A team of practitioners
Civic Projects is a hybrid design practice.
MONICA CHADHA |
AIA, LEED AP
Founder and Principal Architect
Monica Chadha, AIA, LEED AP, is the founder of Civic Projects Architecture. She leads all aspects of projects in the office and serves as the primary point of contact on projects. Prior to starting her firm, she served as founding director of Impact Detroit and led project teams at both Studio Gang and Ross Barney Architects. During that time, Monica was integral to the design of award-winning, civic scale buildings, such as the Champaign Public Library and the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Civil Engineering Building.
Outside of Civic Projects, Monica is on the Board of Trustees of the Graham Foundation. She was an Adjunct Professor at Illinois Institute of Technology from 2007 to 2017, engaging students in social impact design practices. She holds a Masters of Architecture from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Bachelors of Environmental Studies in Architecture from the University of Waterloo, Canada.
In 1996 she worked at the Vastu-Shilpa Foundation for Research & Studies in Environmental Design as a Research Associate in the Office of Balkrishna Doshi, on the development of housing prototypes for low-income communities.
MICHELLE MCSWEENEY
Associate Principal
Michelle is a licensed architect who has recently joined Civic Projects after gaining experience with leading architecture firms in Chicago, including Booth Hansen and Solomon Cordwell Buenz. Michelle believes greater results are achieved through idea sharing and open communication, and greatly values the knowledge she has acquired from working in cross-disciplinary teams. She has worked across a variety of project typologies, at all scales, with a strong interest in housing and how housing impacts the success of a community. Michelle is a graduate of Iowa State University where she received a Master of Architecture and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design. Although she is an Iowa native, Chicago has been home since 2010, where she resides with her family in the Beverly neighborhood.
mmcsweeney@civic-projects.com
IAN MILEY | AIA
Architect
Ian Miley is an architect and urban designer interested in addressing socially-driven issues within Chicago. His passions include sustainability, comprehensive cities and a more inclusive public sphere. He brings a strong sense of detail and fabrication to the office. He has worked at a variety of scales and holds a Bachelor’s in Architecture from Oklahoma State University and a Master’s of Urban Design from Washington University. His experience includes working at WJW Architects and Canopy Architecture and Design. He has extensive experience in affordable housing with a focus on inclusive design and sustainability. He resides in the South Chicago neighborhood.
imiley@civic-projects.com
JOHN WOLF
Architectural Designer
John Wolf is an architect and project manager who recently joined Civic Projects after gaining extensive experience on a variety of transit projects with Chicago based architects, Muller2, as well as various municipal and recreational project types. Prior to that experience, John worked in community development with Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago in North Lawndale, where he conducted neighborhood historic research, community outreach, and managed multiple design projects and proposals in the community. He holds a Master of Architecture degree from Kansas State University. John grew up in Milwaukee, and has lived in Chicago since 2012, currently residing in the Logan Square neighborhood.
jwolf@civic-projects.com
GUSTAVO ACOSTA
Architectural Designer
Gustavo Acosta is a Puerto Rican architect who has recently joined Civic Projects. In Puerto Rico, he worked on various projects ranging between public and private work, from residential to urban design. Recently, he has gained experience in the transportation sector where he worked in large-scale projects, including O’Hare Terminal 5 Extension. A lover of film and television, he is a member of the Puerto Rico Critic’s Association, and has produced content celebrating the voices of the Latine community. Gustavo believes architecture is for everyone and is in service of society. He is invested in projects that improve public well-being and the environment. He holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Gustavo has lived in Chicago since 2015, currently residing in Buena Park.
gacosta@civic-projects.com
GINGER STANCIEL
Culture, Arts, and Museum Exhibition Project Designer
Ginger Stanciel is a culture, arts, and museum project developer. She is passionate about creating exhibitions and public programming that help make museum and gallery spaces more accessible, inclusive, equitable, and representative of their surrounding communities. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design with minors in Art History and Italian Studies from Kent State University, and received a Master’s degree in Apparel, Merchandising, and Design with an emphasis on Museum Studies and Fashion History from Iowa State University in 2022. Her background includes collections management, curatorial research, and social justice focused exhibition and programming development at several Midwest museums and universities. A native South Side Chicagoan from The Gap neighborhood, she resides in the South Loop.
gstanciel@civic-projects.com
COLLABORATORS
Our collaborators bring expertise in urban planning, education, sustainability, and policy; enriching each project with their specialized knowledge and contributions. Combined with our commitment to quality design and architecture, our collaborative practice results in projects that are deeply embedded in their context and communities.
Chana Haouzi (Architecture for Public Benefit)
Chana Haouzi is an architect, educator, and fierce advocate that good design can and should be for everyone. Chana is the founder of Architecture for Public Benefit (APB) and a licensed architect with ten years of comprehensive design experience. She leads design studios at the University of Chicago’s Art History Department and Illinois Institute of Technology’s College of Architecture. Chana has partnered with various mission-driven organizations, including Brookline and Boston Public Libraries, the Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence, Aaron’s Presents, and YouthBuild. She is the recipient of the 2022 AIA Young Architects Award. Chana holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from McGill University and two master’s in architecture from McGill University’s School of Architecture and Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.
Gabe Moreno
Gabriel Moreno is an artist, designer, and contractor in Chicago, Illinois. Drawing from 15 years of experience in carpentry, tile, and stone, he synthesizes material quality and personal care to meet site-specific needs. In addition, he leverages these skills in leading the Design Apprenticeship Program: a skills-building youth mentorship initiative at Arts + Public Life that asks teens to be stewards of their material and social conditions. Grounded in liberatory pedagogy, building objects becomes a platform for nurturing individuals and building collectivity.
He has worked across residential, commercial, and institutional projects, as well as collaborations with Theaster Gates Studio, Herkes İçin Mimarlik, studioBASAR, and Civic Projects. He holds degrees from Knox College and The University of Chicago.
Chandra Christmas-Rouse (Enterprise)
Chandra Christmas-Rouse is an urban planner and multidisciplinary artist. As a program officer at Enterprise Community Partners, she develops program, policy and capital initiatives with local partners that focus on environmental resilience, equitable transit-oriented development (eTOD) and healing-centered engagement. A background in community development and environmental justice informs her design approach of working with communities in a participatory process to achieve place-based solutions and reimagine systems. Chandra holds a BA in Environmental Sciences & Policy with distinction from Duke University and a Master of Urban Planning from Harvard Graduate School of Design. She has been named a 2020 Threewalls RaDLab+Outside the Walls Artist Fellow and currently serves on the board of Equiticity.
Abby Hamlin (Hamlin Ventures, LLC)
Abby Hamlin is a real estate developer and civic thinker. In 1998, she founded Hamlin Ventures, which remains one of a handful of successful woman-owned development companies. Prior to forming Hamlin Ventures, Abby was President of Swig Weiler & Arnow Management, a premiere commercial real estate company that developed, owned, and managed 8 million square feel of office properties in New York City and San Francisco. As an active civic leader, she is a board member for the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and has led several of its public design initiatives.
Clement Blanchet (cBA)
Clément Blanchet is the founder and principal of Clément Blanchet Architecture (cBA) and a former Associate of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in France. During his 10 years of collaboration with Rem Koolhaas, Clément contributed to the development of OMA in Europe and led several award winning projects for the firm. Founded in Paris in 2014, his firm Clément Blanchet Architecture has worked on major projects such as the R&D Center for Carrefour, a new mixed-use complex for Georgia, and the French Pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai.
PAST FELLOWS, COLLABORATORS and STAFF
Amanda Mauser
Andrew Vesselinovitch
Brandon Limary
Brian Haymes
Cas Esbach
Eli Harrell
Chang Hong
Charlotte Soehner
Dana Taylor
David Hoff
Dhruv Maheshwari
Hasnain Khundmiri
Jacob Chartoff
Jane Jozefowicz
Jennifer Doty
Jess Monigal
Joanne Koola
Jungsik Kim
Justin Bologna
Kyeore Lee
Maria Bergh
Mary Patera
Minjung Ku
Sharlene Young
Shreya Minama Reddy
Smitha Vasan
Tarek Alhariri
Tiffany Bobbitt
Tukesha Hill
Zebeeb Nuguse