JUSTIN MERKOVICH, AIA, LEED®AP

Justin was eight when he designed and built his first residential project: a pre-fab, net-zero dwelling out of prairie grasses on his grandfather’s land in Wisconsin. Today, his passion for housing that reflects its distinctive context continues, only now Justin designs mixed-use multifamily housing that adds density, liveliness and vibrancy to the urban fabric. “I love the process of sustainable and equitable city building that progresses an urban area into the future,” he says.

Justin works on multifamily residential projects from inception through detailing, in order to manifest early design intentions and client expectations in the finished product. With energy and enthusiasm, he facilitates public meetings between communities, developers and cities to build trust and investment in the process of creating beautiful housing that adds to the urban realm. He engages with other city builders and neighborhood groups on social media about healthy and sustainable development.

A member of the Real Architecture Workshop (RAW), Justin and the RAW team help students create buildings with social value, architectural meaning and a sustainable focus in a variety of natural and urban contexts around the world. Justin loves architecture, particularly urban multifamily housing, “because it’s the last generalist profession,” he says. “We get to engage with everyone on some level, from the client and developer to the residents to pedestrians, who enjoy the active mix of uses in the buildings’ street fronts. The aggregate effect of well-done mixed-use and housing projects makes great urbanism.”

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