Darren J. Taylor, MArch, Assoc. AIA

A native of Pittsburgh, PA, Darren is a 2004 graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Architecture. Upon graduation, Darren went to work immediately for GBBN Architects in Lexington. After three years with the fi rm, he was tapped to assist in spearheading the opening of their Louisville, KY office in August of 2008. While in the Louisville market, Darren worked on several projects there, including the design of their new offi ce space and the University of Louisville’s YUM! Center, which was completed in 2009.

In 2008, Darren also formed Carpenter | Taylor Design, a partnership with long time Kentucky Architect Clyde Reynolds Carpenter, FAIA, focused mostly on contemporary additions to historic properties. In 2009, Darren left GBBN to work fulltime with Mr. Carpenter and pursue a graduate degree to build a more solid basis for his practice and the prospect of teaching. He entered Penn in Philadelphia in the fall of 2010 and graduated in the spring of 2011 with a Masters in Design and a Certifi cate in Historic Preservation.

Upon completion of his degree from Penn, Darren returned to Lexington to continue his work. In July 2011, Carpenter | Taylor was pleased to join Lucas/Schwering Architects to work towards creating responsible, design-centered projects for their existing and future clients.

Darren and his fiancee Kelly live in downtown Lexington and enjoy UK sports, Pittsburgh Steelers football, entertaining and traveling.

Michael Sparkman, AIA, LEED AP

In addition to acting as architect and manager for several active projects in the office, Mike shares responsibility for overall leadership and office management for Lucas Schwering Architects. He has designed and administered an extensive number of public school projects in Kentucky, including the master planning and long term campus planning for these same institutions. His interests are in architectural design, urban design, architectural practice and theory of design.In the mid 1990's while completing graduate studies at Cornell, Mike served as a teaching assistant to the architecture program.

Here he gained a passion for education and cultivated the idea of using teaching as a means of improving the built environment. Mike's early history of practice includes work in Boston and Cambridge Massachusetts where he worked as a designer on various large scale city projects focused on urban design and planning. This work included planning and design feasibility studies for urban and suburban public transportation projects.

He also has acted as a project architect for several renovation projects focused on the rehabilitation of historic and aged industrial buildings.

Matthew Brooks, AIA

Mr. Brooks earned a degree in architecture from The University of Kentucky in 1994. While in attendance at the University, he traveled abroad with the college's Venice, Italy program focusing his efforts on designing within the tight urban fabric of that historic city. He received design awards in his fourth and fifth years for a project situated in downtown Lexington and for his entry in the 'Atlanta Public Space' competition.

Mr. Brooks and family recently moved home to downtown Lexington after building a career in New York City. While in Manhattan he worked on various urban projects for the City of New York, such as the rehabilitation of a 100 year old hotel, now a men's shelter on Ward's Island, NY; the new construction of the Williamsburg Childcare Center, Williamsburg, NY; and the rehabilitation of a family shelter in Brooklyn, NY. He was project manager for a number of special interest projects such as The Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center in Little Falls, New Jersey and the Sacred Heart Chapel in Fairfield, Connecticut, as well as, many fast paced interior fit-ups throughout Manhattan. In the two years as a Project Architect at Lucas / Schwering Architects Mr. Brooks has designed several projects notably a gymnasium addition, humanities addition, and medical office building.

Other professional experience includes college and university work, religious, museum, childcare, and health/clinical projects. Mr. Brooks is a registered Architect in Kentucky, New York and Nevada, is a member of the American Institute of Architects and is NCARB certified.

Marcus Highland, AIA

Marcus is a graduate of both Lexington Community College and the University of Kentucky College of Architecture in 2000. He is a member of AIA and is pursuing LEED certification, Marcus has contributed to numerous residential, educational, commercial, and healthcare projects. He is working as project manager for several renovation projects.

Pamela Clements, AIA

Pamela is a graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Architecture where she earned a Bachelor of Architecture Degree with honors in May of 2002. Pamela is a member of American Institute of Architects and Tau Sigma Delta. While in her final year of studies she began exploring the architectural identities of communities in Appalachia and how the boom and demise of the coal industry has defi ned their sense of place. She continues to explore these ideas and others relating to the architectural impact of social identities.

Throughout her internship she has worked closely with a variety of Project Architects and consultants. She has equine experience from small 3000 s.f. barns to large developments, educational experience from 10,000 s.f. additions to new facilities, and residential experience from contemporary metal dwellings to renovations of 19th century residences. Her broad scope of project experience and design talents benefi ts every project.

Pamela is instrumental in developing the firm’s progressive approach to BIM building information modeling. One of her objectives is to modernize the design process by making three dimensional modeling an integral part of the design and construction process.

Katrina Littrell, AIA

Katrina has participated in a variety of projects including educational,equine, commercial, and healthcare. She has contributed to all project phases from schematic design to construction administration and has actively participated in streamlining the production of construction documents.

Katrina is a 2002 graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Architecture where she was a recipient of the prestigious AIA Henry Adams Medal. While at the University of Kentucky, she was a member of the Architecture Honor Society, Tau Sigma Delta. In May 2003, she earned a Masters of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania.

Mason Scisco

Mason Scisco recently completed his third year of the five-year Bachelor of Architecture program at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. He was born in Danville, KY. At Cornell Mason is active in the Meinig Cornell National Scholars, a leadership program whose membership includes Cornell’s most promising leaders, and in the Peer Review Board where he recently served as Assistant Chairperson, helping the student-run hearing committee design academic sanctions for students who violate the university dormitories’ House Rules. Mason will be studying in Rome, Italy in the fall of 2009 and New York City in the spring of 2010.

Heather Stickel

Heather graduated from Western Kentucky University with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, Education. Her past experience in the legal profession has honed her organizational and communication skills. Heather participates in the daily marketing operations in the office.

Rebecca Cox, LEED AP

Rebecca is a native Lexingtonian and UK alumnus who has gained a variety of experiences working in Europe and Chicago.  Her project background includes healthcare, education, mix-use development and residential.

In 2002 she graduated with honors and moved to Germany where she worked with a notable architecture office and taught as an instructor for the University College of Design’s Berlin Program.  In 2004 she returned to the US to work for a top-ranked firm in Chicago where she continued to practice internationally but also gained valuable design, technical, and sustainable experience by participating on-site in the design and construction of a local, large-scale, LEED certified hospital.

During her time in Chicago Rebecca became very involved with the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and acted as BIM manager for several large-scale projects including a 930,000 SF high school renovation/ addition in Winnetka, Illinois and a 58,000 SM mixed-use tower in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Rebecca is a LEED accredited professional and hopes to use her experience with large-scale, green projects and BIM coordination to help make Central Kentucky’s design more sustainable and competitive.

Jason Milstead, Assoc. AIA, LEED Green Assoc.

Jason is an Architectural Intern who graduated from the University of Kentucky, College of Design with an M.Arch in 2010.  During his graduate studies, he was an integral, core team member of the University of Kentucky's entry into the 2009 Solar Decathlon. He collaborated with other architectural, core engineering, communication and agricultural students to design, construct, transport and showcase the University's solar house, s.ky Blue in Washington, DC and Lexington, Kentucky.  Jason was also instrumental in developing the scripts and G-code used for s.ky Blue's façade design and construction.