A native Washingtonian, Michael’s interest in the built environment grew out of childhood experiences with local vernacular and urban fabric in Washington, DC and the greater metropolitan area. Architecture first intrigued him as a compelling medium through which he could, in a tangible nature, relate thoughts and visions to the world. These thoughts first seemed unfathomable, only visible and comprehensible in the eyes of his intuitive mind; however, after completing several successful built works, he feels that his work has crossed the boundaries of the tangible and intangible to finally communicate these innate visions as physical forms in the material world. Throughout his undergraduate and professional career Michael worked to create his visions in ways that can connect us emotionally and improve our quality of life.

 Eventually, after realizing that buildings, exclusively, cannot have the impact that creates a higher quality of life for our society, Michael began to question the hubris nature of contemporary design solutions in urban centers. Initially desiring to become an architect, he later learned that through the additional lenses of Urban Design and Landscape Architecture and Planning that he could have a greater impact on the urban environment which he wants to serve. By researching, designing and building structures, with his new understanding of the built environment, his aim remains to use his experience to improve inner city development.

After practicing in the architectural profession for several years he returned to academia to increase his understanding of the supplementary elements that curate the built environment. He believed that this would equip him with the tools to better serve the urban environment. Michael returned to practice after completing his graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania where he studied Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, graduating with honors and receiving a MLA degree in 2014. Now, a steward of the urban realm, he continues to investigate the natural and artificial constructs that have the potential to augment regional and local infrastructures.

 With an interdisciplinary background in architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, art and carpentry, Michael brings a diverse approach to design. He believes in bringing together the principals of his design disciplines to work across several building scales simultaneously. By doing this he aims to render continuity in language understood at the macroscale that can also be experienced in the rendering of a node within the larger site.

 His professional work advocates for social and environmentally responsible design. He uses innovative construction and computation techniques to articulate the aesthetics of contemporary urban spaces. Michael practices in a local Washington, DC design firm. Recent projects include the SW, Waterfront Promenade, Waterfront Park, DHS Access Road and mixed-use path, Union Station to Georgetown Streetcar, Garrison Elementary School and the renovation of Marvin Gaye Park and Trail network.

 The threads of Michael’s research can be summarized as an academic deconstructing of historic infrastructure lines to evaluate, understand and improve these dormant armature systems and their adjacencies. The goal of this research is to understand the historic framework and to project potentials of reenfranchising these latent infrastructure networks to improve the quality of life in the adjacent neighborhoods that are typically underserved populations. Michael continues to develop academic provocations that aim to challenge the notions of space, place and their material flows and feedback loops. His research investigations explore the interoperability of geospatial data and representation; material flow constructs; physical and invisible infrastructure networks. Recent projects and publications include Crude North, an investigation of North American oil infrastructure and post peak urbanization; Unchartered Spaces and Unoccupied Places: Contemporary Societal Demands and Augmented Futures, a research paper on what big data advanced computation techniques will mean for the design professions; Augmented Landscapes: Rearticulating Madrid’s Vias Pecuarias, an academic deconstruction of the urban and resulting financial crisis in Madrid and how Spaniard’s could look to its historic infrastructure network to support the country’s crippled contemporary development.