Lionakis

This week, the interns had the valuable opportunity to attend a presentation focused on career management, licensure pathways, and post-licensure opportunities!

They explored strategies for setting both professional and personal career goals, as well as how to build a robust professional foundation. Additionally, the presentation offered insights into navigating the various challenges and questions they may encounter in their careers.

Thank you to Kellie Schneider, Claire Seger, Jon McCall, Jamie Hang, and Michael Iida for sharing their expertise and enhancing the interns understanding!

We recently sponsored and attended Hartnell College's Gala for the Arts. It was great to see the community turn out to support the excellent art programs at Hartnell College. We got to know some of Hartnell's Fine Arts programs through our renovation of the Hartnell Theater and are honored to have contributed to the spaces these students utilize on their campus!

Here are some images from the Gala along with some before and after shots from the Theater Renovation!

Last call for sponsorships! Don't miss out - sponsorships for the annual George Lionakis Memorial Golf Tournament close this Friday! Learn more and register here: https://www.lionakis.com/golftournament-registration/
We can't wait to see everyone out on the course!

Happy Labor Day! In observance, our offices will be closed with business resuming tomorrow. We hope you enjoy the long weekend!

Happy fifth Lionakis anniversary to Senior Associate, Joe Serar!
When asked what Joe enjoys about working at Lionakis, he said, "At this wonderful point in my architectural career, Lionakis affords me the opportunity to truly focus on providing client leadership to several of our exceptional clientele, to provide mentorship to the younger aspiring architects, and to continue pursuing my deep-seated passion of programing and designing a wide variety of exciting projects.”
Congrats, and thank you for all you do, Joe!

Please welcome to the firm our July and August new hires! Welcome to Lionakis, we are so excited to have you!

Another softball season has come to an end. We had a great time playing in the Sacramento AEC softball league this season and in the end of season tournament last weekend!

Today we celebrate Women's Equality Day! A day which commemorates the struggles of women to be heard, and the 1920 adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave women the right to vote.

This is how we roll! Our Irvine and Sacramento offices enjoyed summer outings of bowling, food, and family!

The Sacramento Interns were quite busy this last week! They visited Sierra College Gymnasium with the Education Studio, and the California Fire Foundation Memorial with Ben Vargas from the Civic Studio; speaking with on-site contractors, the owner, and artist was very insightful.

They also heard from Ben Wilkerson in our Healthcare Studio, who answered all of their burning questions regarding claustrophobic MRIs and CT scanners and how Healthcare design is critical to ushering an environment of healing and efficiency for both patients and providers.

Interns also worked closely to make progress on the art installation, narrowing their scope. Follow along to see their final product!

The summer interns started off this week of the Summer Intern Series with Construction Administrator, Paul Beam, where he dove into the RFI details, typical procedures at site visit, and more!

Structural Engineer, Matt Quan, led the Structural Engineering lecture covering the typical practices and process of becoming a structural engineer. He also led an activity where interns paired up and were given a prompt to assemble different types of structural systems that are subject to lateral loads. Constraints were added to the activity prompt, challenging the interns to explore possibilities of assembling their models!

Stay tuned to more updates on the Summer Intern Series! Only a few more weeks left!

Lionakis is thrilled to welcome Candace Harrison to the firm as an Associate in the Civic Studio. With over 26 years of architectural experience, including a strong focus on sustainable and energy-efficient design, Candace is a valuable addition to our team. Her diverse project portfolio spans from public safety facilities to schools. Notably, Candace began her career at Lionakis in our Education Studio, where she contributed for eight years. Welcome back, Candace!

Continuing with our Summer Intern Series; This week, interns pitched their ideas for art installations to a small group of Lionakis peers. Who offered their feedback and selected one to proceed with!

The interns were then given an introduction to the Civic and Education studios. Dean Albright and Jennifer Quigley spoke with the interns about their projects, information, and enthusiasm for what they do at their studios.

Next, Sophia Edwards gave an overview of the firm's design technology division and how they assist the company in implementing new technologies in the most user-friendly manner!

The interns then carried on debating and brainstorming ideas for how to move forward and develop the selected Phase 1 pitch. Watch this space to see how the interns apply their creativity! Everyone did a great job with the pitches; those were some really cool concepts!

Lionakis is excited to welcome Maggie Carlson to our team as a Senior Associate in the Structural Engineering Studio. With over 18 years of dedicated experience, Maggie brings a passion for creating exceptional structures. In this role, Maggie will collaborate closely with our design team to develop innovative structural solutions that align with project goals and client requirements. We are thrilled to have Maggie join us and contribute to mentoring the next generation of engineers. Welcome to Lionakis, Maggie!

Earlier this month members of the civic studio attended the Lakeport Courthouse groundbreaking ceremony!

At the ceremony the Judges spoke about the old inadequate courthouse and what this new courthouse would mean to the city of Lakeport and the County of Lake.

We have been partnered on this Design-Build project with Clark Sullivan & Broward.

The new courthouse will be approximately 46,000 square feet, and include a public lobby, four courtrooms, judicial chambers, clerk's counters, self-help and mediation services, jury services, central holding, building support, and site development.

Congratulations to the project team on all their hard work that went into this project!

We're getting into the Olympic spirit with our summer Design Bars! Some of the events included equestrian, javelin toss, shot put, badminton, Pictionary, and presentations on the new AIA Framework for Design Excellence Tool and how several buildings of the COTE Top Ten met the AIA framework for design excellence principles.

Next up in our summer intern series, the interns were introduced to the business of architecture with President Laura Knauss, who imparted valuable knowledge concerning the business side of architectural services such as the importance of firm values and the basics behind service fees. Thanks Laura for taking the time to do that! Next, the interns were introduced to their summer group project with Sam Wolfgram. This summer's project is to develop and collaborate on the creation of an art installation that represents Lionakis' core values. Phase 1 will have the interns create concepts to pitch in presentations. Stay tuned as the interns continue through this design process!

Happy fifth Lionakis anniversary to Janelle Winslow, our Facilities Manager! Janelle shared that she has stayed at Lionakis because of the amazing people and supportive environment. The team here is not only talented and professional but also incredibly supportive, making it easy to come to work each day. Additionally, the company's commitment to work-life balance allows me to maintain a healthy and fulfilling personal life. These factors make Lionakis a great place to work, and I'm grateful to be a part of this organization.
Thank you for everything you do to keep our offices running smoothly, Janelle, and here's to many more Lionakis anniversaries to come!

Welcome to our new hires from June and July, we are so excited to have you at Lionakis!

We had a blast volunteering at the SoCal NOMA Summer Camp! The Architecture Summer Camp is a 4-day camp that exposes youth to the built environment and architectural profession. The Camp Equips, Empowers, and Educates Youth through architectural design and engineering techniques, and included sketching, drawing, hands-on model making, and walking tours. SoCalNOMA

Congratulations to Audrey Liu on recently becoming a Licensed Architect! We are so proud of you and excited for this big milestone in your career!

Today we celebrate National Disability Independence Day. It commemorates the signing of the Americans with Disability Act (A.D.A.) in 1990. This civil rights law criminalizes discrimination against individuals with disabilities and assures them full participation in the community, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency.

At Lionakis, we take pride in creating functional environments for our employees and clients where everyone can equally participate.

We attended Fresno Unified School District's groundbreaking ceremony for our new Fresno High School gymnasium project. The nearly 17,000 square foot facility features team rooms, restrooms, and a snack bar. It also includes eight tennis courts and two basketball half-courts.
The project is expected to be completed by July 2025, and we can't wait to share progress photos along the way!

Lionakis is delighted to welcome Tony Pacheco-Taylor to the firm as Associate Principal. In his role, Tony will spearhead growth within our Education Practice, providing leadership and focusing on building lasting partnerships with clients in the Southern California region. Tony brings a wealth of experience to the team, with over 18 years of successful and hands-on educational project management throughout the state. Welcome to Lionakis, Tony!

It's that time of year again for our Summer Intern Series!

To start off the program, the interns were briefed on how the program will work with weekly events and activities to learn more about all the disciplines in Lionakis. Afterwards, the interns got the opportunity to go on a sketchwalk. It is so great to see the talented and unique artists we have, great job interns! Keep an eye out for future posts to see what the interns do next.

Recently our President and Chief Practice Officer, Laura Knauss, shared her insight on stepping into her new leadership role at Lionakis with the Sacramento Business Journal!

Check out the article below!

Insights from new CEOs: Laura Knauss, president and chief practice officer, Lionakis - Sacramento Business Journal Laura Knauss is the first female president in Lionakis' 115-year history.

Our Emerging Professionals visited McClatchy High School to see the Servery under construction. They went on a scavenger hunt to find details drawn by our Lionakis team on the site and loved seeing the project come to life!

Happy fifth Lionakis anniversary to Carson Sumner, a Designer III in our education studio! Carson shared that he has stayed with Lionakis for five years because he really enjoys designing educational facilities and the rewarding feeling of giving new spaces to students and teachers who may have been in outdated facilities for a long-time. He also likes the variety of work and projects he gets to do, from pursuits for big and complicated college science buildings, to everyday design problems on elementary school campuses.
Thank you for all your hard work over these last five years Carson, and cheers to many more Lionakis anniversaries in the future!

We'd like to officially welcome our Summer 2024 Interns!

They will be interning in both our Sacramento and Irvine Offices. We have interns in our Civic, Education, Healthcare, Interiors, and Structural studios!

Here's to a great summer ahead!