November 2020 – Hoffmann Architects, an architecture and engineering firm specializing in the rehabilitation of building exteriors, announces that Rachel Palisin, PE, LEED BD+C has assumed the role of Office Director for the firm’s Virginia office and has been promoted to Director, Engineering.

Rachel Palisin joined Hoffmann Architects’ New York office in 2016 as a Project Engineer, and later earned a promotion to Senior Engineer and was appointed team leader for a group of rising architecture and engineering professionals. This past summer, she and her family relocated to Virginia, where she will oversee technical staff and operations. Palisin’s areas of expertise include analysis of existing structures, including historic/archaic systems, and design of repairs and new elements for a variety of building systems, from roofing and windows to waterproofing and plazas.

Among her noteworthy projects are curtain wall rehabilitation, pedestrian bridge repair, structural consultation, and energy efficiency envelope upgrades at Stony Brook University Hospital; historic masonry restoration and reroofing at First Presbyterian Church in Manhattan; facade evaluation at Javits Convention Center; landmark facade and sidewalk rehabilitation at the Open Society Foundations; and accessibility improvements throughout Columbia University’s Morningside Campus.

After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering, Palisin continued her post-graduate studies in historic preservation at the University of Maryland. A frequent contributor within the design community, she has published technical papers on historic restoration and code compliance, and she participates as a panelist and speaker at conferences, seminars, and webinars, including a forthcoming discussion on expansion joint design for BNP Media / Architectural Record on November 11. In addition to her U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) credentials, Rachel is active in the industry as a member of the Association for Preservation Technology International (APT) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). She lives in Alexandria, Virginia.