Julia Peña

Julia Peña is a Designer at ADC with a strong interest in how people experience and move through buildings. Her work currently focuses on supporting project teams through detailed documentation and clear communication, helping translate design ideas into coordinated, accurate construction documents.
Julia is especially drawn to the early stages of design, when programming, space planning, and problem-solving begin to establish the purpose and organization of a project. She pays particular attention to the relationship between open, shared spaces and the more private spaces that support them, believing that when those fundamental pieces are resolved thoughtfully, the rest of the design can begin to fall into place.
For Julia, architecture is fundamentally a human process. She values collaboration among designers, engineers, clients, and consultants, and believes successful projects depend on clear communication and proactive problem-solving. She is particularly interested in public gathering places such as libraries and auditoriums, as well as buildings that respond thoughtfully to their surrounding environment.
Julia has been interested in architecture since she was 15, originally drawn to buildings as works of art shaped by culture, time, place, and material. Outside the studio, she enjoys cooking, baking, spending time with family and friends, and preparing for family gatherings—especially during Christmas, her favorite time of year. She also finds inspiration in nature, particularly mountains, cliffs, and landscapes overlooking the ocean.