A big welcome to Aimee Lawson, our newest team member and Designer! In June, Aimee joined us all the way from Florida where she has lived all her life as well as where she attended college.

Aimee attended the University of Florida, earning a B.S. in Architecture with minors in Sustainability and Landscape Architecture. Now she works as a Designer (architect in training) at our firm. In her short time here working under the direction of Deborah Smith, she has already made an impact. Her current project, an addition to a local elementary school, is well on its way to construction documents. 

She grew up in Palm Harbor, Florida, and is grateful to have come from a family of 6, saying “I am very grateful for this because having siblings is like having built-in friends, and they are some of my best ones.” Now in Virginia, she lives with her 8-year-old cat named Eloise.

Growing up in Florida, Aimee is no stranger to alligators. When asked about interesting facts about her hometown she says that alligators are everywhere, which lends itself to interesting stories such as the one where: “One time when I was a kid, I got out of taking out the trash because there was an alligator on our driveway next to the trash can.” 

In her free time, she can be found making pottery, painting, crocheting, and watching movies. Her favorite TV show is NCIS because she loves to try to guess the outcomes and enjoys the suspense, and she also enjoys Parks and Rec when she’s in a lighter mood.

She describes herself as quirky and is appreciative of that characteristic because it helps make others more comfortable around her and creates a more lighthearted and fun environment. We are thrilled to have the addition of her skills and personality to our team!

We are thrilled to welcome Aliyah D. White to our team as one of our newest full-time Designers! Aliyah grew up in Virginia Beach, VA and after attending the University of Virginia School of Architecture, now calls Charlottesville home. As a 2023 graduate from the UVA School of Architecture with a B.S. in Architecture and a minor in English, she brings fresh design experience and skills to the team. 

Now Aliyah offers her design eye, growing level of experience, and energy to our projects as a Designer (Architect in training) at our firm. In addition, Aliyah brings her writing talents to our team along with organizational and leadership traits that are important for a designer. She is most often working with Ray and Adrienne to develop our luxury living community projects doing unit design, elevation creation, and updating the construction documents needed for a successful project.

Aliyah offers her design eye, growing level of experience, and energy to our projects as a Designer (Architect in training) at our firm. In addition, Aliyah brings her writing talents to our team along with organizational and leadership traits that are important for a designer. She is most often working with Ray and Adrienne to develop our luxury living community projects doing unit design, elevation creation, and updating the construction documents needed for a successful project.

While in school, Aliyah was dedicated to equity both in and out of the classroom. Her contributions to the university centered on fairly and accurately narrating Black history at UVA in order to build a more equitable school for future students of color. Her extracurricular time was mainly spent serving on the Cavalier Daily student newspaper as a Social Issues Columnist, the School of Architecture Student Council, and as Social Awareness Chair for her residential college. Through these endeavors, she further developed her skills in leadership, programming, narrative story-telling, and advocacy, all of which are very important aspects to being an architect. Upon her graduation, she received the 2023 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award in recognition of her excellence of character and service to humanity. 

Outside of the office, she can be found reading, writing, or baking. She may also be found watching The Boondocks which she says is as wildly inappropriate as it is hilarious. 

Two important qualities that Aliyah names are her determination and flexibility. She appreciates these qualities saying that they “allow me to succeed in anything I find interest in and put my hands on”. We’re excited about the addition of her talents and personality to our team and community.