Aaron discovered his passion for design as a child through house plan magazines from grocery store racks. He would sketch over the floor plans and renderings until the pages wore thin. This early fascination with design diagrams shaped his career-long commitment to simplicity and unified concepts. His philosophy centers on finding a clear diagram or “main idea” rather than cluttering projects with excessive elements, particularly challenging on larger projects where unity must coexist with visual interest.

Developer-led projects and affordable housing have defined much of Aaron’s career, work that taught him to advance design through cost-effective solutions while paring back superfluous gestures. He ensures teams grasp and fulfill design intent, from interns picking up redlines to construction administrators overseeing projects. Weekly internal design reviews let him guide projects without micromanaging while creating learning opportunities for younger staff.

His perspective on design’s societal role remains grounded: aesthetic improvement of the built environment serves as an end in itself. He champions human-scaled design, pedestrian-focused urban planning, daylighting, and flexible space planning—focusing on the many small ways buildings can better serve human needs rather than overestimating architecture’s power to drive broad social change. This practical approach extends to his leadership, where he balances creative freedom for young designers with refining their work to meet high standards. Outside work, his love of classical music deepens his grasp of rhythm, proportion, and hierarchy, finding inspiration in the “architecture” of Brahms or Stravinsky.

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