Fast Forward 2023 Presenter line up

Fast Forward 2023 Presenters

Maura McCarthy

Maura joined Fairmount Park Conservancy as its Executive Director in November of 2019 and oversees a staff who are leading community programming, capital projects and land management across key sites throughout Philadelphia’s 10,200 acres of parks. For the 13 years prior, Maura was executive director of Friends of the Wissahickon, Philadelphia’s only professionally staffed Park Friends group, harnessing over 10,000 hours of volunteer engagement each year to support a National Recreation Trail and an 1,800-acre National Natural Landmark. A native to the Philadelphia region, McCarthy has a strong record of public service. She currently serves on the Green City, Clean Waters Steering Committee for Philadelphia Water Department and was a member of Mayor Jim Kenney’s Transition Team on Environment & Sustainability. She holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in Social Anthropology from the University of Oxford and a Bachelor of Arts from New York University. She also received a Certificate in Performance Measurement for Effective Management of Nonprofit Organizations from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Presenting

Great parks save lives: Bringing more trails, meadows, nature and water to South Philly's FDR Park

What’s Next for Philly: Great parks save lives. The FDR Park Plan is a $250+ million multi-phase plan whose development and implementation is a partnership of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and Fairmount Park Conservancy, benefiting millions of annual users of this historic park. The plan—which will be implemented over the next three years, and whose first ribbon-cutting is this fall—sets a vision for FDR Park that balances nature, water, and human activity into a world-class public space. The renewed FDR Park will have more trails, meadows, nature, and water. By providing premier fields and courts where youth can play sports, nature trails that offer refuge and respite, stormwater management amenities that mitigate the effects of climate change in both the park and the surrounding neighborhoods, and community investment that brings about neighborhood cohesion, FDR Park can heal Philadelphia’s ecology and people.

Mary Beth Gregory + John Pennekamp


Mary Beth is a Senior Associate and a registered Architect (AIA) with a career spanning over a decade. She is a key leader in BRR Architects' Philadelphia team and serves as a Project Manager for a major retail client, overseeing multi-project site adaptations. Since joining BRR in 2012, Mary Beth has worked on various retail, industrial, and grocery projects across the nation, demonstrating expertise in all phases of design. Mary Beth holds a Registered Professional Architect designation, is licensed in PA and WA, and earned her Bachelor of Architecture from Temple University in 2012. She is an active member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

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John , an Associate and registered Architect (AIA), joined BRR Architects in 2015. He is a key figure in the firm's Philadelphia office and serves as the program manager for high-profile clients, including Whole Foods Market and Wawa. With an impressive track record as a project manager, John has consistently delivered successful outcomes by bringing clients, stakeholders, engineers, and regulatory authorities together. His extensive experience spans various grocery and retail clients across the country, and he has contributed to diverse project types, from large retail developments to complex urban sites. John earned his Registered Professional Architect designation in 2018 and is licensed in Pennsylvania. He holds a Master of Architecture degree from Drury University (2015) and is an active member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

Presenting

Reshaping Retail: The Future of Shopping Local

What’s Next for Philly: Changing Retail will Change the Landscape To thrive in an evolving world, retail stores must adapt to new technologies while remaining accessible to customers. Philadelphia grocery store footprints are continuing to shrink. New technology allows shoppers to walk out with their goods after skipping the cashier. These updates will impact the traditional brick and mortar retail environment, which in turn will impact Philadelphia’s neighborhoods. With over 60 years of retail and grocery design experience, BRR has remained at the forefront of retail and grocery trends and is uniquely positioned to predict how design will impact the city.

Our presentation for Fast Forward Philly will explore new technologies and store designs which will impact Philadelphians. We see grocers utilizing automated technology for live shelf tracking, and creating smaller stores which deliver to local homes. They will see goods delivered by drone or driverless vehicles. In-person shoppers will experience smaller, simpler store layouts and hands-free check out designed to efficiently move them through the customer journey. Whether it’s online or in- store, the shopping experience will become simplified, efficient and more sustainable through automation and development.

Jordan Mrazik

Jordan is an architect with an interest in contextual thought. His academic pursuits have taken him from the hills of southwest Virginia, working as a farmhand, to the streets of Europe, surveying ruins. His eclectic background has produced a diverse portfolio of commercial, cultural, educational, sacral and residential projects; collaborating with developers, private homeowners, universities and multinational companies. In addition to numerous AIA project awards and features at design series across Philadelphia, Jordan was named the 2018 AIA Philadelphia Young Architect. He is currently practicing as an Associate at Bright Common- a small studio of dedicated architects in South Kensington pursuing high concept, low carbon design for a climate-adapted future. Bright Common was awarded the 2020 AIA Philadelphia Emerging Architecture Prize and recognized as 2021 Design Vanguards by Architectural Record.

Presenting

Constructing Catalpa: Building in Disrupted Time

What’s Next for Philly: Close to 10 years ago as the threat of Climate Change slowly entered the public psyche, Bright Common entered a ‘21st Century Rowhome Design Competition’. Their proposal was to convert Philadelphia’s vacant building shells into Multi-generational Resource Centers during “Ordinary Times” of clear skies and functioning infrastructure, which would transform into Community Arks during periods of “Disrupted Times” of extreme weather events. While their entry was not selected and the ideas seemed like a novel outlier at the time, a decade later their premonitions are becoming reality as Philadelphians face the intersecting crises of Climate Adaptation and equally threatening storms of social inequality. Building on the original ideas of ‘Catalpa House’, Bright Common Associate Jordan M. Mrazik will present the studio’s unique bio-based, low carbon approach to imagining what’s next for Philly… right now: turning neglected relics into Community Arks for a Climate Variable Future. His presentation will look at two versions of “Catalpa” currently under construction; highlighting the challenges of marrying passive buildings with adaptive reuse, urban resiliency strategies, social framework goals, and historic overlays.

Elsa De Leon

Elsa De León is a Staff Architect and Designer at MGA Partners. She supports the firm’s large scale academic designs as well as those involving MGA’s GSA Design Excellence projects. These are centered on progressive and flexible interiors delivering acute solutions involving multiple stakeholders and users. She also brings a continuous professional engagement with historic building construction, having specialized in architectural and cultural preservation during her studies. Elsa is proud to be a Mexican native. She received her Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Master of Architecture from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Her interest in Cultural Heritage and Historic Urban Precincts allowed her the opportunity to participate in various research in San Antonio and L’Aquila, Italy. Elsa delights with integrating her experience in her professional environment and connects with the local community during her free time. She is an advocate for international students, women in the built environment, immigrants and refugees.

Presenting

Culture + Migration: Approaching Longevity in Our Community

What’s Next for Philly: City of Brotherly Love, the Immigrant City, the Workshop of the World, Sanctuary City; these

are labels bestowed on Philadelphia over its long history. From its beginning, it has been a

leading example of a fast-growing city with a resilient and diverse population. For over 150

years, Philadelphia remained a primary entry point for US immigration. During several cycles of

tremendous immigration, the city became more diverse, supporting an enormous industrial and

urban giant that represented the hard work and culture of the new working class. The city

became a place of exploration and opportunities.

As history repeats, our city is poised to become one of the major destinations to welcome

immigrants and refugees. Particularly as other Northeast cities become overwhelmed by the

migration crisis and political oppression.

The forthcoming challenges allow an opportunity to develop a model that utilizes responsive design to support social justice and equity. Architects and designers can be an integral part of the creation of a prototype that uses historical and cultural inspiration to build the power of the community. My experimental proposal implements tools to facilitate social reintegration while preserving dignity and identity, creating a self-sustaining and innovative built model that educates our community through environmental design. As part of the built environment we are responsible for being agents of change during this humanitarian crisis. Climate and Political migration are the present and the future reality of our

country. How can design be part of the solution and legacy of Philadelphia?

Elizabeth Lovett

Elizabeth Lovett is a registered architect. Her practice, Lovett Keshet Studio, which she co-founded with Yair Keshet, focuses on finding refined and pragmatic solutions that integrate building technology and research methodologies. Originally from Louisville, Ky, Elizabeth gained architectural experience at Stanev Potts Architects and Kieran Timberlake in Philadelphia, as well as the Galante Architecture Studio in Boston. She has worked as a project engineer for the A. Zahner Company, co-designing and overseeing the manufacture and on-site installation of complex facade systems. Her interest in the language of geometry and the pragmatic constraints of materials and construction has led her to become heavily involved in the engineering and fabrication of many of her designs. She has a Masters in Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania. Elizabeth is a trustee and board member of the Gladwyne Free Library and a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania in the department of Architecture. She is a co-author of Material Design: Informing Architecture by Materiality, published by Birkhauser and her drawings appear in The Function of Form, by Farshid Moussavi.

Presenting

Existing Roofs as Stormwater Infrastructure

What’s Next for Philly: As cities develop a top aging stormwater infrastructure, rain run-off overwhelms urban sewers.This causes sewage to back-up into streets and buildings and overflow into rivers, creating unsanitary conditions within the city and destroying riparian environments. To combat this trend, cities are implementing fees monetizing stormwater management. Philadelphia charges commercial property owners per square foot of impermeable area. They also incentivize developers to incorporate permeable areas into their designs by offering zoning bonuses. These policy advancements are a great step in managing urban water, however they are mostly relevant to new construction.

We need a stormwater solution that can be implemented atop existing buildings. Green roofs are usually the only solution to manage stormwater at the roof level. The weight and expense of a green roof prevents its implementation on most existing buildings.

This means huge amounts of un-activated pervious surface are left on the table - an untapped source of water storage that, if made easy, lightweight and affordable, could transform the city’s rowhouses into a diversified network of urban stormwater infrastructure.

We are actively testing and developing systems that could functionally hold stormwater during rain-events, and then dissipate that moisture through evaporation afterward. By designing the system to weigh less than the building code’s snow-load requirements, we enable it to be implemented on most typical row-home roofs.

Andrew Donaldson- Evans

Andrew Donaldson-Evans is an architect who believes that exceptional design should be commonplace. As a Principal and Regional Director of Design at EwingCole, he challenges expectations and pushes boundaries to find a better way for buildings to serve their clients and communities. With two decades in architectural practice, his portfolio includes a diverse array of projects. Local and regional work is his passion, with recently completed projects including renovations to Penn’s Boathouse, the Philadelphia Cricket Club, and the new Graham Athletic Center on William Penn Charter School’s East Falls Campus. Andrew is a graduate of Penn and a resident of South Philadelphia.

Presenting

A Tale of Three Schools

What’s Next for Philly: Education is one of the cornerstones of a healthy city. While the City of Philadelphia has made strides to improve offerings in public, charter, and alternative models of education, moving to communities with better schools is cited as significant reason people leave the city. In fact, for families with school age children, it is the top reason people leave cited by The Pew Charitable Trusts survey in 2019 at a whopping 31%. Three recent educational projects – one completed in 2019 and two under construction currently – represent different approaches to education taken in Philadelphia by public, charter, and independent schools. Cassidy Elementary, MaST Tacony Charter School, and William Penn Charter School share in common an aspiration for the future of the city, its families, and its communities, but with different philosophies about what should drive school design: efficiency, equity, and the environment. Together, these schools offer a model for the future of education in Philadelphia, and pose the question: how can we do better for the next generation of students.