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EJ Fernandez Joins UrbanWorks

By Staff Happenings @es

UrbanWorks is pleased to welcome EJ Fernandez to our team as Project Coordinator / Designer. EJ comes to UrbanWorks with over six years of professional design and project management experience, with a portfolio ranging from residential to commercial, institutional and higher-education. He is passionate about holistic design, the cultural aspects of architecture and its social impact. Prior to joining UrbanWorks, he served as an Architectural Designer/Job Captain + Project Manager at an architecture firm in Culver City, CA. EJ will focus on continuing project and design excellence for the firm’s non-profit and higher education clients. Welcome, EJ! Read more

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Tej Volunteers at USGBC Green Homes Tour

By Community @es, Staff Happenings @es, Tours @es

UrbanWorks’ Sustainability Coordinator, Tej Varpe, volunteered for the USGBC Illinois Chapter Green Built Home Tour of +Plus House in Pilsen on Saturday, July 22. +Plus Houses are affordable, LEED Certified homes. Eleven High Performance Green Homes were featured, including those with high efficiency envelopes, foam insulated foundation, smart furnaces, CarbonCure concrete and radon venting. Each +Plus House was also solar ready. Read more

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UrbanWorks Welcomes Summer Interns

By Community @es, Staff Happenings @es

CPS CTE Intern Elynn Jensen, One Summer Chicago/Vamos Intern Oscar Hernandez, College Intern Corinth Jackson and High School Interns Alexis Roldan and Gabriella Finch were introduced to the field of architecture. The UrbanWorks Summer Interns attended meetings, visited projects under construction, and assisted with project drawings and material selections. UrbanWorks participated as Mentor Sponsors for Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s One Summer Chicago program, which “brings together government institutions, community-based organizations and companies to offer over employment and internship opportunities to youth and young adults ages 14 to 24” and Host Firm for the Chicago Public Schools Career and Technical Education (CTE) College Prep Program which gives “ hands-on training and real world experience through internships”. (Top Row: Gabriella Finch, Corinth Jackson Middle Row: Alexis Roldan, Elynn Jensen Bottom Row: Oscar Hernandez)

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Ann Panopio Joins the Advisory Board of Girls 4 Science

By Community @es, Professional Development @es, Staff Happenings @es

Ann Panopio joins the Advisory Board of Girls 4 Science, an organization dedicated to enhancing (STEM) Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math literacy to 10-18 year old girls through hands-on laboratory and field experiences. Girls 4 Science is making science a reality for over 500 young women in the Chicagoland area. It is Chicago’s only all-girls science initiative in a peer-to-peer environment of encouragement. Go Ann! Read more

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UrbanWorks hosts a Chicago Community Trust On the Table Discussion

By Community @es

Led by Ameera Ashraf O’Neil, UrbanWorks hosted an On the Table discussion on May 16. Nine participants discussed Creative Solution to make Communities Stronger, Safer, and More Dynamic through Architecture. The Chicago Community Trust’s On the Table is an annual forum designed to elevate the civic conversation, foster new relationships and inspire collaborative action across the region. On Tuesday May 16, tens of thousands of Chicago area residents gathered in small groups to share a meal and discuss challenges and opportunities to make communities better. The Chicago Community Trust is the region’s largest community foundation, making grants to nonprofit organizations working to improve metropolitan Chicago. Read more

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Maria Pellot to Volunteer for Youth + Architecture Event

By Community @es, Staff Happenings @es

Maria Pellot will be volunteering at «Folding, Fanning, Flying and Forming», a Youth + Architecture event produced by AIA Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools. The program, held at the SAIC Ballroom on April 26th, and led by Linda Keane, AIA, founder of NEXT.cc and Professor of Architecture + Environmental Design at SAIC, will explore paper patterns, geometry, engineering and biomimicry for approximately fifty 6th grade girls. Read more

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Patricia Saldaña Natke is Featured in CAF’s «Questions for an Architect»

By Publications @es

Patricia Saldaña Natke, UrbanWorks’ Design Principal, was featured as part of the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s ongoing series, «Questions for an Architect» on February 28, 2017. The article, which originally ran in the Winter/Spring CAF Member Magazine, highlights Pat’s accomplishments with UrbanWorks and answers a series of interview questions ranging from her future goals, to her favorite buildings, to her thoughts on Chicago’s built environment challenges. Read more

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UrbanWorks Welcomes I-NOMA

By Community @es, Tours @es

UrbanWorks welcomed the I-NOMA (Illinois chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects) General Body Meeting to our office on March 22, 2017. Ameera Ashraf-O’Neil, UrbanWorks’ Senior Project Manager, led a firm tour and introduction. NOMA’s mission is to champion diversity within the design professions by promoting the excellence, community engagement, and professional development of its members. I-NOMA is a local chapter and subdivision of NOMA, which encompasses a community of design professionals committed to impacting Chicago through design and education.

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Robert Natke to Present at NeoCon in Chicago

By Lectures/Presentations @es

UrbanWorks’ Robert Natke, following his presentation at NeoCon East in November 2016, has been invited to present “It’s Not Business As Usual: Academic Places Go Through Compression and Change Providing Design Challenges and Successes” at NeoCon in Chicago on June 12, 2017 at 4 p.m. This design show, now in its 49th year at Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, will feature exhibitions from over 500 companies, as well as almost 100 CEU seminars for an anticipated audience of over 50,000 design professionals. Read more

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UrbanWorks Named Member of the Month by HACIA

By Lectures/Presentations @es, Milestones @es

UrbanWorks has been named Member of the Month for April 2017 by the Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (HACIA). HACIA «works to ensure the equitable participation of its constituents in the construction industry,” with a focus on Minority and Female-owned firms, “while also promoting the growth, quality of work, professionalism and integrity of these individuals and businesses.” As part of this honor, Patricia Saldaña Natke, UrbanWorks’ Design Principal, will be recognized at HACIA’s monthly meeting in April. Juan Calahorrano, HACIA’s Director of Operations, released in a statement that HACIA «is proud to recognize UrbanWorks Ltd; an HACIA member since 1998, in its April 2017 Membership Meeting.  HACIA recognizes the hard work, determination and contribution that UrbanWorks and its Principal Patricia Saldaña Natke AIA have made to HACIA and the construction community through the years.» Read more

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