Marvel opens third office in Richmond, VA

Richmond, VA Marvel,a multi-disciplinary architecture, landscape architecture and urban planning firm with offices in New York City and San Juan, PR, have opened its third location. The Richmond office is headed by Tyler Silvestro, ASLA PLA, and partner at Marvel. Silvestro is co-managing the office with director Mitch Crowder, AIA LEED AP, and senior architect Caroline Frantz, AIA, LEED AP® BD+C. With their varied and shared expertise in institutional and cultural projects, historic preservation, multi-family and high-end hospitality, and re-imagined and expanded public spaces.

Jonathan Marvel, FAIA, founding partner of Marvel, said, “We are committed to lead by example and make design accessible to all. I am incredibly grateful to open our doors in the storied city of Richmond. Through our work, we aim to contribute to all of its people, as well as its rich history of design and culture.”

The Marvel office is located in Richmond’s Historic Monroe Ward. With a local staff of eight employees, the firm is actively hiring. The leadership is especially interested in recruiting students from local and regional design schools.

Tyler Silvestro said, “We have collectively embraced this city and are active in the community through local groups. We are committed to living here, raising our families, engaging in civic activities, and sharing our design energy with this dynamic city. We are deeply motivated by the ecologies and communities that shape the Commonwealth, and we welcome those who similarly want to collaborate with design professionals and students from the city and region.”

Over the past nine years, Marvel has built cultural and educational institutions, civic and public works, multi-family and hospitality projects, workspaces, adaptive commercial spaces, streetscapes, plazas, and parks throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. Marvel is currently engaged in a variety of regional development studies and pursuits ranging from higher education capital projects to urban waterfront public parks aligning with the firm’s core principle, Design Everywhere, for Everyone.

Marvel Richmond’s key leadership team includes the following:

Landscape architect and Marvel partner Silvestro’s roster of projects spans from small public plazas to long-term urban master plans. He has collaborated with city leaders and agencies, community advocates, non-profit developers and landowners. He has also taught and participated in design studies at Columbia University, The Boston Architectural College, and The University of Virginia. Silvestro holds a Master of Landscape Architecture from the Spitzer School of Architecture at the City College of New York. He is also a board member and Richmond Area Chair of the Virginia Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

Native Virginian and Marvel director Mitch Crowder has worked with Marvel in its New York and Richmond offices. His experience includes multi-family and hospitality projects in Virginia, North Carolina, New York and Washington, DC. Crowder has a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte as well as a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from Harvard University. He is a member of the Greater Richmond Association for Commercial Real Estate (GRACRE) and is a mentor at VCU’s MoB Studio.

Senior architect Caroline Frantz has long been intrigued by cities and design. Since joining Marvel in 2015, Frantz has worked on ground-up construction and renovation projects, as well as master planning, primarily focusing on schools. She also has experience in mixed-use and institutional projects while working in Houston and New York. Frantz holds a Bachelor of Architecture with a minor in industrial design from Virginia Tech. She is a member of the Greater Richmond Association for Commercial Real Estate (GRACRE) and has actively mentored students at ACE of Greater New York, which inspires students to pursue careers in architecture, construction and engineering.