Kevin Daly
Founder, Principal

Kevin Daly, FAIA, is the founder of Kevin Daly Architects. For over twenty years he has pursued an architecture that delves into the paradoxes of the urban condition and the consequences of intervention. Projects by Kevin Daly express his belief in an architecture that is performative on every level: environmentally, structurally, economically, and aesthetically. Bolstered by abundant research, he has demonstrated the benefits of advanced, unconventional building technology in works that are consistently recognized in publications and awards, and range from public schools, custom residences, and university buildings to affordable housing.

He is on the design faculty at UCLA and has served on juries or lectured at institutions internationally, including Stanford University, Cornell University, Rice University, SCI arc, the Architectural League of New York, the University of Texas at Austin, and RISD.

Gretchen Stoecker
Director

Gretchen Stoecker received her Bachelor of Architecture at Syracuse University and Master of Architecture at Yale University. As a designer for Selldorf Architects in NYC, she worked on the Neue Galerie museum and residential projects for five years before joining KDA in 2005.

Gretchen brings a refined sensibility and technical expertise to the wide range of buildings and systems that make up the KDA portfolio, from site cast concrete residential projects to innovative terra cotta rainscreens, precast GFRE building envelopes, and ETFE glazing systems. Gretchen has managed multiple projects with unconventional delivery systems, including design/build enclosures and MEP systems at the LEED Platinum Ostin Basketball Center at UCLA. As project manager, her attention to client needs and ability to coordinate sprawling design teams have enabled the success of several award-winning KDA projects.

Gretchen’s interest in architectural history and LA modernism continues, as she lives in a historic building designed by a famous postwar architect. She is a registered architect in the State of New York.

Jared Ward
Director

Jared Ward received his Master of Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture and worked in sculpture, architecture, and construction before joining the firm in 2000. He has since managed numerous award-winning KDA projects, including UCSB San Joaquin Housing and Edison Language Academy.

Jared believes that the practice of architecture requires a multi-disciplined understanding of the built environment, as well as an exhaustive understanding of the mechanical and physical qualities of an assembly, to inform the poetics of final tectonic form. His deep understanding of systems and relentless research habits have enabled him to lead the firm’s development of digital production and fabrication techniques. Jared is a registered architect in the State of California.

Phillip Gleason
Senior Associate

Philip Gleason joined kdA in 2011 after receiving his Bachelor of Architecture at Syracuse University. He has worked on multiple critically acclaimed projects for the firm — including the UCLA Ostin Music Center, for which he developed a non-repeating modular pattern for the building’s award-winning terracotta rainscreen; Edison Language Academy, where he coordinated the unitized glazed signature chimneys; and UCSB San Joaquin Housing. Philip enjoys backpacking across the west and often finds inspiration from the natural environment to apply to his architectural designs. With his astonishing capacity to multitask, Philip simultaneously manages schematic design and post-occupancy changes for ambitious clients. He is a registered architect in the State of California.

Luke Smith
Associate

Luke’s expertise is rooted in the tectonics of complex systems, with a particular focus on the environmental and formal performance of building skins. He has worked extensively on projects that include a high level of prefabrication, as well as the direct-to-fabrication process. Prior to joining kdA he was Associate Director of Design for a façade contractor, overseeing a range of large-scale projects across the US from design development through to construction. He was also a Project Manager at SHoP, working on a variety of projects including the Barclays Arena and the Dean Street modular tower.

Luke brings extensive knowledge of multiple parametric software platforms to both the design process and construction rationalization. He is also a part-time lecturer at the USC School of Architecture and speaks regularly at universities in the Los Angeles area. He was co-chair of the Facades Plus conference in conjunction with Architect’s Newspaper from 2014 to 2015.

Originally from the United Kingdom, Luke has found the Southern California climate more conducive to hiking and camping, which he enjoys when he’s not at work. He studied in Oxford and Paris before attaining his Master of Architecture from Princeton.

Courtney Gibbs
Associate

Courtney Gibbs relocated from her home in Melbourne, Australia to join kdA in 2017. She brings a high degree of experience in managing complex, multi-organizational projects driven by rigorous corporate design standards. Courtney has an exceptional ability to balance stakeholder expectations with local requirements and architectural best practices. Managing multiple simultaneous projects with dozens of consultants, Courtney completed 400,000 SF of workplace interiors in Manhattan at 770 Broadway and then moved onto a vertical campus at Hudson Yards Campus, 1.2 million SF of arrival spaces, Breakout spaces, workplace, full production event spaces, food service and dining spaces. Adept at tackling tight schedules with overlapping deadlines, Courtney expertly handles and anticipates the challenges of phased projects. She has experience explaining standards to numerous executive architects and has worked with multiple construction managers to deliver these New York projects.

Courtney focuses on solving problems for the client while exceeding expectations and deadlines, planning to meet schedule milestones, and coordinating a comprehensive approach to design of the building or campus.

Jeff Rauch
Architect

Jeff Rauch joined kdA as a summer intern in 2013 and returned full time to the firm in 2016. He received his Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis and his Master of Architecture from UCLA, where he was also recognized with the AIA Henry Adams Medal. Jeff’s work reflects his interest in representation and providing legibility to invisible networks and processes, and his comprehensive graphic design abilities have enabled him to coordinate competition entries and speculative proposals. His experience working in Japan at Atelier Bow-Wow, Los Angeles, and at small studios in New York City has exposed Jeff to a wide variety of diverse cultures and project types, all of which have shaped his design sensibility. Jeff is resident of NYC and the sole member of kdA New York. He is a registered architect in the State of California.

Julian Funk

Julian Funk received his Bachelor of Science in Architecture from The Ohio State University and his Master of Architecture from Harvard University. At Harvard he taught a six week design studio for undergraduate students and worked as a teaching assistant for a recurring seminar on housing typologies, specifically in Latin America. Prior to joining kdA Julian worked at Machado Silvetti in Boston and developed campus plans for projects in Vietnam and Cairo. He is drawn to design that starts simply and practically and then shifts in surprising ways. To his work at kdA Julian brings experience in small exhibition design, large scale residential projects, and commercial fit-outs.

Casey Worrell

Casey received his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Arkansas and his Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University. He began his career at Marlon Blackwell’s studio and continued as a designer at large corporate offices before finding a role at kdA as a generalist, employing his expertise in retail planning, renovations, and fit-outs. Casey brings sound planning and precise detailing to his current work producing documentation for multiple projects types within the office. He values architecture that generates multiple readings through the use of everyday materials altered to create unexpected moments.

Phineas Taylor-Webb
Architect

Phineas Taylor-Webb received his Bachelors in Physics from Carnegie Mellon University and his Master of Architecture from the Yale School of Architecture. He joined the firm in 2018 after interning for Gehry Partners and Zaha Hadid Architects. He offers formal design skills shaped by a wide range of approaches to architecture and strives to support design with analytical analysis from his background in science. Phineas strives to design simple yet beautiful functional buildings at KDA. Phineas is a registered architect in the state of California.

Ryan Conroy
Architect

Ryan Conroy received his Bachelor of Arts in Architecture at UCLA before completing his Master of Architecture at UC Berkeley. As a recipient of the Branner Fellowship, he traveled throughout Europe, Asia, and South America researching the political effects of postwar housing and development. Prior to joining kdA, Ryan held teaching positions at UC Berkeley and research positions at cityLAB UCLA, and the City of Los Angeles. With each project, Ryan brings renewed attention to context and locality, aiming to broaden the influence of our discipline and engage new audiences.

Vanessa De La Hoz

Vanessa De La Hoz received her Bachelor of Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture, where she completed her thesis under Eric Moss and worked as a teaching assistant. Proficient in multiple software platforms, Vanessa is equally interested in materiality and sensory qualities of spaces.

Kevin Nicholson
Architect

A Northern California native, Kevin Nicholson received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in 2016. He joined kdA in 2021 after splitting his early professional years between Los Angeles at a large corporate firm, New York City at a mid-size design firm, and Los Angeles again at a small boutique design firm. Kevin enjoys most and brings the majority of his experience from public and institutional projects across all project phases. He enjoys creating space that anyone and everyone can experience, whether that be personally or as a passerby. But at his core, Kevin is highly detail-oriented and truly enjoys architecture at the microscale. Whether designing the joint at which two materials come together, articulating the reception desk in a lobby, or massing a building as part of a masterplan, the relationship and story between part and whole has always been one of his greatest interests. Outside of the office, he is an avid adventurer and outdoorsman at heart, regularly hiking, backpacking, camping, snowboarding, and travelling when the opportunity strikes. Kevin is a licensed architect in the state of California.

Connor Verteramo

Connor Verteramo received his Bachelors of Arts in Architecture from University of Kentucky and his Masters of Architecture from UCLA. While at UCLA he held several leadership positions, taught summer intensive programs, and was a TA for undergraduate studios. Connor was the recipient of the Chao Di Su Award for Final Research Project. Connor is interested in the aesthetic and formal characteristics found in non-architectural art and design practices as ways to inform the design process. As a lifelong soccer player, Connor enjoys playing and watching soccer in his free time.

Kevin Ulmer

A native Angeleno, Kevin Ulmer joined kdA in 2020 after receiving both a Masters in Architecture and a Masters in Urban Design from the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts, Washington University in St Louis.  Ulmer was drawn to architecture by the physical implications of formal decisions, from intimate interior spaces to larger societal realties. Ulmer is passionate about the challenge of designing architecture for social benefit and improvement and investigating the fundamental relationship between craft and consequences. He believes that a global understanding of the layer complex forces that shape the urban realm makes designers stronger and more perceptive about the implementation of design for positive change.  Outside of kdA, Ulmer designs and makes pottery at a local studio; the medium allows another creative outlet for experimenting with form, material, and technique.

Vanina Fiamingo
Chief Financial Officer

A native of Buenos Aires, Vanina Fiamingo received her degree in Business Administration from the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE). Vanina is no stranger to the architecture and design world, as she grew up in an architect family surrounded by blueprints and renders. Before joining kdA she worked as a consultant for multiple firms in various industries across the United States and Latin America — including technology, entertainment, non-profit, real estate, and marketing organizations.

Sam Kaufman

Sam Kaufman received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Cooper Union School of Art before completing his Master of Architecture at Southern California Institute of Architecture. Sam’s interests bridge experimental representation with digital fabrication. He was awarded the Thesis Prize for his design-research at SCI-Arc, where he developed a manufacturing process for CNC’d plaster molds and 3D scanned building elements. His studies of craft and aesthetics as an undergraduate, as well as his professional experiences as a furniture-maker’s apprentice and assistant at Thomas Demand’s studio, act as a framework to consider design within the context of visual culture.

Wendy Guerrero

Wendy received her Master of Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc). Prior to joining kdA she worked on exhibition design, museum renovation, and residential design in Los Angeles, New York, and Maine. She was awarded a Merit Thesis Prize for her research on the permeability of state buildings and a finalist of a nationwide award for her design-research on alternative futures of Mesoamerican cities. She is also an assistant teacher for both undergraduate and graduate design studios at SCI-Arc as well as teaches a summer intensive that introduces high school students in the Los Angeles area to design and architecture.

Wendy’s undergraduate studies in visual communications and professional experience in graphic and furniture design ground her approach to architecture and its visual culture.