about us

Maria was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and spent many childhood summers traveling throughout Greece and the Middle East. Maria studied architecture at Penn State University and continued her graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania where she earned a Master’s degree in Architecture. Her academic years included extensive travel throughout Italy, France and Switzerland, studying art and architecture. She began her professional career in Pittsburgh working on the PNC Baseball Park, an urban stadium located along Pittsburgh’s waterfront and often noted for its dramatic views of downtown. She soon joined Bohlin Cywinski Jackson where she spent much of her early career working on university lab buildings and high-end residential projects across the nation. Maria has aimed to integrate sustainable building strategies into design, most notably working on the Stever House at Carnegie Mellon University, the first LEED certified university dormitory in the United States. Maria relocated to Youngstown, Ohio where she continues to raise her three children and practice architecture, focusing on higher education and high-end residential projects.   

Kate was born in the San Francisco Bay area before spending many grade-school years in Youngstown, Ohio. Kate studied Chemical Engineering and Spanish at the Ohio State University and returned there for graduate school where she earned a Master’s degree in Architecture. Academic summers were spent traveling extensively throughout Europe, studying art, architecture and languages. During graduate school she worked with William O’Brian of WOJR. After graduation, she went to Pittsburgh to practice architecture at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. There her work focused on university engineering and science buildings and creative workplace, which included buildings and master planning for The Walt Disney Company in southern California and Under Armour in Baltimore. Returning to Youngstown, her focus shifted from national projects to local civic work, including the Youngstown Amphitheater and Riverfront Park, Cuyahoga Falls Fire Department and Quaker Valley High School. Throughout her career she has remained attached to academic teaching and has taught architecture studios at Ohio State University, Carnegie Mellon University and Kent State University.