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JOHN P. LYNCH, NCARB, IIDA, PARTNER
From a young age John knew that he wanted to be an architect. He spent much of his childhood joyfully engaged in drawing and building things. Frequent family trips to New York City set in motion his interest in practicing architecture as art.
John earned his Bachelor of Architecture Degree from the University of Kentucky, where he expanded his design perspective through international study programs in Paris and Venice.
Additionally, he later received a Master of Architecture Degree from the University of Illinois.
Following his undergraduate degree, John served as a Vista Volunteer in Denver, working with community organizers to revitalize neighborhoods affected by poverty and crime. This experience reinforced his belief that every person, every project, deserves thoughtful and intentional design regardless of budget.
Early in his career John designed a new home for his brother. The house, while fitting comfortably into its suburban neighborhood, reaches beyond the typical standards and aesthetic values of suburbia and has brought many years of joy to his brother and his family.
Growing up in a household immersed in community theater created a love of the performing arts. Today he continues to perform in plays, musicals and film – an outlet that he not only enjoys but also fuels his creative spirit as a designer. This first-hand knowledge has helped to inform some of his projects, including an Expansion of an Arts Building at Clark University and the Music Hall Loft in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Both of these buildings won design excellence awards from the American Institute of Architects.
In addition to his professional practice, John has shared his expertise as an educator, teaching Architectural Design and Presentation at Wentworth Institute of Technology, the New England College of Art and Design at Suffolk University, and Boston Architectural College.
One of John’s strongest principles rests in his attention to detail and the firm belief that each and every small move should reinforce the over-arching narrative of the project.
JENNIFER STEFFEK, AIA, PARTNER
Jennifer fell in love with drawing at an early age. She attributes this to the influence of her architect father, beginning with the colorful sketches he hung in her baby crib. She recalls being overjoyed in the third grade when she discovered books about Leonardo Da Vinci in her school library. Also possessing a fascination with building things, she spent countless hours in the basement wood shop of her childhood home.
In high school, she built a model of a solar house as well as a functioning full- scale solar panel, which landed her a spot at the science fair. This, combined with being voted “Most Artistic”, made her path to architect clear.
Family vacations to cities in North America and Europe sparked a lifetime interest in travel which has had a great influence on her work. Some of the most meaningful experiences to her have been a trip to Venice and Rome as a child, studying in Florence, Italy for a year while a student at Syracuse University School of Architecture, her first architectural job after graduation in London, and most recently, adventuring on a client-sponsored design research trip to Japan.
Early in her career, in an effort to explore her interest in the emotional qualities of architecture, she entered an ideas competition called “The Temple of Laughter”. Her submission, which was an attempt to illustrate how architectural design can elicit feelings of joy, was chosen for an exhibition in Los Angeles, California.
Jennifer’s many years as Project Designer at large architectural firms in the Boston area includes a variety of building types, such as residential, cultural, higher education and multi-family housing. One of her favorite projects is an award-winning design of a Harvard Medical School Building that was described by the former head of the genetics department as “a work of art”.
Throughout her career she has cultivated the philosophy that the aesthetic for each project should grow out of the unique qualities of people and place and that interior and architectural design are inseparable.
