Thomas Roszak, FAIA
Principal
Thomas Roszak has been closely involved in architectural design and construction for over 32 years with a market value in excess of $3 billion. He has been involved in overseeing the design, development, and construction of over 5,500 residential units. Mr. Roszak started an architecture, development, and construction firm in 1997. Soon after, Thomas Roszak Architecture was born as an architectural firm dedicated to his personal belief on the importance of bringing a unique insight to creative, innovative, and environmentally effective design. Ever since, the team has successfully worked on a wide range of building types continuing to challenge preconceptions and use a deep reflection of the opportunities to achieve ultimate results. Using the same ideals, Mr. Roszak also founded and currently leads his construction management company, SteelGrass, an eco-design-build firm.
Architectural Digest named Mr. Roszak one of its' World Top 20 Architects in 2005. He was featured in Philip Jodidio's Architecture Now: 4, published by Taschen in 2006. He also received the prestigious AIA National Honor Award in 2008. Thomas Roszak was elevated to a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 2020.
Paul Baulier
Associate Architect
Paul is an Associate Architect with experience in residential design and construction management. His education includes a Bachelor of Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology during which he was one of the recipients of the Roche Travelling Studio scholarship. He also received a Master of Integrated Building Delivery from IIT. Paul's professional experience started at a structural engineering firm. He worked at world-renowned Thornton Tomasetti where he worked closely with engineers and helped coordinate structural and architectural designs. Paul was instrumental in the success in JeffJack, Linea, 145 S. Wells, and Parkline projects.
Adrien Binet
Senior Architect
Adrien is a Architect with over 15 years of experience in building design and construction in the Chicagoland area. Upon joining TRA in 2019, Adrien completed the construction documents and construction administration phases of Parkline Chicago and led the production team through all design and construction phases for Fulbrix in Fulton Market. After receiving his professional bachelor’s in architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Adrien started working at Cordogan Clark and Associates where he played a key part in the success of the Aurora Public Library in Aurora IL, and at Solomon Cordwell Buenz where he led the production team for over two years on Chicago’s Tribune Tower Redevelopment, converting a historic landmarked tower into high-end condominiums. Adrien is an active member of NCARB (National Council of Architectural Registration Boards) in which he participated in the task force to establish passing rates for two of the Architect Registration Examination (ARE) 5.0’s divisions. Adrien is also an active member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and of the Chicago Chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI).
Kevin Arfsten
Construction Manager
Kevin is a construction manager with over 10 years of experience in the construction industry with focus on the residential sector completing over 2,500 units in the Chicago area. He began his career at Lendlease where he had roles in pre-construction/estimating transitioning into project management. Prior to joining SteelGrass, he held superintendent and project management roles at Related Midwest working closely with the development and management teams to successfully complete large-scale renovations on occupied properties. At SteelGrass, Kevin is currently overseeing construction activities from project conception to completion.
Kevin Cole
Architectural Designer
Kevin is a designer who graduated with distinction from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), earning a Bachelor of Architecture. At IIT, he also served as a Cloud Scholar mentor, iitAIAS executive board member, and a leader for high school students in IIT's Experiment in Architecture program. He also received the Droste Scholarship to study architecture abroad in Hamburg, Germany, and travel to other Baltic countries. Having interests in sustainable, practical, and minimal design, Kevin hopes to positively impact the built environment.
Yujin Yang
Architectural Designer
Yujin is a designer and graduate from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), from which she has received high honors with her bachelor's degree. During her undergraduate career, she was awarded the George Danforth Traveling Fellowship and studied abroad in Japan, trekking between cities and islands east and south of Tokyo. Outside of TRA, she actively mentors undergraduate and graduate studio groups throughout the year at IIT and enjoys storyboarding in exploration of narratives and spatial representation.
Kasia Szmajda
Accountant
Kasia’s education includes a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Northeastern Illinois University from where she graduated with High Honors. She is a Licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the State of Illinois and Enrolled Agent (EA) enrolled to practice before IRS. She has been a long-time asset to the Roszak team using her extensive bookkeeping, managerial, HR, and administrative experience to full potential. She has served as a project accountant on multiple projects. All these projects have presented the opportunity to work closely with other wonderful Roszak team members, as well as with outside partners such as our legal counsel, lenders, escrow administrators, insurance team, tax accountants, and multiple vendors. She has always been very enthusiastic and professional in developing and maintaining these most valuable relationships. Kasia has been instrumental in the success of recent projects including JeffJack and Linea.