Growing up, Jill’s parents wanted a vacation house to bring together their large blended family of eight kids. So, every five years, they would design a house, have it built, then sell it at a profit. Fun was important: that first house on the Gulf Coast, had a pool table, a dock, and even a fireman’s pole to slide down from the loft. Jill’s first experience in design was going with her mother to choose fabrics for their home when she was just a little girl. During one project, she was able to convince her parents to let her design and draw their plunge pool. The neighborhood developer was so impressed by it, that he had Jill’s plunge pool design put into every one of his home designs from that day forward.
Jill is now an Architectural Designer with 17 years of experience working as a Principal, Project Designer, and Project Manager in Los Angeles area design-build firms, with a portfolio that encompasses architectural, interior, furniture, and landscape design. She has successfully designed and built projects at a wide range of scales: from furniture design, residential and commercial structures, up to the scale of landscape, urban design, and infrastructure. Her progressive work has received accolades including the AIA:LA Presidential Certificate and has been published in Los Angeles Magazine.
Jill earned her BA from Brown University, graduating with Cum Laude honors. She then received her master’s degree in architecture from SCI-Arc in 2003, as well as a Master’s Degree in Archaeology & Anthropology from Cambridge University. Additionally, she traveled Europe on a US-EU fellowship, and studied architecture at the Bauhaus University in Weimar, Germany for a semester.
Jill has advocated for adaptive material reuse as the Design Principal of a successful reclaimed wood start-up for 7 years. In addition to solely designing its bespoke and in-house furniture line, she has consulted with numerous hospitality and commercial clients, such as W Hotels, Google, and PayPal, as well as numerous architects and designers, on how to incorporate this environmentally friendly material into their building projects.
Her professional experience is cross disciplinary and grounded in real-world construction which includes working for architectural design-build firms, contractors, landscape design-build firms, and interior designers throughout her career.
How do you feel your designs can give back to the community? What do you work towards on your free time?
In addition to work with homeless charities, I’m working with local advocacy groups on finding ways for middle-class Angelinos to be able to afford their own homes. It seems crazy that stable middle-income earners such as teachers, nurses, and paralegals can seldom afford to own their own homes here. And part of the solution must be design, whether it’s accessory dwelling units, tiny house communities, prefabs, or shipping container houses. I want to be part of the solution.
What is the nerdiest thing you do in your spare time?
Gardening! Weeding is my cardio.
CREDIT: MEREDITH (ALLRECIPES.COM)