August 2024

What We're Celebrating

Three cheers to some stellar accomplishments!

Another Leg Lamp, Another New Home 🏆

A big shoutout to Matt Schuepbach, our newest licensed architect! Matt’s hard work and dedication have paid off, and now the lamp is shining bright on his desk. Congrats, Matt!

Double the Davids, Double the Celebration!

David Junge and David Lewis recently celebrated their 25-year anniversaries with LJC. Here’s to two Davids, 50 combined LJC years, and countless projects!

Cheers to 25 years! Our Overland office raising a glass to Dave Junge.

Top of the Charts in LA!

Exciting news from Culver City: Clayco (with LJC cheering from the sidelines) snagged FIRST place in the large firm category (250+ employees) at the Los Angeles Business Journal's 18th Annual Best Places to Work awards. This ranking highlights top local employers redefining the employee experience through leadership, culture, and communication—and we’re honored to be leading the pack!

Intern Mayra Shuja has been honored with a Design Award from the Chaddick Institute at DePaul University for her project, The Living Canopy at Howard.

This five-story mixed-use development in Evanston features 55 residential units and vibrant community spaces. Mayra presented her project to the City of Evanston and local non-profits. Fantastic work, Mayra!

Our hospitality and interior design teams celebrated Carolyn Mesha with a baby shower filled with sweet treats and lots of pink. Cheers to Carolyn and the little one on the way!

What We're Up To

Take a look at what we've been up to this past month!

Another successful NOMA Project Pipeline!

NOMA Project Pipeline is all about opening doors for students in architecture, design, and urban planning, with a focus on boosting diversity in the field. This year, NOMA hosted 30 camps in 36 cities, connecting around 1,400 students with 780+ mentors.

A shoutout to our LJC team members who organize Project Pipeline:

National Chair of Project Pipeline: Richie Hands
St. Louis NOMA Secretary/STL Camp Coordinator: Nic Smith
NOMA Arizona’s PHX and SMIS Camp Coordinator: Fatima Garcia

An Inside Look: Richie Guides NOMA Students Through Bronzeville Project

At the INOMA Summer Camp, 50 enthusiastic students got a behind-the-scenes look at our Northwestern Medicine Bronzeville Advanced Outpatient Care Center construction site.

Our very own Richie Hands and Angel Files from NMH guided the students, with help from Ujamaa and Power’s Maura McInerney, Montrell Hurt, Tumi Onabolu, Franky Bongiovanni, and the Power team. Big thanks to our partners at Ujamaa, Power Construction, and our client NMH for making this possible!

Australian Delegation Visits Future Quantum Computing Campus

We had the honor of hosting an Australian delegation at the 8080 S Lake Shore site, including leaders like Chris Elstoft and Senator Don Farrell. Big thanks to PsiQuantum's Josh Richman and Mark Brunner for gathering folks from Australia, Chicago, and Illinois to explore the future of quantum computing. Our crew from LJC, Clayco, CRG, and Related Midwest joined in the fun, too!

KC Office Welcomes Students for a Design Tour

We hosted high school students at our Kansas City office for the Linda Hall Library Futures event, offering a glimpse into the architecture, engineering, and design world. Thanks to Tina Moore and Joe Keal for sharing their insights. This event provides grades 9-12, recent grads, and incoming 9th graders with hands-on experience from industry professionals.

Aviation Group Takes Flight

Our Aviation team recently hosted United Airlines' corporate real estate team at 24 E Washington. We gave them the runway to mingle, dazzled them with our rooftop amenity space, and held meetings in the 9th floor spec suite to showcase our stellar interiors work.

Phoenix Crew Shines at Hike for Hope

Our Phoenix office teamed up with Clayco for the Hike for Hope, raising over $1,500 for St. Joseph the Worker, a local organization dedicated to connecting the Valley’s disadvantaged, homeless, and transitioning individuals to quality jobs. The hike was a hit, with beautiful weather and options for all skill levels.

Thank You for a Successful Backpack Drive!

A huge shoutout to our Phoenix office and Culture Council for their incredible support of the Salvation Army’s Backpack Drive! In just three weeks, we filled 20+ backpacks, donated 50+ reams of paper, and raised over $300. Our Gorilla cart was overflowing!

Get Ready for the Cyclone Energy Rodeo!

Erika Winters-Downey will be saddling up to speak at the Cyclone Energy Group’s Innovation Rodeo in Chicago on September 12th! This year’s lineup is packed with industry experts discussing everything from decarbonization and building life-cycle carbon emissions to AI in architecture, engineering, and construction. Let’s cheer Erika on as she brings LJC’s expertise to the rodeo!

Office Twins Spotted 👀

Floral prints, brand colors, wolfpack tees, green thumbs, and summer vibes—our team had it all this month! Cheers to this month’s stylish duos!

LJC's vision for the Mag Mile is on display at the Chicago Architecture Center!

If you haven’t checked it out yet, our pop-up exhibition will be up until November 16. It features two design proposals aimed at boosting the economic vitality and experience of the Magnificent Mile. Stop by the CAC's first-floor lobby/orientation space to see it for yourself!

Shout out to Lauren McPhillips for the beautiful photos!

Everyone's favorite week is upon us: SPIRIT WEEK 2024!

Mark your calendars for September 23-27th! Theme announcement coming soon!

Welcome to LJC!

Welcome to our newest team members who have joined us! Be sure to say hello to these new LJC'ers.

Who We Are

A monthly Q&A to help you get to know what some of your LJC colleagues are up to outside the office!

Get to know Brian Dolan!

LJC Office Location: Phoenix
Title/Role: Principal, Office Director
Focus: Architecture
School(s) you graduated from: University of Notre Dame

What’s the last TV show you binged and enjoyed? What was so good about it?
Brooklyn 99. I was always underwhelmed by Andy Samberg on SNL, but somehow, he's now hilarious to me on this show.

What does a perfect weekend look like to you?
Weekends without anything planned are the BEST, but extraordinarily rare these days! If I can go for a hike with my wife and dog in the morning, chill in the afternoon and play guitar and then make a great dinner at home, I'm a happy person.

What was your first job, and what is most memorable about it?
During summers in college, I was a janitor at my old high school. Terrible job, but I did learn the hard way why we now design mop sinks on the floor and not elevated waist-high like they built them in the '50s. (Think massive container of stuff you don't want spilling on you and you get the gist!)

Meet Zach Holbert!

LJC Office Location: Kansas City
Title/Role: Senior Associate/Senior Project Architect
Focus: Architecture
School(s) you graduated from: University of Kansas
Professional affiliations and/or organizations you’re involved in: AIA, NCARB, USGBC (LEED)

If you could travel to any time period/place, what would it be and why?
2008, so I could relive my sophomore year of college and experience KU winning the National Championship and Orange Bowl in the same year again!

What are you most proud of accomplishing in your life, NOT professionally, so far?
Reaching a point in my life where I can drive our family minivan around with 100% confidence.

What movie can you watch repeatedly? What makes it so special?
The Dark Knight, because Batman.

What does a perfect weekend look like to you?
A cool fall weekend filled with BBQ, good drinks, football, and a trip to the pumpkin patch with the fam!

Say "hello" to Cambrie Barowski!

LJC Office Location: Chicago
Title/Role: Designer
Focus: Architecture and Interiors
School(s) you graduated from: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Bachelor of Science in Architecture) | University of Cincinnati (Master of Architecture)

What’s the most fun you’ve had on a trip or vacation?
My favorite trip ever was to Tahiti! It was the perfect combination of seeing the local island and relaxing. For the first half of the trip, we stayed in Papeete and our Airbnb host let us use their car to drive around the whole island. We would hop out along the way to check out different sites like waterfalls, grottos and gardens. We ended the night with a Polynesian dance performance and amazing seafood. For the second half of the trip, we took a ferry to Moorea and stayed in a hut right on the ocean. Although it was pouring rain the whole time, my favorite part was swimming and snorkeling along the ocean…I felt like I was witnessing Finding Nemo in real life!

What’s your most niche, non-work-related interest?
I love any and all hobbies! From drawing/painting, sewing, embroidery, scrap booking, taking care of my plants…. anything that involves taking a break from screen time. I think the most niche of my hobbies at the moment is sewing miniature felt food.

What movie can you watch repeatedly?
Barbie. Every moment is perfection.

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up and why?
I wanted to be a singer when I was little. I was under the impression that the only requirement to go on American Idol was being old enough – no “skill” required. Turns out I cannot carry a single note.

Learn more about Dan Wojciechowski!

LJC Office Location: Overland
Title/Role: Senior Project Accountant
Focus: Accounting
School(s) you graduated from: University of Missouri - Columbia

What’s the most fun you’ve had on a trip or vacation?
I’d say the most fun I’ve had on a trip is when I went to Salzburg, Berchtesgaden, and Munich. Hiking, visiting WW2 sites, and visiting the best beer gardens and breweries in the world. Doesn’t get much better than that.

What’s your most niche, non-work-related interest?
My love of music…especially classic rock, blues and jazz. I have a dedicated room at my house where I can escape my chaotic life and listen to music. I also collect records and my stereo consists of vintage equipment. Most people are also surprised to learn I am a huge Grateful Dead fan. My dad was a huge deadhead and it only took him 30 years to get me into them!

What movie can you watch repeatedly? What makes it so special?
Moneyball … combines my love of baseball and math. Everyone likes a good underdog story. A team with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball were able to use statistics to find undervalued players and essentially “buy” wins. These methods have influenced how teams and players think about the game of baseball today.

Get to Know Josh Oliver!

LJC Office Location: St Louis - Overland
Title/Role: Associate Principal
Focus: Interiors Tech Lead
School(s) you graduated from: University of Missouri – Columbia, BS and MS
Professional affiliations and/or organizations you’re involved in: Missouri Registered Interior Designer

What is something about you that you think would surprise your co-workers?
I can’t wink on my right side and can’t snap with my left hand.

What’s your most niche, non-work-related interest?
Does Lego count? I’m going to say yes it does. The kids and I have our own sets/collections, and we are constructing a small city as well. Plus, the never-ending challenge of sorting all the loose pieces!

What’s a book you’d recommend to just about anyone? Why?
Firelord – Parke Godwin. It’s a retelling of the Arthurian legend, with a unique yet somehow familiar spin.

What was your first job, and what is most memorable about it?
Working as a bagger for tips only at the grocery store (on an Air Force base). I loved perfecting the organization and speed needed to bag everything smartly into paper bags, did not love earning just a quarter for my efforts from the more ... elderly customers.

What We're Working On

Check out some of the latest and greatest milestones from this past month!

Printing in Progress...

Check out our collaboration with Pikus3D on the 430 N. Michigan Ave. project! This partnership is pushing the boundaries of design with 3D concrete printing technology. Pikus3D’s precision has allowed us to integrate intricate curves and unique forms into the architectural design, creating structures that are both stunning and sustainable. Stay tuned for the final reveal!