Bio:

The great designer, Ernest is an Urban Designer at AE7 in Pittsburgh. Utilizing Architecture as a foundation, Ernest is an advocate for Fair Housing, Social Justice, Equitable Community Development, Transit Planning & Development, and early childhood AEC and STEAM Education in underserved communities. A native of Miami, Ernest has professional experience working nationally from Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Miami, across various sectors of the AEC industry (from Civil Engineering, Architecture, and Master Planning).

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How did you first learn about architecture and when did you decide that built environment profession was an area of interest for you?

Attending High School at Design & Architecture Sr. High School (DASH) in Miami, FL, exposed me to the host of possibilities our profession has and how I could take my artistic talents further, to have beneficial physical impact on spaces we inhabit.

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What do you do?

Urban Design + Master Planning Utilizing a mixture of my architecture background, understanding a neighborhood social context, zoning, and a regions cultural uniqueness, I blend my knowledge of all to bare on new works, challenging the status quo.

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What excites you in the work you do?

Problem Solving for clients who want a new way forward for the challenges they face. Engagement with the community to hear their voices, then work collaboratively towards a solution. And, Educating students who are eager to learn more about design.

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Who or what inspires you professionally?

Contemporaries like Bryan C. Lee, Jr., as well as mentors like Monica Chadha. Designers who started their own businesses out of a lack of representation in the types of work they wanted to see engaged and produced in the built environment.

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What is your proudest professional accomplishment or achievement?

Helping to develop the Master planning department within the Pittsburgh office of AE7. It’s a humbling experience to have the ability to have a hand in growing a department, along with the direction and opportunities it will pursue.

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Featured Project Name: 

IN-district

 

Featured Project Location: 

Chicago, IL

 

Featured Project Completion Date: 

April 2017

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Role in Featured Project: 

Team Leader

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Featured Project Description:

IN-district is a strategy that preserves & celebrates the historic context of the north of Goose Island industrial area, revitalizing it into a new center for culture, innovation, and industry. By connecting light industries, maker spaces, startups, education spaces, and public amenities, IN-district nurtures employment opportunities and community growth. This project placed as a Finalist for the 2017 ULI Hines Student Design Competition, completed while attending Carnegie Mellon University (MUD ‘18)

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Photography Credit:

AE7,  Volcy Photography, Ernest Bbellamy, and 2017 ULI Hines Student Design Competition Team