RID, NOMA, LEEP AP

Lourdes Solera is a Managing Principal at MCHarry and Associates, a third generation owner of the 66 year-old architectural firm that specializes in public sector projects. Ms. Solera has over 30 years of experience as an architect committed to both public service and advancing the cause of architecture.

Ms. Solera has served the profession thru a variety of leadership positions at the American Institute of Architects (AIA) including AIA Miami 2004 President, Director at the Florida AIA Board and was the 2022 President of the Florida AIA Board. Her commitment to public service and historic preservation is reflected in her years at the City of Miami Historic and Environmental Preservation Board, Florida’s Board of Architects and Interior Design. She has also served as an adjunct professor at the School of Architecture at Florida International University.

Lourdes is Co-Founder of the Women in Architecture Committee in AIA Miami, highlighting the impact that women designers have had in our profession and fostering the next generation of women architects in Miami and Florida with the establishment of a Women in Architecture group at AIA Florida.

These endeavors have been balanced with the application of her extraordinary management skills, refined over time, on numerous public & private sector projects. Through this body of work, Ms. Solera has acquired considerable experience in the full range of architectural skills necessary to move highly technical and complex building types through programming, design documentation, construction administration and closeout.

RID, NOMA, CSI

Craig Aquart is a Managing Principal at MCHarry and Associates, a third generation owner of the 66 year-old architectural firm that specializes in public sector projects. He holds a Master of Architecture degree with over 25 years experience in the industry and is a registered architect in Florida, Georgia, Texas and Jamaica.

Craig’s passion for the community and the profession is best demonstrated through his leadership and commitment to the Architects in the Making (AIM) Program where he teaches and mentors aspiring architecture students. He realized that educating middle and high school students about architecture is vital to the industry’s future and he is especially determined to improve diversity and inclusivity in the profession. On observing the lack of Black American presence in the industry, he began the Black Architects in the Making (BAM) program in 2016.

BAM consists of dedicated professionals who immerse themselves in existing educational programs in communities where people of color live, learn, and play to enhance students’ knowledge about architecture. BAM has an active mentorship program for high school, college students, and architecture interns who have shown keen desire to pursue architecture as a career. BAM also provides scholarships to deserving students of architecture from underserved communities.

Craig is the Founder of Black Architects in the Making (BAM), Vice-Chair of AIM, President AIA Miami Board, an NCARB AXP Supervisor / Mentor to 4 Architectural Interns, an architecture student at FAMU and three high school students in Liberty City who are considering architecture as a possible career. He has been acknowledged for his outstanding service to the community by AIA Miami and Fort Lauderdale, the Jamaican Women of Florida, the Caribbean Bar Association, and was invited to be a keynote speaker at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Conference hosted by Stanford and Yale Universities.