Architecture and Innovation

Vince DiPofi, PE and CEO of SSOE. Vince joined SSOE in 2000 and has more than 40 years of professional experience.

Vince was named Engineer of the Year in 2022.

He spearheaded SSOE’s Value Promise program, which has documented more than $1.5 billion in savings for clients initiated by SSOE.

Throughout the years, he has been instrumental in developing numerous new accounts for SSOE and starting up the company’s operations in Mexico.

For more information, you can visit: https://www.ssoe.com/

Jenna Knudsen is the managing principal of CO Architects. 2023 National AIA Award-Winners.

Jenna has led award-winning large-scale academic, laboratory, and healthcare projects nationwide on university and healthcare campuses.

Her groundbreaking projects are innovative in design, sustainability, and project delivery.

Jenna has been nationally recognized for the early use of BIM and integrated delivery.

For more information, you can visit: https://coarchitects.com/

Paul Tang, principal, and partner of the Los Angeles and Shanghai-based architecture firm Verse Design. Formerly Paul Tang Architecture.

Paul was selected as one of the millennial New Blood 101 designers of Los Angeles in 2001 and 2002.He's also the recipient of the National A I, a foundation award, and a professor at the University of Southern California, where he has taught the school of architecture for over 19 years and graduated Claud from the University of Southern California School of Architecture and received his master of architecture with a letter of distinction from Harvard University.

For more information, you can visit their website at https://www.vdla.co/

Michael Poris, AIA, a founding principal at McIntosh Poris Architects, where he’s led the charge on restoring Detroit’s most iconic neighborhoods and landmark buildings.

Since returning to the city in 1995, he has tirelessly worked to preserve the legacy of its beloved 20th-century architecture and historic districts while helping implement change through innovative design.

His architectural leadership has transformed Detroit with groundbreaking projects, such as the Foundation Hotel and the East Riverfront Framework Plan, both recognized with numerous awards.

The firm has gained over 130 design accolades, including 30 AIA Honor Awards and 70 Detroit Design Awards.

For more information, you can visit: https://www.mcintoshporis.com/

Mark Schoeman, Architect and Design Principal at Anderson Brulé Architects, or A-B-A. Mark is a design principal who enjoys creating 21st-century learning and healing environments.

His experience includes master planning, programming, and design for higher education, K through 12 education, healthcare, residential, and civic clients.

For more information, feel free to visit their [email protected].

Steven Song, architect and real estate investor.

● Founder of SCAAA, a strategy consulting, planning, and architecture practice with studios in Los Angeles, Seoul, Osaka, and Dallas;

● Also the CEO of Axle Companies, which invests in real estate and social impact businesses;

● Board member of the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles; and

● Board member of SCI-Arc (Southern California Institute of Architecture)

Steven and his team at SCAAA recently brought to market The SCAAA Process™.  Combining research, AI technology (through a tool-in-development called AIBE or AI for the Built Environment), and design thinking, The SCAAA Process™ reimagines project delivery and provides a new way forward for real estate investment.

For more information, you can visit https://www.scaaa.com/office. 

David K. Plotkin, AIA and Principal of WDA.

David founded and operated his Tucson, Arizona firm, concentrating on envisioning and implementing commercial and residential projects built with environmentally responsible practices. He has also designed and managed projects for firms in New York, Nashville, Chicago, and Los Angeles, including Frank O. Gehry & Associates and Morphosis Architects.

WBA is a people-based practice. That makes our design process fundamentally different than the norm. At WDA, everyone participates in design.

WBA engages the expertise of our entire team from the start and believes that when people feel connected to their work, they care more about their contributions, pushing design to greater heights.

Their byline is the modern design that lives well.

For more information, you can visit: https://wdarch.com/

Adam Kushner is the founding principal of KUSHNER Studios, an architecture and design practice. His design background stems from his formal education at Rensselaer [B ARCH 1986] and Cornell University [M ARCH 1994].

As a Design Studio Instructor at Cornell, his interest in teaching was nourished, and he remains close to academia.

Adam is also a founding partner of https://www.inhousegroupinc.com/team/adam-kushner/

For more information, you can visit https://www.kushnerstudios.com/copy-of-home.

For our guest today, we're honored and excited to welcome Hans Baldauf, a fellow of the American Institute of Architects LEED AP and founding Principal at BCV. BCV is an award-winning architecture, interior design, and planning firm with international experience creating beautiful environments. They strive to produce work that is simple, elegant, and timeless.An efficient expression of design that shows a sense of restraint and transcends trends. For more information, feel free to visit their website at bcvarch.com. 

Cass Calder Smith, FAIA and founder of Calder Smith Architecture + Interiors, is known for high-profile restaurant designs in San Francisco, California, and New York City.

Cass Calder Smith is dedicated to excellence in architecture and design. Since its inception in 1990, CCS has designed various public and private buildings and interiors for LIVING, WORKING, EATING, and MORE. The firm has gained international acclaim for the architectural and commercial success of its restaurant projects, while the uniqueness of residential, commercial, and mixed-use projects has met with an unusual degree of owner satisfaction and media praise. CCS seeks to explore opportunities of maximum potential and express them at a scale appropriate to each project. 

Their work is firmly based on the modernist idiom, where innovation and creativity are balanced by common sense and experience. The firm is known for creating exceptional spatial and material projects and providing outstanding, professional service.

Feel free to visit his site at https://www.casscaldersmith.com/