First Minority Woman Promoted to Principal of Majority Black-Owned Architecture Firm
First Minority Woman Promoted to Principal of Majority Black-Owned Architecture Firm.
- Newark, NJ (1888PressRelease) July 21, 2022 - DIGroup Architecture is proud to announce the promotion of Swarupa Samant, AIA, LEED AP, to Principal. Since joining the firm in 2014, Swarupa has skillfully managed some of the firm’s largest and most complex urban design-build school projects in New Jersey, exceeding $200 million in construction costs.
As a LEED Accredited Professional, Swarupa is strongly committed to sustainable, sensible design, achieving LEED Level Silver status for the new $133 million Camden High School and LEED Gold certification for the new $32 million School #16 in Paterson. She also managed the completion of Dina’s Dwellings, an award-winning supportive housing project for survivors of domestic violence, in her hometown of New Brunswick.
According to Jeff Venezia, CEO, “Swarupa’s continued success and leadership in the K-12 market and her strength in serving large public agencies, such as the NJ Schools Development Authority and the NYC School Construction Authority, led to the owner’s unanimous support of this well-deserved promotion.”
Swarupa has over 25 years of experience as an architect in both the United States and India and serves as a mentor to the firm’s emerging young architects to help them grow professionally. She holds a G.D.Arch from the Academy of Architecture, Mumbai, India, is a licensed architect in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania and a member of Professional Women in Construction-NJ Chapter.
ABOUT DIGROUP ARCHITECTURE:
DIGroup Architecture is a certified Minority-owned, Disadvantaged, and Small Business Enterprise (MBE/DBE/SBE) specializing in architecture, planning, interior design and environmental graphics, signage and wayfinding services for Senior Living, Education, Healthcare and Civic clients. The company takes great pride in its ethnically and culturally diverse staff who are passionate about architecture.
DIG originated as a consortium of several small architectural firms who formed an alliance to collaborate and compete for large projects issued by the NJ Schools Development Authority that revitalized the state’s most under-served public school districts. This collaboration became so successful at delivering many of the state’s most significant, community-centered design projects that the firms formally merged in 2006. The profound impact these projects had on the most basic human need of health and wellness, brought a whole new meaning and purpose to the firm. From that point forward, “Architecture for Change” became our story, design philosophy and commitment to clients to re-imagine structures and environments to unite people, enhance well-being and enrich communities.
DIG’s successes have not gone unnoticed; in 2022, the firm was an award winner for the “Top Education Project” for their design of the UNITI Cultural Center at Stony Brook University located in Suffolk County, Long Island, NY by Long Island Business News in their prestigious 2022 Real Estate, Architecture & Engineering competition; in 2021, the company was selected as one of the 2021 Leaders in Real Estate, Construction, and Design in the Architecture category by NJBIZ, and was ranked among the top Minority Businesses and Architectural firms by both NJBIZ and Philadelphia Business Journal.
To view DIGroup’s recent media coverage, please click here.
Today, DIGroup Architecture is exponentially growing, its reach spanning New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. For more information on the firm, please contact: Debra Koehler at dkoehler ( @ ) digrouparchitecture dot com or 732 dot 249 dot 6242 X110 dot
Media Contact:
Amy Delman
Amy Delman Public Relations, LLC
201.563.4614
amydelmanpr ( @ ) verizon dot net
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