Beyond the Surface

36: Danielle Tillman | Opening Doors

Danielle Tillman is an architect in Chicago whose global portfolio includes many notable projects, including the renovation of the Whitney M. Young Jr. Branch Library and select projects in China. Listen in to hear about her journey, how the mindset from mathematics can translate to architecture, and how organizational leadership can be a form of advocacy.

35: Elizabeth Blasius and Jonathan Solomon | Looking Back, Going Forward

Elizabeth Blasius and Jonathan Solomon are founders and partners of Preservation Futures, a firm focused on design, advocacy, and consultancy at the intersection of historic preservation and contemporary practice.

34: Rana Lee | Who Are You Speaking To?

Rana Lee is the Marketing Principal leading business development for HOK’s Chicago studio. In this episode, she talks about how her experience in real estate and business development leads to the work she does for architecture firms. She breaks down what business development and networking in architecture means, provides some tips, and explains how networking can be treated like a design project in itself.

33: Alzira Maldonado Protsishin | A Quilt of Perspectives

Alzira is a Senior Design Architect at EXP focused on architecture in the public realm, particularly infrastructure projects. The conversation discusses Alzira's journey between multiple countries and settling in Chicago. Listen to her talk about how working on large public infrastructure projects can have influences on all levels, including people on daily commutes. She also talks about the opportunity to give back as a mentor to aspiring architects while appreciating the impact of having strong mentors.

32: Gabriel Ignacio Dziekiewicz | Design Legacy

In this episode, we sit down with Gabriel Ignacio Dziekiewicz, president and principal in charge of design at DesignBridge, an award-winning Chicago-based architecture firm with nearly four decades of history. The conversation covers Gabriel’s family story, including his father’s journey in architecture and founding DesignBridge, and Gabriel’s personal discovery in architecture as he moved towards leading the firm and carrying on his father’s legacy.