Raha AhmaD
Promoted to Senior Associate
Since joining Payette in 2014, Raha has consistently demonstrated exceptional dedication and expertise, making an indelible impact on numerous rendering efforts for projects that support design investigation and project acquisition marketing initiatives. Her outstanding contributions played a pivotal role in projects such as Northeastern EXP, Ragon, Takeda, White Plains Hospital and, most recently, the Johns Hopkins University.
Through independent study, Raha’s commitment to excellence is evident in the elevated capability and quality she brings to each rendering. In true Design Viz fashion, she consistently goes above and beyond, always seeking innovative ways to deliver more than what is asked of her. Her hard work, creativity and unwavering commitment to our shared goals are exceptional.
Education:
• BS, Applied Mathematics, Shahid Beheshti University, Iran
LEON V. AUVIL, JR., AIA, CSI, CDT
Promoted to Manager of Quality Assurance
With over 40 years in the profession, and experience both in healthcare and research, Leon brings profound depth of expertise to Payette. Having joined us in 1989, he has also helped shepherd the firm to our current position of prominence, and he has led teams through our seminal projects. Leon has also served as an advocate for technical excellence across the entirety of the design studio. He has helped to standardize our deliverables, and championed discourse surrounding Construction Administration and professional development. As the Manager of Quality Assurance, Leon will transition away from individual projects and focus on helping the practice grow both in terms of knowledge and execution. He will serve as a resource to all teams so that we might conceive of, and document designs that can be realized and perform as expected. As the commensurate mentor, Leon will help us all keep learning.
Education:
• B.Arch., 1984, Boston Architectural College
• Associate Degree, 1979, Architectural Engineering Technology, Wentworth Institute of Technology
STEPHANIE BALSAM, aia
Promoted to Senior Associate
Stephanie joined Payette in 2017 and since that time has led a diverse group of projects. Building on previous museum experience, Stephanie took over leadership of the National Coast Guard Museum project and has deftly conducted the project through numerous design iterations, regulatory hurdles and now construction. At the same time, she has managed projects ranging from the beginnings of Land’s Sake Farm Stand, to UC Berkeley’s Hesse O’Brien Research Building and the renovation of 60 Oxford Street for the Harvard Quantum Initiative. Stephanie has demonstrated tremendous capacity to take on different assignments, while realizing Payette’s signature work. She reflects our values for empirically driven design that celebrates high design, performance, sustainability and wellness. She also serves as a mentor for students in the OpenLAB Studio.
Education:
• M.Arch., 2010, Columbia University
• BS, 2002, Providence College
CAITLIN CASHNER, aIA
Promoted to Senior Associate
Since joining Payette in 2015, Caitlin has demonstrated leadership and healthcare design expertise across multiple projects. After leading the planning and design effort on the BIDMC Klarman Building’s perioperative surgical and radiology floors, Caitlin has gone on to lead the design of multiple projects of varying scales for Boston Children’s Hospital and the Yale New Haven Health System. She works directly with hospital leadership, end users and facilities teams to design thoughtful resolutions to highly technical typologies. Many of these projects necessitated highly intricate phasing, including the ED at White Plains Hospital. Caitlin is active in various internal efforts, creating resources to improve Payette’s healthcare practice. She recently presented the Klarman Building at the 2023 Healthcare Facilities Design Symposium and teaches design studios as an adjunct faculty member at the College of Architecture and Environmental Design at Kent State University.
Education:
• M. Arch, 2015, University of Michigan
• MS, Architecture/Design Health, 2014, University of Michigan
• BS, Architecture, 2011, Washington University in St. Louis
DANE CLARK, AIA, LEED AP BD+C
Promoted to Senior Associate
Since joining Payette in 2017, Dane has made a significant impact on a number of the firm’s signature commissions. For six years, he held a primary design team role in the University of Connecticut’s new 200,000 GSF flagship Science 1 STEM research building and Northwest Science Quad, one of the largest and most technically complex projects Payette has executed in recent years. Dane was also a key contributor to the University of Hartford’s Hursey Center for Advanced Engineering and Health Studies, and he is currently leading the design of a prominent new addition to Eaton Hall at Tufts University. Possessing keen design insight, rigorous technical skills and a highly engaging interpersonal style, Dane is equally at ease in our FabLab, on the construction site, working with students or being a mentor to developing professionals in our studio.
Education:
• M.Arch., 2015, Rhode Island School of Design
• BS, Architecture, 2009, University of Michigan
Opening later this year, the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard in Cambridge, MA is an essay in the tuning of building façades for performance. The aluminum sunshades that veil the building began as a concept tested by scoring Bristol paper. The team utilized tools from all modalities: paper models, CNC-mills, parametric studies, solar analysis, wind and water simulations and full-scale mock-ups to inform the design and drive energy use down. The ultra-high performance building is tracking a 61% reduction in energy use compared to the 2030 baseline.
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