Goldsmith Talks: Feminist Design Collective Presents a Q&A with Heather McKinney
Q&A with Heather McKinney
Heather McKinney, Founding Principal - McKinney York
39 years of experience
Founding partner, Heather McKinney, FAIA, has practiced architecture in Texas since 1983. The recipient of numerous design awards, her work combines traditional vernacular themes with contemporary forms and the specific needs of the client, culminating in unique design solutions. She was elevated to fellowship in the AIA for her body of work which displays cultivated restraint, elegance, and aesthetic maturity. She creates memorable places by drawing out the silent qualities of elemental forms. The results are an architecture that is timeless.
Ms. McKinney is the guiding force behind the firm’s large body of award-winning work and its high level of client satisfaction. She serves as the studio design mentor. The McKinney York design philosophy is expressed with one voice from every corner of the studio and across a range of notable projects.
A trusted authority on all things design, Heather McKinney speaks and consults widely about creating projects with impact in the community. She is known for an engaging manner that extends beyond the firm into the Texas design community, where she is an active participant. From AIA Austin and the Texas Society of Architects to the Charles W. Moore Foundation and ArtHouse, Ms. McKinney has served on these and other boards to enrich the professional experience for her peers and a stronger appreciation of design for the broader community. Ms. McKinney earned a Bachelor of Arts in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania
Michelle Rossomando, Principal
17 years of experience
Michelle Rossomando, AIA, joined the firm in 1998 and became partner in 2006. Next-generation leader, she speaks with a strong design voice that represents the ethos that has distinguished the firm. She is widely respected for her ability to guide successful project teams for the firm’s award-winning public, private and institutional clients.
The recipient of multiple achievement awards early in her career for outstanding mentorship and team management, Ms. Rossomando is a natural and seemingly effortless leader. In 2003, she was named Young Architectural Professional of the Year by AIA Austin. In 2012, for her mentorship within the office, her commitment to community and her “creation of landmark projects for the region,” Engineering News Record recognized her as one of the Top 20 Under 40 construction industry leaders in the Southern region, spanning from Oklahoma to Alabama.
Ms. Rossomando is valued by exacting clients for her talent to steer productive design collaborations among disparate disciplines. She is known for her skill in defining a project’s true needs and scope, and for managing complex projects under the most extreme constraints. Her mettle is especially clear on fast-track renovations to university buildings where construction must be accomplished entirely during the summer months, as with The University of Texas. It was the result of Ms. Rossomando’s foresight that McKinney York was recognized by the City of Austin’s Office of Sustainability for its own conservation practices.
Outside the studio, Ms. Rossomando is active in organizations that promote quality of life in the community. She serves on the board of YouthLaunch, a non-profit focusing on the empowerment of young people. She also works with Urban Roots and sits on the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association’s Design Review Committee. Ms. Rossomando earned her Master of Architecture from The University of Texas at Austin, and her Bachelor of Science from Tufts University.
Navvab Taylor, Associate
14 years of experience
Ms. Taylor’s 14 years of experience include a range of new construction and renovation work on private residences, offices and schools, large mixed-use developments, and campus master plans. Prior to coming home to Austin, she spent nearly 10 years working at architecture firms in Massachusetts, Connecticut and at Zaha Hadid in London, England. She is involved throughout the design and construction processes, merging the architectural design with other project disciplines to find harmonious solutions.
As a LEED Accredited Professional since 2006, she actively seeks sustainable options for clients and projects. For the past four years, she has acted as the Project LEED Administrator on McKinney York projects, including the Briscoe Center for American History renovation and the Texas Tech University Kent R. Hance Chapel.
Jenica Keys, Designer
14 years of experience (4 years with McKinney York)
Jenica Keys is an architectural designer and project manager who has been with McKinney York for 6 years. Throughout her time with McKinney York, she has been a key contributor on a variety of successful and award winning projects. Her experience includes institutional, residential, and commercial architectural projects, FF&E and Interiors projects. Her strong work ethic and artistic vision are invaluable in making each project come to life.
Jenica has been an integral part of the design team for a number of diverse and high-visibility projects on the UT Austin campus, including the contemporary renovations of the Texas Union Wi-Fi Lounge and Texas Union Courtyard, the Kinsolving Dormitory Kitchen and Dining area, the Jesse H. Jones Communications Building Lobby, landscape renovations for the Briscoe Center for American History and FF&E for the Jackson School of Geosciences. She is currently working on the design of a world-class art gallery for the Warfield Center in Jester Academic Center.
In her time away from the office, Jenica serves her community by bringing her design talent and interest in healthy living to those in need. She taught jewelry making classes to patients at Dell Children’s Hospital and was an instructor for Foundation Communities Saving Green Program, where she taught residents how to make healthy and affordable food choices. She has also spent a number of years as a member of the AIA Austin Homes Tour Committee.
Jenica attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she received her Bachelor of Architecture. During school she was a member of the Golden Key Honor Society and was nominated for the Sound Building Distinction Award.
Kristen Fox, Designer
3 years of experience (1 year with McKinney York)
Kristen Fox joined McKinney York in February 2014 after a range of experiences at firms of varying focus and size.
During her undergraduate career in Interior Design at Virginia Commonwealth University, she was trained in the fine arts, which contributes to the graphic quality of her design presentations and gave her the impetus for teaching architectural drawing later in her graduate student career.
While in graduate school, Kristen interned with Gensler in collaboration with a Thai development group, where she joined 6 other graduate students designed ecologically conscious, low-income housing for communities within the slums along the canals in Bangkok. She was the co-editor and designer for Building on Community: Recognizing the Potential of Bangkok’s Informal Neighborhoods, the subsequent publication of their research and experiences from Thailand. After attaining Master’s Degrees in Architecture and Historic Preservation from the University of Maryland in December of 2013, she joined a team of surveyors with the mission of documenting the New Urbanist community of Seaside, Florida.
Kristen is the recipient of the Architecture Thesis Award in Recognition of Significant Contributions to the Built and Natural Environment, Winter 2013 and the AIA Henry Adams Medal, May 2014. She was the commencement speaker for the Historic Preservation Masters Ceremony, Winter 2013.
Austin, where she received her Bachelor of Architecture. During school she was a member of the Golden Key Honor Society and was nominated for the Sound Building Distinction Award.
McKinney York Architects
McKinney York Architects was founded in Austin in 1983 as Heather H. McKinney Architects when Heather was asked to design a house for two high school friends. That first project, The Canyon House, earned the highest design honor from AIA Austin, establishing a standard of excellence that continues in the firm.
In 1996, the firm incorporated as McKinney Architects and since has added two principals: Al York, AIA and Michelle Rossomando, AIA. In 2008, to better reflect the collaborative nature of the practice and to acknowledge Al’s contributions to the success of the firm, the name was changed to McKinney York Architects.
McKinney York is now firmly established as a leading general practice firm in Texas with expertise across the full spectrum of building types from residential to institutional. To each project we bring our enthusiasm and our collaborative design process that draws inspiration equally from the clients’ aspirations, the project program, and the unique qualities of the site. The results are timeless designs that are remarkably free from a signature style and responsive to their context.
FDC
This event will be hosted by the Feminist Design Collective (FDC) at UTSOA. The FDC's mission is to create an empowered community of marginalized groups and individuals by means of: bringing awareness to the lack of diversity and support in, specifically (but not limited to), female involvement in the realm of architecture, and facilitating open and inclusive discussion regarding power structures and gender roles in the built environment. The values of this organization include: social justice, safe spaces, collaborative learning and design, and community involvement (within both The University of Texas at Austin and in the greater Austin community). For more information, please visit the FDC's Facebook page.
--
"Goldsmith Talks" is an open-format series of presentations organized by UTSOA faculty, staff, and students. Goldsmith Talks aims to encourage and promote presentations that are outside of the scope of the main lecture series. Examples are: invited seminar presentations, book talks, lectures by designers and scholars who may be in Austin for another engagement, round-table discussions, film screenings, product demonstrations, or any other activity related to research, scholarship, and teaching activities and at the school. The format provides a platform for encouraging the dissemination of work by visitors and members of our community. The goal is to raise awareness, increase access, and better integrate such events within the public life of the school.