Mika Naraynsingh is a DC licensed architect at Perkins&Will with a passion for building enclosure and façade designs. With over 8 years experience, she has enjoyed translating projects from design development paper drawings through construction administration to concrete reality. Mika has a Masters of Architecture with Real Estate certification from the University of Pennsylvania.
Mika is a socially conscious professional committed to uplifting her community. She has served on the AIA DC’s Emerging Architects Committee as their Advocacy Chair from 2020-2022, the NCARB Item Development Subcommittee, and has co-founded and ran several mentorship and diversity committees across the DMV, empowering emerging professionals on their diverse paths to leadership.
As the 2022 AIA DC’s Equity by WIELD Chair, Mika fueled her passion for supporting women, immigrants and minorities. Through WIELD, she envisioned and spearheaded the AIA DC’s Immigrant Architect Series and later co-authored the book City Shapers: Stories of Immigrant Designers, offering invaluable resources to help immigrant architects succeed. Her vision for a better world won her the 2022 AIA DC’s UNBUILT Washington Honor Award, while her leadership and significant contributions to the profession granted her the 2023 AIA DC’s Emerging Architect Award.
Ruichen Xu is an emerging professional and takes the initiative to seek traditional architectural solutions to social issues. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 2021 with an 8-year Architecture study, she started her career at AECOM as an Architecture Designer. Ruichen prides herself in dedicating herself to the profession of Architecture. She is grateful for the establishment of the Jason Pettigrew Memorial Scholarship that provides strong support and courage to her as an awardee. She was selected as the peer reviewer of the 2023 AIA Conference on Architecture and is actively involved in the AIA professional organization activities and the profession. Ruichen is also interested in regional topics, adaptive use, and affordable housing development in megacities. She was awarded an honorable mention in the International Las Vegas Affordable Housing Competition for her exploration of the feasibility of potential affordable housing typology. In the meantime, her projects were exhibited gradually. The architect is a divine occupation for her, and becoming an Architect means a lifetime of responsibility and honor. Ruichen will continue to contribute and remain involved in the professional industry and her local community to help create opportunities for students and Associates.