May 18, 2022

The AIA New Jersey and Newark and Suburban Awards Dinner Was A Night To Remember!

On Friday, May 13, 2022, over 200 members, friends, family, and colleagues of AIA New Jersey gathered at The Stone House in Warren, NJ for the 2022 AIA New Jersey and Newark and Suburban Board Installation and Awards Dinner. 

Four service awards and eighteen design awards were presented. Awards Sponsors included Conspectus, Inc.; DiSousa Contracting Consulting; Hoagland, Longo, Moran, Dunst & Doukas, LLP; Langan Engineering and Environmental Services; ML7 Construction and Design and Whitehorn Financial Group. Gold Sponsors included DMR Architects, NK Architects and Weston Architects, LLC. Andersen Windows was the Platinum Sponsor. 

L-R, AIA N&S Vice President Francisco Grimaldi, AIA, with President Christy DiBartolo, AIA, and Immediate Past President Andrew Thompson, AIA

The event was hosted by AIA Newark and Suburban 2020 President, Paul Tiajoloff, AIA. AIA Newark and Suburban 2022 President Christy DiBartolo, AIA, and 2021 President Andrew Thompson, AIA, NOMA, each made remarks. 

Christy is the owner of Mindful Architecture, LLC, which currently specializes in residential and small-scale commercial projects. Her approach to architecture is to provide insight into the design and construction process, compassion for the parties involved, and a humble yet animated demeanor involving patience and understanding. 

Christy has a BArch from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, MA. Her technical experience and methodical mindset drove her passion for understanding codes, structure, and technical detailing at all levels. She has worked on a wide variety of project types, from large-scale mixed-use complexes, all the way down to furniture detailing. She has also filled a multitude of roles from Facilities Manager to Project Architect to Drafter to Construction Administrator. 

If she is not juggling her practice or her AIA responsibilities, Christy can be found spending time with her husband and three children. She enjoys exercising, meditating, RVing and is always up for the batting cages. 

AIA New Jersey presented their 2022 Board, shown here, L-R, Immediate Past President, Joshua Zinder, AIA; Young Architect State Director, Matthew Pultorak, AIA; NJ Strategic Council Representative, Michael Hanrahan, AIA; Treasurer, Abigail Benjamin, AIA; Secretary, Manuel Pereiras, AIA; Vice President, Ronald Weston, AIA; President-Elect, Brian Penschow, AIA and 2022 President, John Cwikla, AIA. Not pictured: State Associate Representative, Libertad Lauren Harris, Associate AIA. John presented Josh with the Past President’s Award and Josh presented John with his gavel. 

John A. Cwikla, AIA, is a licensed architect and is currently employed as a project architect with Potter Architects, LLC, a third-generation architecture firm in Union, NJ. He has been with the firm since 1995, and during that time has worked on designs for a wide variety of municipal, educational, and public projects. He is also NCARB certified and serves as the firm’s in-house IT director. 

Mr. Cwikla graduated from the architecture program at Spring Garden College in Philadelphia, PA, with a BArch in 1992 and joined AIA in 1997. 

Over the past two decades, has been an active AIA Member. including serving as President, Vice President and Secretary of AIA Newark and Suburban. He also served as Regional Associate Director for AIA NJ, a national position created to promote the professional growth of emerging professionals, and as the membership chair for AIA NJ. 

John, his wife, Jennifer, and their son Ricky, have resided in Springfield, NJ since 2005. 

By Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA, AIA NJ Advocacy Consultant | Posted in AIA Newark and Suburban, AIA-NJ News, Architecture in NJ, Associates, Business, Diversity, Emerging Professionals, EquityInArchitecture, Service Awards, Small Firms, Women in Architecture | Tagged: #AIA, #AIANewJersey, #AIANJ, #AmericanInstituteofArchitects, #Architecture, #ArtandScience, #Artisticvalue, #Buildingtechnology, #Builtenvironment, #Clients, #CollegeofFellows, #Designinnovation, #DesignProfessionals, #EconomicValue, #Education, #EnergyConservation, #Experience, #GovernorPhilipMurphy, #growthmanagement, #Health, #history, #Housing, #Innovation, #inspiration, #Nature, #NewJerseyArchitecture, #NJArchitects, #NJArchitectureWeek, #NJArchWeek22, #NJexecutivedepartment, #PhilipMurphy, #Publichealth, #Publicspace, #Qualityoflife, #Safety, #SociallyResponsible, #SocietyofNJArchitects, #stewardship, #StructuralSafety, #sustainablebuildings, #Training, #ValueOfTheArchitect, #Visualcharacter, #Welfare, Accessibility, ADA, GovernorMurphy, HistoricPreservation | Comments (0)