My grandfather was a carpenter who worked in construction, and I have early childhood memories of sneaking into the shed where he stored his power tools to catch a glimpse of his works-in-progress, a stool or a figurine—sawdust suspended in rays of sunshine, filling the space with the scent of possibility. Looking back, this was my first exposure to the design process. After several formative years taking liberal arts classes at Yale, I took a course on passive architecture that explored sustainable design practices and introduced me to the building industry. I was immediately drawn to the prospect of blending my technical aptitude with my desire to solve, create, and inspire. I also always wanted to live in a big city and this flavor of engineering enabled me to do that.

This led me to Buro Happold in New York City, where I spent the first decade of my career cultivating my understanding of system operations, energy consumption, and decarbonization strategies on both new construction and existing building retrofits. Along the way, I took inspiration from the historic architecture and developed a deep love for walkable cities, public transportation, and urban parks. I view the built environment as the ultimate manifestation of creativity and collective effort brought into tangible fruition, at its core an expression of the latent potential of engineering—to take scientific principles and apply them toward the creation of something transformative.

I am thrilled to write the next chapter of my career here on the West Coast, in the state that sets the standard for high-performance, responsible design practices and in collaboration with the talented team at MEYERS+.

Did you know?

I was born and raised in Miami and come from a large family of working-class Cuban immigrants. Spanish was my first language, and I love dancing “rueda de casino” salsa.

astrid@meyersplus.com
Direct:  415.432.8105