It’s the turn of a new year and we are happy to share that our team continues to grow with the recent addition of Asha Beck. Asha is a talented young professional entering our industry and is eager to begin her career around other creatives.
Originally from Michiana, Asha moved to Linville, Virginia when she was young and considers the valley her home. Both her home and life are filled with family, friends, as well as her two German Shepherds. She is a recent graduate of Eastern Mennonite University with a degree in Digital Media & Communications and a minor in Spanish. (Deborah also graduated from EMU.) Asha completed a diverse range of design projects in and out of her time at EMU including producing a documentary, designing and translating a website, designing ads for a local business, mural painting, and writing and exhibiting her thesis.
Asha has a diverse range of experience spanning design, leadership, and organization. She has enjoyed many positions and learning opportunities including working in construction, being a camp counselor, leading a club for lgbtq+ students and allies, and being a barista and baker at multiple coffee shops. These experiences have helped develop her organizational and design skills that will greatly support our team and help her succeed in the Office Manager position.
She is also eager to be around fellow design-minded people because there is “just something about being around other creatives.” Growing up, she was always interested in arts and math, which weren’t often paired in early education. She found their intersection in designing spaces both in the digital and physical realms. Over the years, this has taken the form of building construction, website design, accessibility, and graphic design. Architecture is where she found this intersection, and it has been something that she’s been drawn to by her interest in the way spaces can influence our lives. She considers architecture as an option for a future graduate degree.
On the side, Asha enjoys filling journals with doodles, caring for her plants, and throwing pottery on the wheel. You can probably find her learning some new craft or skill or hanging out with her friends and family. She finds energy from a sense of community and seeing people light up when talking about something they are passionate about. She is inspired and humbled by unique perspectives and strives to continually learn from people who are both different and similar to her. She aims to approach design from an adaptable and intersectional lens and is excited to further cultivate her skills while working at the Gaines Group.
Gaines Group Architects has elevated four new partners to the leadership of the firm: James Halstead, Deborah Smith, Adrienne Stronge, and Paul Tassell. They join Raymond Gaines and Charles Hendricks in the leadership of the firm. Raymond founded the business in 1987 and Charles joined as a partner in 2008. This leadership expansion provides resiliency and stability. Charles says, “This is a huge step forward for the business allowing us to better serve our communities. I am very excited to continue to work with each of our new partners for many years to come. Ray has set up an incredible partnership model for how to do business as friends while serving others. This was an obvious next evolution for the firm.”
About the firm: Gaines Group Architects is a firm that has a commitment to designing for the future. We have assembled a remarkably talented and experienced team of professionals to pull all building elements into a single elegant and functional design. Integrity, budget control, effective and timely communication, and a thorough knowledge of current technology, construction methods, and materials turn our promise and your dream into a delightful reality.
Mission statement: Gaines Group Architects is committed to designing for the future and having a positive impact on the lives of the people who live and work in the communities we serve.
Why we do it: Because we want our clients to have comfortable beautiful healthy spaces to live, play, and work.
If there is one thing we know to be certain, it’s that Adrienne Stronge is no stranger to hard work and setting big goals. As a licensed architect with 16 years of experience under her belt, Adrienne is a respected professional in our industry who credits her entry into architecture to small seeds that were planted throughout her life beginning as early as middle school.
Originally from West Point, Virginia, Adrienne grew up loving to read and research. Her first engagement with the world of architecture came when she participated in a governor’s school program that focused on researching historical regional houses. This experience of researching and building a house model planted a seed as she moved into high school and started paying more attention to the built environment. Also during this time, her family began buying and renovating houses which gave Adrienne a front-row seat to the ways small changes could dramatically affect the way a residence functioned. It was also during Adrienne’s high school career someone told her architecture was a “male profession” and that architecture school would be “too challenging” to get into. To that point, Adrienne fully accepted the challenge and earned early acceptance to one of the top architecture schools, the University of Virginia. Like all new challenges, doubt crept in and Adrienne recalls driving to UVA for the first time second-guessing her decision and the path ahead of her. Once she arrived, Adrienne immediately recalls a feeling of reassurance and an understanding that she was exactly where she needed to be.
Fast forward to her senior year at UVA, Adrienne was busier than she could have ever imagined. While taking a full course load, working four part-time jobs (you read that correctly, four!); she was also in the ecoMOD studio where her team built a modular house in an aircraft hangar. The house was built to be transported to Mississippi to aid in Hurricane Katrina relief and Adrienne traveled to the Gulf Coast three separate times to do relief aid and prep work for the Habitat House. Finding time for interviews was challenging and after talking to a few firms in the area, nothing was feeling like a good fit. That changed when, quite out of the blue, Ray Gaines reached out and asked her to interview at the Gaines Group. As it turns out, a former Gaines Group client who interacted with Adrienne referred her to the firm knowing she would be a good fit. Adrienne recalls the funny experience of not being able to find an interview time amongst all of her commitments and Ray asking her to spontaneously stop by on her way to work on the Habitat House. Ray said he didn’t expect her in interview attire and he wouldn’t hold it against her if and when she showed up in jeans with holes and liquid nail stains, and an old t-shirt. Although Ray was not expecting formal attire, he hadn’t mentioned it to Charles and Paul who questioned why the firm would be interested in hiring someone who showed up in a questionable outfit.
Adrienne officially became a Licensed Architect in 2022
Sixteen years into working at the Gaines Group and Adrienne is a licensed architect with a great depth of experience and a specialization in multi-family design. Her favorite part of being an architect is having an impact on the way people interact with the built environment. She has a special passion for designing environments that ensure accessibility for people of all abilities. This passion stems from a close relationship she had with a family member whose progressive disease confined him to a wheelchair. Adrienne was a first-hand witness to the challenges he navigated interacting with his built environment and the frustrations that came when his opportunities were limited due to accessibility limitations. For this reason, she especially loves working on multifamily projects where she gets to create whole communities with access for everyone throughout the site. These projects create unique challenges when considering accessibility, but Adrienne finds it extra rewarding to solve these design dilemmas. One of her favorite elements to design is accessible pools for people with all abilities to be able to safely enjoy. Additionally, she enjoys focusing on multifamily design as she gets to create smaller, efficient spaces that comfortably fit into an overall design goal while meeting budget constraints.
Outside of being an architect, Adrienne is busy with her family and hobbies. She has been married to her husband Andrew since 2007. Andrew is an artist and an illustrator known for live-printing and local comic-cons and together they travel to many of these local events. In 2020, they welcomed their son Alister to their family and the trips to comic shows have slowed down since having a toddler in tow. Their 16-year-old pug-mix Spudnik is also a beloved family member and together they love traveling and exploring new places. Adrienne has no shortage of hobbies and likes to unwind by reading from her large book collection and doing jigsaw puzzles. She and Andrew have a vintage robot and space toy collection that they enjoy “hunting” for at flea markets, antique stores, and yard sales. Andrew runs their small business buying and selling vintage toys, games, and books, both online and in their booths at a store in Richmond, VA (Odd Balls Collectibles).
There is a new face around the Gaines Group and we are happy to introduce our newest team member, Mariya Chesnov. Please help us welcome Mariya to the team and get to know her below.
Welcome to the team, Mariya Chesnov!
Originally from Ukraine, Mariya moved to the United States when she was two years old. She holds a special place in her heart for Ukraine, but considers Harrisonburg to be her home as she has grown up in this area.
Mariya has always felt a pull towards design and fell in love with architecture during her family’s travels to cities and countries abroad. She approaches her design work with intentionality and creativity and loves seeing the results of her work. In joining the Gaines Group, Mariya is proud to be a part of a team that focuses on sustainable design and making an impact in the greater community. She has already hit the ground running and is focused on supporting multifamily designs in our Charlottesville office.
Mariya is beginning her career in architectural design and is a graduate of Massanutten Technical School where she became certified in Architecture and Interior Design. She is also currently completing coursework at Blue Ridge Community College. During her studies, a professor noticed her talent and encouraged her to compete in architectural drafting. She undertook this challenge and successfully competed this past summer at the national level in Atlanta. At this competition, she was tasked to design a pocket community with certain specifications. She submitted a full set of plans including floorplans, elevations, wall sections, schedules, and a hand-drawn site plan of the entire layout. Her hard work landed her a top place finish at 5th place and helped jumpstart her career in the industry.
Outside of her career pursuits, Mariya enjoys being on the go and traveling whenever possible. She enjoys being active and loves to play volleyball in the summer and ski in the winter. She spends much of her time with family and friends and is very involved in her church where she helps with the kid’s choir.
In sharing about herself, Mariya says “seeing growth and progress inspires me. Seeing kindness and being genuine inspires me. Most importantly, the life of Jesus Christ inspires me. It motivates me to continually improve and become a better person daily.”
It is with very heavy hearts we share that our team member and friend, Trevor Roman Jones passed suddenly on October 31, 2022. At the age of 31, his passing has left our team with a deep sadness and it has been difficult to find the words to express our grief. Below, Charles shares a few words in regards to the legacy Trevor leaves behind.
Trevor just celebrated 6 years with Gaines Group Architects. He was a member of New Store Baptist Church in Farmville, Virginia where he shared his musical talents in their choir. After graduating from Buckingham County schools, he continued his education at Hampton University to study architecture. His love of architecture grew out of Legos and his passion for listening, discerning, and then designing viable solutions to the problems faced in the world. He traveled an hour to work each day to the Charlottesville office working on a wide variety of project types. He also volunteered with VA NOMA (National Association of Minority Architects) helping to start the VA NOMA Project Pipeline project in 2021 and continuing with the program in 2022. This year, I participated with him and was able to see him in action as a featured speaker and mentor. Project Pipeline is a week-long mentorship program for middle and high school students that are interested in architecture.
Trevor was recognized at a statewide architectural conference, Architectural Exchange, in Richmond this past week on Friday for his efforts along with VA NOMA to create the project pipeline program in Virginia. Trevor, young in his architectural career, was recognized not for his design work but rather for his love of others and dedication to helping young people explore a career in architecture.
At the funeral, it struck me that almost everyone who spoke told us they felt like Trevor’s brother or sister. He treated us all like family. He did not care about who we were or the baggage we arrived with at his door. He opened his heart to anyone that he encountered with a big smile on his face. Trevor was the epitome of a southern gentleman, a man of style and grace. He was a Christian man who loved everyone who knew him. Our team and I are devastated at the loss of our friend and coworker.
Trevor’s legacy will live on in the lives of all those he befriended, called his brother or sister, laughed with, and loved with his big heart. I will miss you dearly, friend. Tell Ms. Jones hello for me and if you see my mom, tell her I will be there once my work here is done.
The Construction Specification Institute’s National Conference was recently held in Denver, Colorado where Ray Gaines had the opportunity to attend this year’s event. It was a week filled with learning, connecting with fellow industry professionals, and visiting with old friends.
Ray being presented with Fellowship in 2009
Ray, a founding member of Central Virginia CSI Chapter, has been an active participant in the association since 1988. He has served in a variety of positions in the local, regional and institute level in an effort to improve communications across the industry – the main focus of CSI. Awarded Fellowship in the association, Ray is known for his passion for helping others through mentorship and leadership. He is a regular attendee of the CSI conference and has said that CSI relationships allow him to do his job better. Charles has been active in CSI since 2003 at the local, regional, and institute level as well. In fact, he was awarded the Andrew Drozda award back in 2009 for “setting a standard for what an Emerging Professional can and should do.” It is no surprise that others in the firm are following his example. Adrienne, Deborah, and Paul are all also current members of Central Virginia CSI.
