I was born in Pittsburgh, PA in 1965 and lived in both Pennsylvania and New
Jersey growing up. My dad built our first house on dairy land he purchased from his grandfather, Jacob. Our dog Jake is named after him.
I started cleaning jobsites for Neil Carangelo in Sparta, New Jersey when I was fifteen years old. I lied and told him I had a driver’s license so I could drive the van to the dump. I wanted to quit after the first brutal day but ended up working on and off with Neil for the next seven years. Neil taught me to frame, seek out good delis, and to become a good listener as he talked constantly.
I enrolled at the Design School at North Carolina State University and received an undergraduate degree in architecture in 1987. The folks at NC State taught me that I could design anything and gave me the tools to do so. I also studied for a year in Copenhagen, Denmark. The architects and the culture there reinforced my interest in humbly working on good buildings, taught me to respect the context, and to pay attention to the details of everyday life when designing.
Along the way I worked in Ketchikan, Alaska for a summer and saw Seattle for the first time. I met Kim in Raleigh, N.C. during my last days of
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I started cleaning jobsites for Neil Carangelo in Sparta, New Jersey when I was fifteen years old. I lied and told him I had a driver’s license so I could drive the van to the dump. I wanted to quit after the first brutal day but ended up working on and off with Neil for the next seven years. Neil taught me to frame, seek out good delis, and to become a good listener as he talked constantly.
I enrolled at the Design School at North Carolina State University and received an undergraduate degree in architecture in 1987. The folks at NC State taught me that I could design anything and gave me the tools to do so. I also studied for a year in Copenhagen, Denmark. The architects and the culture there reinforced my interest in humbly working on good buildings, taught me to respect the context, and to pay attention to the details of everyday life when designing.
Along the way I worked in Ketchikan, Alaska for a summer and saw Seattle for the first time. I met Kim in Raleigh, N.C. during my last days of
MORE ABOUT JOE
BACK TO PEOPLE
PEOPLE





