Our Monday Morning Meetings have brought us closer together. Literally. Now with our largest staff in years, (if not, ever) we're filling up the BPA conference room more rapidly than we ever predicted. We asked our new hires from 2012 a few questions we may not have asked otherwise. DAVE BERLEKAMP Previously Worked: Westlake Reed Leskosky / Cleveland, OH Your Alternate Reality Career: Furniture designer/fabricator…or an architectural photographer….or a professional endurance athlete.

Hidden Talent: While now on hiatus from racing, for ten years I was a competitive cyclist.  Needless to say, when it comes to riding a bike quickly, I have that one covered. Favorite Designed Item of 2012: Besides a number of small wooden furniture pieces and objects, one of my most favorite projects is Perk Park in Downtown Cleveland – it’s a very well executed urban landscape project & one that hopefully has raised the standard of urban design in Cleveland. West Side or East Side?  West Side for sure, born and raised, however I have warmed up to the East Side since I moved here.   KIERA SZYTEC Previously Worked: Kaczmar Architects Inc. / Cleveland, Ohio Your Alternate Reality Career: Dentist/Orthodontist Hidden Talent: Baking & Mountain Biking Favorite Designed Item of 2012: Caterpillar House was designed by Feldman Architecture

West Side or East Side? West Side, of course!   PHILIP ERB Previously Worked: Milan Bender & Associates, Architects (MBAA) Your Alternate Reality Career: Writer/Author/Journalist Hidden Talent: 2x Kickball Champion Favorite Designed Item of 2012: Skyspace @ Rice University West Side or East Side? West Side   MANDISA GOSA Previously Worked: Ohio Desk / Cleveland, OH Your Alternate Reality Career: Circus Performer Hidden Talent: Recently named the official BPA runway model for Ugly Christmas Sweater Competitions. Favorite Designed Item of 2012: Actually a company that launched in 2012 w/ great prints…Detroit Wallpaper Company.   (http://detroitwallpaper.com/) West Side or East Side?  East Side   HALLIE DELVILLAN Previously Worked: Skynear Designs / Washington, DC Your Alternate Reality Career: Film set-designer or a horse-trainer. Hidden Talent: Seeking out and rescuing antiques.

Favorite Designed Item of 2012: The Onkel Sofa by Norman Copenhagen (purple or dark grey, please!) West Side or East Side? East Side for Little Italy (and the exciting renderings of Field Operations vision of Public Square) .   TED FERRINGER Previously Worked: Studio Techne Architects, Payto Architects, CUDC (student Intern) Your Alternate Reality Career: I’d be shepherd tending to my herd in rural Saskatchewan. Or I’d go back to masonry. Hidden Talent: I used to work as a mason for about eight years starting in high school through college with my father, in West Pennsylvania. I got to lay brick and CMU, pour and finish concrete, and build fireplaces. I started out as a laborer, but over time as I learned the craft and trade, I was given more skilled tasks. I quite enjoyed historic preservation work, which I got to work on a few jobs of re-pointing and restoring century old brick walls and decorative elements one summer. I also am intimately familiar with the finer points of building Rumford Fireplaces and Finnish and Russian Masonry heaters. Favorite Designed Item of 2012: Reading Between The Lines by Gijs Van Vaerenbergh, in Looz, Belgium. An amazing piece of architecture, that blurs lines between art / architecture, solid / void, traditional / contemporary spirituality, allowing for multiple, very personal readings of a very traditional typology and building form. West Side or East Side? As a homeowner on the near west side of Cleveland, I have to go with the west side.   CHRISTINA MANCO Previously Worked: Westlake Reed Leskosky / Cleveland, OH Your Alternate Reality Career: Detective. I'm a sucker for crime shows. Hidden Talent: Thrifty shopping. I love finding a deal! Favorite Designed Item of 2012: Keeping it local, the redesigned Perk Park in downtown Cleveland was an amazing transformation. West Side or East Side? West!   NATHANAEL DUNN Previously Worked: College at Judson University Your Alternate Reality Career: Professional baseball Hidden Talent: Piano Favorite Designed Item of 2012: Shelby GT500 West Side or East Side? West Side   TOM ADOMAITIS Previously Worked: McCarthy, Lebit / Downtown Cleveland, OH (20 years) Your Alternate Reality Career: Architect. Hidden Talent: Golf. Favorite Designed Item of 2012: Replica of Seattle Space Needle in Lego Architecture Series (with my 8 year old nephew) .

West Side or East Side? East.   SANDY WEIGEL Previously Worked: Marble and Granite Works Your Alternate Reality Career:  The new host of ‘No Reservations’ Hidden Talent: Sewing Favorite Designed Item of 2012: I love the ‘Design Your Floor!’ carpet tile from Interface floor. There are some great large scale patterns. West Side or East Side? West Side!   LUKE VISNIC Previously Worked: Perspectus Architecture Your Alternate Reality Career: Angel Investor, it’s all of the perks and enthusiasm of being in a start-up, without all the headaches and sweat equity. Hidden Talent: Juggling, sandwiching, handwriting analysis Favorite Designed Item of 2012:   Clipper Street Residence by envelope a+d. I have a difficult time describing why I am drawn to this type of historical white-washing, but I think this is a great example. I don’t know if it’s my favorite designed item of 2012, but it is probably the most memorable.

West Side or East Side? West Side.