Our team of architects and designers operates out of the Crane Arts building, a creative hub in Philadelphia’s South Kensington neighborhood. Established in 2004, the office is led by founding Principal Brian Phillips along with Principals Deb Katz and Alexandra Gauzza. Our team is immersed in and inspired by the dense, mixed-program fabric of our neighborhood.
Founding Principal / Creative Director
brian@is-architects.com
BRIAN PHILLIPS FAIA, LEED AP, NCARB
Brian is nationally recognized as a leading thinker in the fields of urbanism, housing, and sustainability, and oversees the firm’s design direction and research initiatives. Brian was named a Pew Fellow in the Arts in 2011, lectures widely and has taught urban housing at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania for over a decade. Brian holds a B.S. in Environmental Design from the University of Oklahoma and an M.Arch from UPenn.
Principal / Managing Director
deb@is-architects.com
DEB KATZ AIA, LEED AP
Deb supervises conceptual design standards, feasibility analyses and office administration at ISA. She began her career as a writer and editor at The Architect’s Newspaper in NYC, and she collaborates with Brian on the office’s press and writing. Deb holds a B.A. in Math and Visual Arts from Brown University and an M.Arch from Columbia University GSAPP.
Principal / Studio Director
alex@is-architects.com
ALEXANDRA GAUZZA AIA, LEED AP
Alex manages staffing, BIM standards and design documentation at ISA. She brings her background in landscape architecture, urban research, and a wealth of experience navigating complex new construction and adaptive reuse projects to her work. Alex holds a B.A. in Architecture with minors in Women’s Studies and Art History from UPenn, and an M.Arch from Harvard University GSD.
JASON JACKSON
Design Director
jason@is-architects.com
SARAH WOLF
Project Manager
sarah@is-architects.com
KRISTIN DEMARCO
Senior Designer
kdemarco@is-architects.com
AMY KURTYCZ
Senior Designer
amy@is-architects.com
SASHA SPRIGGS LEED AP BD+C
Senior Designer
sasha@is-architects.com
CHRISTINE DITARANTI
Designer
christine@is-architects.com
COLLABORATORS AND ALUMNI
Rehma Asghar, Taylor Burgess, Sean Canty, Mickey Chapa, Daniella Castillo, Maura Chen, Garian Cika, Pat Corrigan, Justin Diles, Viktoria Diskina, Max Diperstein, Kelsey Donato, Daryn Edwards, Morgan Elligi, Josh Freese, Matt Fromboluti, Michael Fulkerson, Stephen Giorgio, Anna Green, Christina Hefferan, Ricardo Hernandez-Perez, Matt Huffman, Aaron Johnson, Emily Johnson, John Johnston, Joshua Jordan, Erin Keith, Ryan Keerns, Lorraine Kung, Ethan Levine, Julia Lindren, Arthur Loree, Paul Lorenz, , Juan Martinez, Matt Mayberry, Kara Medow, Kira Merdiushev, Patrick Morgan, Abdullah Muhammad, Chris Murphy, May Narisaranukul, Michael O'Neill, Gloria Orfanos, Jinah Nicole Oh, Ian Pangburn, Christina Piasecki, Sean Pickering, Joe Piorkowski, Peter Rae, Chris Rafalowski, Ambika Roos, Lizzie Rothwell, Ceclia Roussel, Charles Schmidt, Chanyang Shin, Daniel Silverman, Kenneth Tang, Jenni Tarner, Juan Tejedor, Cong Tian, Matt Underwood, Calvin Vannoy, Ryan Rebecca Wall, Andrew Waxtel, Lachelle Weathers, Meagan Whetstone, Alfia White, Angelika Wild, David Williams, Ching-Ching Wu, Lily Wubeshet, Elizabeth Young, Lara Zeigler