• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Associate Award Application - Ryan Sisti, Assoc. AIA AIA Nevada Distinguished Service Awards 3883 Howard Hughes Parkway Tel 702.893.2800 Suite 650 Fax 702.893.2805 Las Vegas NV 89169 USA September 12, 2016 AIA Nevada - Distinguished Service Award Nomination Re: AIA Nevada – 2016 Associate Member Award Ryan Sisti, Assoc. AIA – Letter of Nomination To whom it may concern: It is with great pleasure that I have the privilege to nominate Ryan Sisti from Gensler of Nevada for the 2016 AIA Nevada Associate Award. I have worked with Ryan over the past two years, from 2014 through to the present day, and have seen firsthand Ryan’s commitment to the profession as well as his dedication to the Las Vegas chapter of the AIA. Ryan’s dedication to architecture is evident in the quality and passion of the work he conducts in our local Las Vegas Gensler office. However it is his involvement in, and commitment to, the AIA programs that show his true dedication through his countless volunteer hours serving on the AIA Las Vegas High School Design Awards (HSDA) committee. Mr. Sisti has been involved with the AIA’s High School Design Awards for over 8 years now, and in the last 3 years he has taken on the role of chairman for that program through the local Las Vegas AIA. Ryan understands the importance of cultivating and mentoring the next generation of architects and designers through this interactive program with our local CCSD public school groups. As chairman of the HSDA committee, Ryan takes on the responsibility of developing the design challenge for the students to engage in. Mr. Sisti then works with the local AIA members and other design professional volunteers to select and align these classroom mentors with their respective schools involved in the program. Ryan oversees the programs development, execution, final submittal judging, and assists with the awards ceremony culminating in the events finale. The HSDA program has proven itself year after year as being one of the critical AIA programs which helps introduce our local pre-college students to the profession of Architecture. It is this program that has formed this bridge between these pre-college students and the field of architecture by helping to demystify this profession and spark the interest of design and creativity to these individuals through direct involvement with a meaningful design challenge. For Ryan’s continued efforts in this critical program for our local design community, I feel that Ryan Sisti is the ideal candidate for the 2016 AIA Nevada Associates Award. I can be reached at 702-374-3710 for further comment regarding Ryan Sisti. Please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Christopher E. Fenton, AIA Senior Associate; Gensler Growing up in a small town in New York, I only realized my passion for Architecture after graduating from high school, and spending a year studying Civil Engineering. In 2001, I enrolled in the architecture program at the University at Buffalo, in Buffalo New York. For the next four years of undergrad, I explored a variety of different courses and specialties, slowly discovering an intense passion for architectural history. Buffalo New York is a city that is rich in history and culture, and is a living museum of different architectural styles. It is also home to a series of parks and parkways designed by Frederick Olmsted in the “Picturesque” style—helping spur my fascination with that particular era. I began enrolling in different Historic Preservation courses- quickly forming opinions on the strategies that are currently in place. While living in Buffalo, I had seen advocates pushing to rebuild lost structures in order to “preserve” them and their significant historical value. Often, these buildings would then exist only to serve as an exemplar of an architectural style – but rarely for anything other than that. After receiving my BS in Architecture in 2005, I decided to continue my education at the University at Buffalo School of Architecture’s Master program. I officially began a semester early—leaving for a summer semester abroad in Dublin, Ireland, two weeks after graduation. While living in Dublin, we spent a portion of the time becoming versed in some of the RIBA guidelines and practices, in addition to the AIA. I had the privilege of visiting numerous architectural firms throughout the UK- speaking with architects and designers and furthering my passion for the profession. I spent time in London, heading to Glasgow shortly before the 2005 bombings— only to encounter rioting and protests of the G8 summit in Edinburgh, a couple of days before heading there. Throughout the time in Ireland, I was able to study and gain a familiarity with the history of the locale. The final project of the semester abroad was a combination of two of my passions. I proposed a memorial and exhibit space for the Easter Rising of 1916 and sited it in a very controversial location- the picturesque St. Stephen’s Green in the middle of the Dublin City Center. As I returned stateside and officially began my graduate studies, I discovered a new passion- teaching and mentoring. I was able to assist in the teaching of several courses- starting with Introduction to Architecture and Environment, Behavior and Design before moving on to Architectural History. Over the course of the graduate program, I continued to take history courses, but augmented them with some more “hands-on,” design/build courses. I developed skills in welding and metal working. I was able to curate exhibits for the Department of Architecture- one of which showcased one of Louis Kahn’s lesser known buildings, using old blueprints gifted to the University by one of his former employees. My graduate studios were slightly more unorthodox- including a responsive architecture studio that encouraged us to explore new technologies to aid in our design solutions. My thesis, titled “Urban Scars,” was a reaction to the Historic Preservation techniques that I had grown skeptical of. I selected an event—the McKinley assassination, which happened in Buffalo at the Pan American Exposition in 1901—and wanted to highlight the public history (the lesser known versions or aspects of the wider known history) surrounding it. This was a unique task, because many of the buildings and structures involved in the story no longer existed. The exposition building where McKinley was shot; the boarding house where the assassin plotted his deed; the hospital that McKinley was operated on by the only doctor available—a gynecologist—all gone. I wanted to find a way to tell the story and allow people to follow a trail of the history, without physically reconstructing the buildings to “preserve” them. The result was a series of small architectural installations or interruptions—“scars”—throughout the city. ryan sisti, assoc. aia - biography After graduation, on a whim in 2007, I traded in the extreme cold of upstate New York for the extreme heat of Las Vegas. I accepted a position at Pugsley. Simpson. Coulter. Architects (then, Welles Pugsley Architects) and had the opportunity to work on several new schools for the Clark County School District. I had the incredible privilege of working closely with someone whose passion was mentoring, which caused me to continue to do the same. I saw how incredibly valuable their investment of a little bit of extra time was in the development of my career. Throughout my tenure at the firm, I was able to take on a plethora of different roles and experiences—largely Construction Administration—which helped further my learning and growth. Upon moving to Las Vegas, I found out about the AIA High School Design Competition—a design competition put on by the local chapter of the AIA and made available to all of the high school students in the valley. I joined as a mentor, and frequently visited participating high schools to help guide students towards the successful completion of their projects. When the previous chair announced that she needed to step down, I immediately volunteered to step in. I joined the Las Vegas chapter as an Associate AIA member, and began as the chair of the program in 2012. I began working at the Las Vegas office of Gensler in 2013, in search of new opportunities, continued growth, and different experiences. I have had the opportunity to expand from Education to other Practice Areas- acting as an integral part of teams on a variety of Hospitality, Entertainment and Workplace projects, including the renovation of miX Lounge and Restaurant (Alain Ducasse’s RIVEA and Skyfall Lounge); the rebranding of Sensi (Harvest by Roy Ellamar), and several Corporate Headquarters Office TIs. I had never lost the passion for education that Pugsley. Simpson. Coulter Architects had instilled in me, so I became the office representative for the Education Practice Area for Gensler’s Southwest Region. I am currently, once again, fortunate enough to be working on projects for the Clark County School District—helping to shape the futures of the students in whatever way possible. I actively participate in a number of volunteer efforts, including Gensler’s volunteer program, “gServe.” I have been actively engaged in both the Buffalo and Las Vegas chapters of Habitat for Humanity, and I enjoy working with various non-profit groups for the procurement of donated goods and services. I continue to mentor students in whatever way possible- participating in career days, special school events, and especially through the High School Design Competition. I would like to thank the AIA and the esteemed awards committee for the consideration of this award. I strive every day for the continued growth and development of my future. ryan sisti, assoc.

Load more

  25

Copy Link