Meet Eric Pros, AIA, NCARB, MBA, CPTED, our Director of Design. Eric was exposed to both construction and art early on, as his father was a Union Bricklayer and his favorite childhood pastime was drawing. He credits this combination with steering him toward a career in architecture.

“I always had paper and pencils wherever I went,” he says. “The potential that a blank piece of paper presents has always inspired me.”

The thrill of possibilities continues to fuel Eric in his role as Director of Design, a position born from opportunity and encouragement at DS Architecture.

“When I started at the firm there were only 4 of us,” he says. “David Sommers had a reputation as a good businessman, but design wasn’t a big part of the office culture.  I took the job with the idea of growth in mind.”

 Eric sought to grow the firm in size and reach, as well as creativity and innovation.

“The company had a great foundation, but I wanted to push us to do better work and expand our influence,” he says. “As Director of Design I advocate for creative and collaborative approaches, for taking risks and trying new things.”

Daily, this looks like working through unique concepts with studio directors, leading design charrettes, pursuing awards, implementing cutting edge technology, and encouraging research and thought leadership.

“I often work with marketing to more effectively engage clients, or work with clients directly,” he says. “I share the firm’s visions, values, and accomplishments on building tours or in presentations to our professional peers.”

For Eric, successful design is intimately connected to people – generating ideas, collaborating, and producing something better than any individual could create alone. Working at a firm now nearing thirty people, with remote members in major metropolitan centers, provides myriad opportunities for this. But Eric insists he – like design – is never finished.

“Design is never done, there’s always more to do or discover and more problems to solve” he says. “I see myself as uniquely positioned to apply this mentality at DS Architecture. Resisting the status quo is difficult, but we have so much potential.”

Meet Felicia Lewis, our Chief Operating Officer. Felicia received a degree in Civil Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and considers this background an asset in her current role.

“Engineering is more of a thought process than a vocation in my experience,” she says. “My job as COO involves a lot of problem-solving, just more on the human scale than the technical.”

DS Architecture employs the Entrepreneurial Operating System model of management, which defines Felicia’s role as “Integrator.” The Integrator breaks down barriers between business functions and implements processes, thereby “integrating” various departments of the firm for smoother operations.

“Our motto at DS Architecture is ‘Listen. Lead. Innovate’,” Felicia says. “While this pertains to client relationships and designing architecture, it describes my position within the firm pretty accurately as well. I listen to the needs of our team and search for solutions.”

The leadership component to the Integrator role was new for Felicia, but she embraced it with an eagerness to learn.

“The biggest challenge for any leader is developing their team to become leaders themselves,” she says. “Coaching, if you will.”

As a woman, she recognizes the unique perspective she provides and the opportunity to utilize her leadership for purposes greater than the firm.

“DS Architecture is very committed to making diversity a priority,” she says. “This includes encouraging leadership regardless of age or gender, providing fair compensation, and also understanding and caring where people are at in their lives.”

Felicia’s hopes for the future of DS Architecture involve systematic growth and creating “vacuums” for current team members to grow into.

“I look forward to helping grow the firm through thoughtful consideration and planning,” she says. “Recruiting in a way that reflects our inclusive and creative culture, and fostering the potential we already have.”

Meet Clifford J. Brown, RA, NCARB, the Director of our Hospitality Studio. Clif has been in architecture for over 20 years, having sought a professional career he felt would make a physical, lasting impact on communities.

“When I was in high school, I was able to walk thru the Galleria in downtown Cleveland, Ohio” he recalls. “It was under construction and seeing that process in real time sparked something in me.”

Clif cultivated that spark, becoming a licensed architect and designing for a variety of industries.

“When I started as a Project Manager at DS Architecture, we had a conversation about building on my years of experience in K-12 architecture,” he says. “But as rewarding as education was, I wanted to take the reins of something more dynamic.”

Brought into the DS Architecture Family as a Project Manager, the firm soon noticed his leadership skills and ability to engage and connect with clients. When the opportunity for directorship of the existing Hospitality Studio arose, he was a natural fit.

“Hospitality means many things to different people,” he says. “There is room for interpretation and imagination when you’re creating an atmosphere that’s all about the experience, whether it be for dining, socialization, rest, or environments in-between.”

DS Architecture has longstanding relationships with companies such as Dunkin and Pizza Hut, relationships Clif plans to continue reinforcing while also expanding and exploring new creative opportunities in this architectural sector.  For example, he is interested in the concept of soft retail - converting ecommerce to brick and mortar, when the opportunity is right, to enhance the identity of a company within a community by providing a physical experience for customers.

“With Hospitality you want people to feel a connection through the environment they are a part of,” he says. “People go places to eat or shop, or to a hotel, for a reason. Through these experiences, there’s always a reason they come back or don’t.”

Clif aims to determine these reasons and use his new position to create spaces that respond to them. He appreciates the opportunities DS Architecture allows Studio Directors, and the firm culture obsessed with fostering creativity and challenging boundaries.

“There is a lot of potential with this studio,” he says. “I’d like to see us have a healthy balance of regional and national clients as well as more one-of-a-kind personalized projects. I look forward to creating a link between developers and local businesses and assisting clients in bringing their personal and unique projects to life.”

Meet Jennifer Fritz-Hunter, the Director of our Adaptive Preservation Studio. Jennifer has practiced architecture for over 17 years and was drawn to the field through an early love of history, especially that of her hometown.

“I grew up in Grand Rapids, Ohio, a historic canal town,” she says. “My mom was on the historical society board, which provided grants to homeowners for restoration purposes. I saw first-hand the economic benefit of investing in revitalization and wanted to be a part of that.”

Jennifer’s exposure to a community that valued preservation, combined with architecture classes she took in her youth at the Toledo Art Museum, inspired her to study architecture in college. She later pursued a Masters of Historic Preservation at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her subsequent employment with the City of Elgin, Illinois as a Preservation Planner informs her current goals for the Adaptive Preservation Studio.

“DS Architecture has mostly done adaptive re-use in the past, but I’d like to see us move into preservation planning and become more involved with local governments,” she says. “I’d like to include more building condition assessments, guidelines for historic districts, nominations for the national register, and tax credit projects in our work.”

Jennifer appreciates DS Architecture's deep roots in the city of Kent. The firm has long contributed to the city's redevelopment with projects such as the LN Gross Building and Franklin Hotel. She’s excited to lend her expertise and expand the firm’s work in preservation, adaptation, and city planning across the state of Ohio and beyond.

“My favorite part of preservation architecture is the investigation period,” she says. “The research and interviews, to get the full story of a building or neighborhood. I look forward to doing more of that. We have a great foundation here and I can’t wait to help the studio grow.”

Meet Luke Kraft, RA, NCARB, EDAC, LEED AP, the Director of our Higher Education Studio. Luke has been an architect for 16 years, pursuing the field because he liked “the idea of being creative and technical at the same time.”

As someone who enjoys the challenge of a profession requiring different modes of thought, it only makes sense Luke would be drawn to the diversity of Higher Education architecture.

“Higher Education has multiple typologies wrapped up into one sector,” he says. “Labs, dining, residential, classroom – there is a variety of building types and programs which keeps it interesting.”

Luke also appreciates that working in Higher Education architecture offers the opportunity to build relationships with repeat clients, who are often knowledgeable about the design and construction process. As a Studio Director at DS Architecture, he has been able to cultivate lasting connections with Kent State University, Case Western Reserve University, Cuyahoga County Community College, and the University of Akron, among others.

Significant projects he’s proud to have been a part of include the redesign of Tri-C’s East Education Center, multiple laboratories at the University of Akron, numerous dormitories at Kent State University, and the design of Case Western Reserve University’s Michelson Hall. Luke frequently serves as construction administrator on projects, and has extensive experience working with contractors as well as different delivery methods.

Higher Education is one of DS Architecture’s strongest and largest studios, and Luke values the flexibility to run projects in a way he believes is best suited to each client. This freedom stems from a unique level of trust among firm members that influences relationships and decision-making from the ground up.

“DS Architecture is very transparent,” he says. “As a Studio Director I manage my studio, but I can also have a direct impact on the firm overall.”

This openness and empowerment, coupled with a distinctive “willingness and effort in all company endeavors,” breeds a special kind of environment, one that Luke believes will foster continued, successful relationships with Higher Education institutions.

Meet David Potts, AIA, ACHA, LEED AP, the Director of our Healthcare Studio and head of our Cleveland office. David has been an architect for 15 years, encouraged by his high school art teacher to pursue the field. He enjoys the creativity of architecture, and engaging in an art form with real, lasting impacts on a community.

David’s favorite thing about working in architecture is that it requires collaborating with different kinds of people across different sectors and environments. This is especially true when designing and building for Healthcare.

“Someone once told me that if you can do Healthcare architecture, you can do any kind of architecture,” he says. “It’s challenging, but I appreciate the opportunity to directly contribute to society by building hospitals, clinics, and other places like that.”

As DS Architecture’s Healthcare Studio Director David has led and produced work for University Hospitals and MetroHealth, among other respected institutions. Notable projects include the Pediatrics and Specialty Care Unit of the Portage County Medical Center, the Kent Health Center CT Scan Renovation, and the MetroHealth Behavioral Health Emergency Department.

Alongside his work as an architect, David manages our Cleveland office. Cleveland is recognized as a hub of quality medical care and innovation, therefore a prime location for a Healthcare practice. David enjoys the fast-paced urban environment and plentiful networking opportunities, as well as his hard-working and fun-loving staff.

“I took the job with DS Architecture because it was an opportunity for growth, especially for leadership as a Studio Director,” he says. “Not only can I advance my own skillsets but help others do so as well.”

David believes DS Architecture has a lot to offer the Healthcare community of Northeast Ohio, especially Cleveland.

“We hope to eventually work with all the major healthcare providers in Ohio,” he says. “We’re unique in that we provide a very personalized approach to project delivery and implementation. We listen to client needs, lead them through the entire process, and try to innovate for the best possible outcome.”