Joel Efrussy

Dallas, Texas USA

“I work to instill a sense of passion, curiosity, and creativity within project teams to uncover design solutions that are responsive, responsible, and that elevate the experience of building users,” Joel says. His main motivator: to have an impact through the spaces he creates. Throughout his 23-year career, he has done just that, leading design efforts in a number of sectors — from commercial to education to healthcare. As studio design director in our Dallas Aviation Studio, Joel champions and oversees the implementation of the firm’s design philosophy and brand pillars. He is deeply involved in all aspects of the design process, with multiple stakeholders, and acts as a mentor and guide to other junior architects.

Problem-solving is also a motivator for Joel, who finds great satisfaction in “taking multiple inputs and influences and addressing them in an elegant way,” he says. This is, perhaps, one reason he has focused on such large and complex building types, such as high-rises, corporate headquarters, and airports. It’s no surprise, then, that Joel considers his greatest accomplishments two of his largest projects to date — Toyota’s North American Headquarters and BNA – Nashville International Airport. “Although vastly different building types, they each reflect a very specific sense of place that grounds the experience of these complex and large buildings in something that is meaningful, tangible, and hopefully, profoundly humane,” he says. Joel continues to be excited by the evolving notion of what the built environment can and should do, as well as the technologies that are enabling this new reality.

Family is one of Joel’s greatest passions — and another area of his life he works hard at. “I was incredibly lucky to have had a wonderful and supportive childhood,” he says, “and providing that for my children with my wife (who also works at Corgan!) is a joy.”