People

Melissa DelVecchio

FAIA

Image

Biography


Melissa DelVecchio is committed to reinforcing the social, cultural, and environmental influences that give places identity and meaning.

Melissa’s work synthesizes tradition and invention, building on an education that included an intensive study of classical architecture and subsequent immersion into contemporary design. Her proven ability to interpret and apply time-honored principles across all building types and styles informs her role as design lead for many of the firm’s most complex projects.

A versatile designer with a deep understanding of academic and cultural institutions, Melissa’s projects include the Pauli Murray and Benjamin Franklin Residential Colleges at Yale University; Schwarzman College, the first LEED Gold-certified academic building in China; and Wasserstein Hall at the Harvard Law School, developed in collaboration with Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan. She recently completed the restoration and adaptive reuse of the Schwarzman Center at Yale, a historic Carrère Hastings’ building undergoing a transformation into a social hub for the university community, and is currently working on the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, the anchor for the University of Notre Dame’s new arts district.

Melissa is a fellow of the American Institute of Architects. She is a member of the Richard H. Driehaus Prize jury, honoring traditional architecture with an emphasis on sustainability, and the Rafael Manzano Martos Prize jury, which recognizes new traditional design on the Iberian Peninsula. She has served on design juries at schools, including Yale, the Rhode Island School of Design, and Notre Dame, where her contributions to the school were recognized with the 2018 Orlando T. Maione Award. Melissa has lectured extensively on the design of environments for living and learning. Melissa taught an advanced studio at Yale School of Architecture in 2021, and is currently teaching at the Catholic University of America.