About

Brianna is a project designer at Sullivan Building & Design Group, a design-build firm in Quakertown, PA. She currently sits on the AIA Bucks County Board as the membership director. She holds a Master of Arts in Historical and Sustainable Architecture from New York University in London, where she specialized in adaptive reuse and completed a master thesis focused in industrial architecture. She also graduated Magna Cum Laude from Marywood University with a Bachelors of Architecture and studied abroad in Florence, Italy. Brianna’s talent and experience are greatly valued as she is consistently invited as a design critic to review the work of architecture students at Marywood University. She is currently in the process of becoming a licensed architect.

Q & A

Tell us about your involvement in “Design Your Future“? 

Design Your Future Architecture Workshop is a two-week intensive architecture program for high school students held at Marywood University, Scranton PA. It is an immersion program for students who are looking to expand their knowledge about architecture. It combines numerous sessions and activities that range from lectures, reviews, workshops, field trips and studio projects. I had the privilege to work as a teacher assistant for 3 years with this program alongside two incredible professors, Kate O’Connor and Stephen Garrison. The program is a great way for young students to get exposure of “what architecture is” and the design and creativity that comes along with it.

This program provided me the opportunity to teach and critique which has sparked my future interest in teaching down the road later in my profession. Since this experience, I have volunteered as a guest critic at Marywood as well as Birmingham City University in England while I was completing my masters. Each experience with every student I have come across with thus far has offered me a different outlook on how design can be approached. It continually emphasizes the idea that design serves multiple perspectives and its truly is a field of endless possibilities and creativity.

How do you recharge? 

In my spare time, I can be found teaching dance at Bucks County Arts and Dance. Dance has always been a huge part of my life and having the opportunity now to teach after many years of performing has been all the most rewarding. Dance is my creative outlet and physical exercise away from architecture and the stress associated with it whether it was school or now my fulltime professional job. It has provided me an alternative creative way to express myself and let go any negative energy while giving my mind and body a chance to refresh which I feel is needed among any individual who designs on a regular basis.

Any words of wisdom for your fellow emerging professionals?

Never stop learning. Strive to learn something new each day and put yourself out of your comfort zone. The connections you can make or the articles you read can create an impactable experience that can change your life. So don’t be afraid to engage with something new, you never know what the end result can be.