SmithGroup’s Marianne O’Brien and Mark Roddy Elevated to Fellow of the American Institute of Architects

SmithGroup, one of the nation’s leading architecture, engineering and planning firms, is pleased to announce that Marianne O’Brien, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, and Mark Roddy, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, have been elevated to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) College of Fellows. The recognition reflects their significant contributions to the profession of architecture, the education of future architects, and their long-standing commitment to the AIA.

AIA’s membership totals over 83,000, with only 3,100 distinguished with the honor of fellowship and honorary fellowship. O’Brien and Roddy were recognized at an investiture ceremony at AIA’s National Convention and Design Expo, held on June 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois.

Marianne O’Brien is a principal at SmithGroup’s San Francisco office, active in its Science & Technology studio. She served as project manager for the comprehensive renovation of the 395,000-square-foot building that is the new home for the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, newly completed in San Francisco. The $151 million project includes simulation laboratories, classrooms, research and support space for the dental school, and will also accommodate clinical changes and technology enhancements to support patient care. O’Brien also served as project manager for the $123 million Ray and Dagmar Dolby Regeneration Medicine Building for the University of California, San Francisco, for which SmithGroup served as architect of record. A leader in her profession, O’Brien is currently serving as president of AIA’s San Francisco Chapter, one of the largest chapters in the U.S. She holds three degrees from the University of Minnesota -- a Bachelor of Architecture, a Bachelor of Arts in architecture, and a Bachelor of Arts in art history.

Mark Roddy is a vice president and design principal with SmithGroup’s San Francisco Workplace studio, where he provides creative leadership and oversight for the office’s building designs for commercial, civic and developer-led projects. Recent completions of the studio include the new Bay Area headquarters for the American Red Cross and the 240,000-square-foot eBay Customer Service Center in Draper, Utah. Roddy’s most notable project designs include the net-zero energy, LEED Platinum Phoenix Regional Office for DPR Construction, a project nationally recognized for its highest level of sustainable design. He also designed Chandler City Hall, Chandler, Arizona, selected by the American Institute of Architect’s (AIA) Committee on the Environment as a national Top Ten green project. Roddy is past president of AIA’s Phoenix chapter and received a recipient of its highest honor, The Arizona Architects Medal. He holds a Master of Architecture degree from UCLA focusing on urban studies and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Arizona.

About The American Institute of Architects
For over 150 years, members of the American Institute of Architects (www.aia.org) have worked with each other and their communities to create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings and cityscapes. Members adhere to a code of ethics and professional conduct to ensure the highest standards in professional practice. Embracing their responsibility to serve society, AIA members engage civic and government leaders and the public in helping find needed solutions to pressing issues facing our communities, institutions, nation and world.

The Fellowship program was developed to elevate architects who have made significant contributions to architecture and society and who have achieved a standard of excellence in the profession. Election to fellowship not only recognizes the achievements of architects as individuals, but also their significant contribution to architecture and society on a national level.

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