Blog

Staff News: Welcome to The Team

Left to Right: Muge Karakus, Israel Olmos, AIA, LEED AP, Alejandra Colsa

SK+I excitedly welcomes back Muge Karakus to the design team as an Associate. Muge received her architectural degree from Istanbul Technical University in Turkey. Her passion for creativity and teamwork has helped her excel for over 20 years in her architecture career. She has worked on a variety of projects from mixed-use to hotels with some of her most remarkable projects being the Istanbul Ritz Carlton Hotel, Chevy Chase Wisconsin Place Apartments and VIO Condos at The Wharf. She looks forward to booking a flight and traveling when things are safe!

Our newest Senior Designer, Israel Olmos, AIA, LEED AP has over 15 years of experience in the industry. Israel received his Master of Architecture from Catholic University of America and is licensed in both Washington, DC and Maryland. He is passionate about creating elements that change the urbanscape to positively impact people’s lives and using design to tell stories about the buildings. Some of his notable accomplishments include The InterContinental Washington D.C. at The Wharf and the MGM Grand New Giza competition. Israel, like many others is excited to travel post-pandemic.

We’re also thrilled to welcome back Alejandra Colsa to the Interiors team as its new Project Interior Designer. She received her Master’s from the Universidad Politecnica Madrid in Spain. During her 20 years in the industry, Alejandra was proudly involved in the Lot 31 development, also known as The Darcy + The Flats, at Bethesda Row. For Alejandra, her passion for design stems from her belief that design creates emotions and emotions have the power to influence in so many ways. Her interests also include understanding architecture and interior design in the developing world and gauging how quality of life can be improved by the surrounding architecture. Alejandra says, “After the pandemic, it will be so nice to see people’s entire faces again!”