Founder's Bio
Marcelo Arjona AIA is a registered architect born and educated in Colombia, South America. He completed a five-year architecture program at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá in 1994, and practiced professionally for six years before moving to the U.S.
Over the past 26 years, he has worked at nationally and internationally recognized firms as a Senior Designer, Project Manager, Project Executive, and Principal ledaing teams working in complex project types, including:
Performing Arts; Institutional | Higher Education; Workplace; Museum; Retail; Multifamily Residential, and K–12.
Over more than three decades of professional practice, Marcelo has cultivated a strong mix of design skills and technical expertise, along with years of project and firm management. He believes in a strategic and systematic design process where decision-making favors rigor, consistency, and creativity, working together from beginning to end to ensure the final product is documented thoroughly, is technically sound, memorable, and beautiful.
Over the last three-plus decades, Marcelo has worked at the following firms.
Baker Design Group, Inc.; OMR Architects; Architerra, Inc.; Moshe Safdie & Associates; Add Inc,; The Architectural Team, Inc..
My Unlikely American Journey
“Growing up in Colombia, I never imagined life would bring me where I am.
After moving to the United States, I soon realized the challenges ahead. I did not speak English, I did not have an American degree, and I didn't have an established network for guidance.
I focused on reestablishing my life and career and worked hard to become proficient on all fronts so I could compete at any level. At once, I had to learn English, the building codes, local construction practices, the Imperial system of measurement, and much more.
Through persistence and the generosity of talented colleagues and mentors, every challenge became an opportunity. I became a registered architect, proudly earned U.S. citizenship, built a family, and achieved more than I ever imagined.
Founding Civic Design Works marks the beginning of the next chapter in that journey and the opportunity to build on my experience, share it with others, and design buildings and spaces that inspire people and have a positive impact on our civic life.
I am grateful for the opportunities I found along the way and for the people I've met, and for being able to work every day in this beautiful craft of architecture, which I deeply love.”
Marcelo Arjona, AIA (Founder)