October 1, 2024
Reading Time: 6 minutes
This lecture, presented by the AIA NJ Equity in Architecture Committee, brings together a diverse group of Hispanic and Latinx architecture students and faculty from the Michael Graves College at Kean University and the Hillier College of Architecture and Design at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Esteemed chair of the AIA NJ Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Moderator Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA, will invite the panelists to explore the rich contributions of Hispanic cultures to architectural design. In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, panelists will discuss how their designs are influenced by their cultural identity, community values, and innovation. Attendees will gain insight into the fusion of traditional and contemporary practices that continue to shape today’s built environment.
Derick Aguirre
Derick is a junior at NJIT, pursuing a degree in Architecture. Growing up in Plainfield, New Jersey, his interest in design sparked early when he spent time building with Legos and playing Minecraft. He later attended the Plainfield Academy for the Arts and Advanced Studies, where he discovered a passion for modern houses, skyscrapers, perspective drawings, and photography through art and visual design courses. In addition to his artistic interests, Derick has been dedicated to piano since age eight, performing at events like the NJ State Teen Arts Festival and Plainfield City Hall. In high school, he served as captain of the Boys’ Varsity Volleyball team, was named a Scholar Athlete, and contributed to his community as Class Treasurer. Now a commuter student at NJIT, Derick continues to pursue his goals while balancing his interests in music, sports, school, photography, and participation in his local church’s youth program with the drive of taking his career and impacting the environment and his national country through architecture.
Ruperto Arvelo, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP
Ruperto is the principal and founder of ARVELO architecture & design, located in the West Village, NYC. He has over 35 years of experience in different types of projects both nationally and internationally. He has worked in several architecture firms in New York, New Jersey and Puerto Rico during his professional development as an architect and interior designer. For many of those years, he worked as a designer and project manager at the New York Gensler Office. The exposure of working in all these firms gave him experience in residential, corporate and commercial projects of all scales, including ground-up and adaptive reuse interior and exterior renovation projects.
Registered as an architect in New York, Florida and Puerto Rico, he is a successful architect who can wear different hats and bring everyone together to successfully complete projects.
Ruperto has taught at various leading colleges and universities: Syracuse University, Parsons in New York City, NJIT, and Berkeley College in New Jersey. He has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Puerto Rico and a Master’s degree in Architecture from Syracuse University.
In his free time, Ruperto enjoys traveling, the arts, and being outdoors. He travels frequently to Puerto Rico where he has a second home.
Jennifer Garcia
Jennifer is a 5th year B. Arch student at NJIT. She serves on the NJIT HCAD AIAS Board of Directors as Communications Director. Jennifer was born in Cuba and came to the states when she was a young girl. In her early teens, her aunt introduced Jennifer to appreciate architecture and she immediately fell in love! Her goal since Freshman year has been to finish school and get licensed as quickly as possible. Jennifer hopes to establish her own firm one day.
Stephanie Sang Delgado
Stephanie is a Cuban Chinese architect and educator, born and raised in Puerto Rico. She is the co-director of office ca, an experimental collaborative practice with Galo Canizares, and an Assistant Professor at Kean University in the School of Public Architecture at the Michael Graves College. Her research focuses on how interfaces can destabilize architecture to produce constantly evolving structures.
With an emphasis on movable and indeterminate architecture, her work creates new fictions and new realities through subtle and overt manipulations of existing building components. Her research also focuses on food, its colonial legacy to the urban landscape, and the cultural value of food images.
Stephanie received her M. Arch from The Ohio State University, where she was the Graduate Enrichment Fellow and a recipient of the Architecture Research Travel Award. She received her Master of Arts in Gastronomy from Boston University and her B.A. in Architectural Studies from Ithaca College, where she was a Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar. Her work has been exhibited in Barcelona, Columbus, Los Angeles, Denver, Cincinnati, Lexington, Lake Forest, Lubbock, New York City, Chicago, and Tallinn, Estonia. She has taught at the Ohio State University, Columbus College of Art and Design, Texas Tech University, Virginia Tech, University of Houston and was the 2020 Visiting Teaching Fellow at the School of Architecture at Taliesin.
Sean Santos
Sean is a fourth-year Bachelor of Architecture student at Kean University. He is Venezuelan and Portuguese. Sean became interested in architecture after working in construction and learning the electrical trade from his father. He developed a passion for the design phase of the construction industry. Sean’s primary goal as an architect is to make inclusive architecture that’s accessible to everyone regardless of their physical or mental abilities. This inspiration developed when Sean realized his nonverbal, autistic brother could not enjoy architecture the way he could. Sean hopes to influence the world so every person can appreciate, enjoy and interact with architecture to its full extent.
Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA, NJ CID, LEED AP
Stacey is the principal of her firm, Stacey Ruhle Kliesch Architect, LLC, which started in 2003. Ms. Kliesch is licensed to practice architecture in NY and NJ, is a NJ Certified Interior Designer and a NJ Real Estate Salesperson. Stacey received her Bachelor of Architecture from the Catholic University of America, followed by a Master of Science in Management and a Master of Architecture from NJIT. She has been an adjunct design professor, guest lecturer or visiting critic at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Kean University, Berkeley College and Bergen Community College.
An award-winning architect, she has been a member of AIA since 1993, 2006 President of The Architects League of Northern New Jersey and 2009 President of AIA New Jersey. Stacey has received the AIA NJ Distinguished Service Award, was recognized as Young Architect and Intern Architect of the Year, and received the Architects League’s highest honor, the Vegliante Award, and multiple Trustees Awards. Stacey is the chair of the AIA NJ Equity in Architecture Committee and advocacy consultant for the AIA NJ Public Awareness Committee.
By Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA, AIA NJ Advocacy Consultant | Posted in Architecture Students, Emerging Professionals, EquityInArchitecture | Tagged: #AIAS, #ArchitectureFaculty, #ArchitectureStudents, #DerickAguirre, #JenniferGarcia, #KEANMGC, #NJITHCAD, #NOMAS, #rupertoarveloAIA, #SeanSantos, #StaceyRuhleKlieschAIA, #StephanieSangDelgado | Comments (0)
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