AIA Alabama Emerging Professional Spotlight

Asia Burgin

AIA Alabama Emerging Professional Spotlight

Asia is an Alabama native, born in Anniston. As a student at Auburn University, she received both an honor and honorable mention award for student projects in 2017. While studying at Urban Studio in downtown Birmingham, she realized her passion to preserve the precious gems of the past and creating reusable, inviting spaces for the future. After graduating, she began pursuing this passion at Williams Blackstock Architects. She is currently working as Project Manager on Nextec, the historic Edwards Motor Building, which is being renovated into a high-tech office space that will serve for tech companies to land into the upcoming Switch District.

Another project focus for her is the Selma Campsites. Her aspiration is to preserve the historic homes of residents in the area that provided shelter and resources to activists who marched the 54-mile route from Selma to Montgomery during the Civil Rights movement. She was also instrumental in the historic preservation of the Historic Greyhound Depot. Acknowledging the significance of the civil rights history of the site, she pursued a thoughtful restoration and adaptive reuse of the space. Asia wants to continue focusing on architecture, whether new or adaptive reuse, that is socially responsive, reusable, technologically advance, flexible and environmentally aware.

Brittany Foley & Preserving the Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement

We are proud to partner with ACFA to present Civil Rights: People and Places. "Preserving the Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement: Protecting the Campsites and Telling the Stories from Selma to Montgomery." ⁠

Tuesday, February 22, 12:00 - 1:00 PM via Zoom.

To commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March, the families and collaborative partners are working to stabilize the structures found at the three unprotected campsites. Preserving those important landmarks for future generations is a vital step in documenting the families' historic contributions to the Civil Rights movement and sharing their untold stories as part of our nation's history. ⁠

Auburn University Renovating Historic Hood McPherson Building

The Plains will soon have a new presence on the streets of Birmingham. Auburn University is moving forward with a comprehensive renovation of the historic Hood McPherson Building to serve as a home away from home in downtown Birmingham. Designed to bring creative and collaborative energy into the charm and character of this historic structure, the newly renovated facility will serve as a place to teach, meet, create, and innovate with students and the greater Birmingham community alike. We’ll be sharing more on this exciting collaboration with Auburn University in the near future.

Luxury Apartments Coming to Huntsville

A new mixed-use development is coming to Huntsville, Alabama that includes 6,000 square feet of restaurants, 250 luxury apartments, and 11,000 square feet of restaurant and office space. Located at the corner of Bradford Road and Wynn Drive, this upscale development is positioned at a major intersection of researchers, students, professionals, and families in Huntsville’s Research Park.

The luxury apartment homes will provide residences for nearby students and research professionals within walking and biking distance of UAH Campus, the new Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering and the surrounding global research facilities, while providing residents an upscale experience with included amenities.

Happy Holidays!

The Historic Greyhound Renovation Featured in DesignAlabama

“Our team had to carefully peel back layers of materials to uncover historic materials and then pursue a mindful restoration and an adaptive reuse of the bus station into office space with contemporary interventions." - Brittany Foley

Promotion Announcement: Grace Blackstock

Grace Blackstock

Associate

An experienced interior designer specializing in corporate environments, Grace plays a key role in developing interior design concepts for our clients, in a manner that positively impacts the culture of the companies she works with. She works with our team of designers to ensure the delivery of dramatic and functional interior design for each project, bringing detailed coordination all the way through the design and construction process. Grace earned her Interior Design degree from Savannah College of Art and Design, and previously worked in Washington DC where she played a key role in the interior design of the new Spy Museum.

Promotion Announcement: Ryan Stechmann

Ryan Stechmann

Associate

As a project team member with a range of experience, Ryan brings his technical expertise to seamlessly develop the design and construction drawings. He generously offers his talents and creative abilities to clients and his colleagues in the office. Ryan has a great attitude and is unfailing focused on executing complex projects and is involved in daily design decisions, coordination, and construction administration of corporate, retail, and higher education projects. Ryan is a graduate of University of Southern Mississippi and has a Master of Architecture from the University of Tennessee.

Thanksgiving at WBA →

We took some time today to enjoy our traditional Thanksgiving meal with each other. We are thankful this holiday season for an amazingly talented group to work with!

Promotion Announcement: Suchithra Prabhu

Suchithra Prabhu

Associate

Alongside her delightful demeanor, Suchithra brings a keen modern eye and expertise in sustainable building strategies to her design process.  She demonstrates extraordinary leadership within the office and is a welcome face with each client and project team.  She is a fantastic team member with wonderful initiative - tirelessly tackling complex issues on projects while pushing project design in parallel.  She was recently instrumental in the adaptive re-use of the Hardwick Building, a historic industrial facility to be repurposed into an imaginative modern mixed-use office building in Birmingham’s Design District.  She graduated from Siddanganga Institute of Technology in India with a Bachelor of Architecture in 2008 and has a Master of Architecture from the University of Illinois.