity about energy-efficient and low-impact design, and believes that this can be achieved by maintaining a clear, detailed communication process through all stages of design and construction. His previous experience includes working with a timber frame design-build company in the Canadian Rockies, and at a Waterloo-based design-build firm as an architectural technologist. Outside the office, Jonah is avid about his music production and permaculture.
José Castel-Branco joined LGA in 2009 and was instrumental in the office's early adoption of BIM (Building Information Modelling). His software knowledge and construction management expertise have made him a key team member on many complex projects; recently he was the contract administrator on Laurentian University's OAA Design Excellence Award-winning McEwen School of Architecture.
A licensed architect who studied at the University of Toronto, José gained wide-ranging experience at Taylor Hariri Pontarini Architects, Diamond Schmidt Architects, Adamson Associates, and Bortolotto Design Architects.
His completed projects with LGA include Avenue Road Public School, the LEED Gold renovation and expansion of Kitchener Public Library's main location, and several single-family residences. Among José's ongoing projects are car dealerships for Audi and Porsche.
Active in many industry associations, he serves as a critic for the RAIC Syllabus, volunteers on the OAA Complaints Committee, and is a contributor to Dominion Modern, an organization dedicated to raising public awareness of all things modern in Canada.
Kara has a deep interest in community development, adaptive reuse, and sustainable design. She holds a Master of Architecture degree from Dalhousie University in Halifax and has also studied in Winnipeg and Glasgow. In each of these places, alternative building methods, conventional building practices, and hands-on learning opportunities were central to her experience. In her thesis she argued for the reconsideration of community centres: although typically viewed in Canada as recreational facilities, they could provide support for the housed and unhoused, offering places to collaborate, build community, and find stability.
Before moving to Toronto, Kara gained experience in many different architectural sectors at offices in Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Halifax. At LGA, she has had the opportunity to work on a range of projects that includes private residences, car dealerships, and department offices at York University.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Senior Associate
Lise Downe has been central to the daily operations of LGA since 2009. Lise's skill as office manager is partially born out of her first-hand familiarity with the creative design process. Her early-career paintings and drawings have been in exhibited in Canada and Mexico and today she is an established jewellery designer. Lise studied jewellery at OCAD University and George Brown College and her work has been exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions in Montreal and Toronto. Lise has also published four books of poetry. The most recent, titled 'This Way', came out in 2011 with BookThug.
Sophie studied architecture at Université de Montréal, Carleton University, Istanbul Technical University in Turkey and École nationale supérieure d'architecture Paris-Malaquais in France. She is licensed with the OAQ (Ordre des architectes du Québec), having lived and practiced in Montreal for several years. In addition to educational, community and residential architecture, her experience encompasses urban design and transportation-sector projects. After moving to Toronto in 2013, she worked at Weiss Architecture and Urbanism, where she became an Associate in 2016. At that firm she developed a strong interest in community and not-for-profit projects. Sophie joined LGA in 2017, where her projects include a new housing co-op for Innstead and several Toronto Community Housing tower renewal projects. Sophie has served as a guest reviewer at the architecture schools of Carleton University, the University of Toronto, and Waterloo University. Independently, she has worked on numerous residential renovations in Montreal and an eco-tourism development in Luang Prabang, Laos.