Omar Calderon Santiago

AIA

Principal

“Human-centric design has the capacity to restore, maintain, and sustain the connections we make with one another and our relationship with the natural world. The task at hand is not to be complacent by simply being in a place, but rather we must seek a relationship where we can be of the place instead.”

For Omar, the design of “place” is central to seeking value-added solutions at every stage of a project, which means inspiration is often found in the unexpected. With more than 20 years of national and international experience, his impressive portfolio encompasses commercial, residential, public, higher education, and primary and secondary education facilities. Omar lends this thoughtful, open-minded approach to everything he touches. Highly versatile and well-regarded, Omar is keenly attuned to the broader perspectives of building and planning and is always searching for the intangible human dimension of design. Omar is a former Fellow for the New York Foundation for the Arts and has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts.

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Omar employs a hands-on, collaborative approach which leverages the particular individual talents of a team, creating designs which are wholly empathetic, connective, and uplifting.

Omar is quoted as a beta user for SketchUp for iPad in Arch Daily.

The SketchUp blog profiled him, and he was featured on its YouTube channel discussing “the heart of the school.”

His sketching is also featured in Morpholio’s “Top Trace Sketches of the Month.”