“Some things you change; some things you don't change because you know they work.”

- Helmut Jahn

People

We want our office to be a stimulating and creative work environment. We all share one, big, open studio without walls or doors where we constantly rub shoulders and easily engage in informal discussions. The studio itself encourages a healthy exchange of ideas and reflects the transparent way we do business.

We work in a collegial setting of collaborative project teams, each one led by an experienced principal involved for the entire project, from planning and design to contracts and construction. Our talented staff provide personal service and attention to build positive relationships among all team members.

Interested in becoming part of our firm?

Email a cover letter, resume and sample portfolio.

Thomas L. Kerns, FAIA

Tom loves basketball, architecture and being a player-coach. As a team player, he is fast and agile at serving up design ideas, details and sketches. As a coach, he keeps the whole team focused on the game at-hand -- meeting client goals and solving user needs.

Tom's peers call him "an architect's architect" and Virginia Society AIA recognized him with its highest honor, the William C. Noland Award. In his spare time, Tom paints watercolors, collects architecture books, travels with his wife and spoils his grandchildren.

Tom graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture from Ohio State University, worked for the Navy and for two architecture firms, VVKR and Leo A. Daly, before co-founding Swaney-Kerns Architects in 1974. Tom is an NCARB-certified Architect licensed in many eastern states.

Brian J. Frickie, AIA, LEED AP

Brian is a visionary leader with an uncanny ability to keep his eyes on both the big picture and the details required to achieve it. He has an intuitive understanding of the building process, persistently applies it to help others, always sets high expectations, and demands the most of himself.

Brian believes in the future of architects and architecture, serving as Virginia AIA President and leading an Honors Academy for young architects. He reads spy thrillers, collects art by out-of-work architects and slow-cooks perfectly moist, tender, fall-off-the-bone pork BBQ.

Brian graduated with Bachelors of Environmental Design and Architecture from Auburn University. He is a LEED Accredited Professional and an NCARB-certified Architect licensed throughout the mid-Atlantic. Before joining Kerns Group, he worked with two DC-area firms.

Sean E. Reilly, AIA, LEED AP

Sean grew up in Chicago where he became fascinated with the Loop, the “El”, the museums, Evanston and Wrigley Field and, at the ripe old age of 17, decided to become an architect. He believes in solving real problems that both touch the heart and improve the environment.

Sean sketches good buildings while traveling and loves to follow baseball and basketball, remembering his own playing days and seasons coaching his kids' teams. He teaches in his parish church, volunteers with So Others May Eat and currently serves the AIA as an officer in the local chapter.

Sean graduated from Illinois with Bachelor and Master of Architecture degrees, is a LEED Accredited Professional, and is an Architect licensed in Virginia and Florida. Before joining Kerns Group, he worked in New York City at EEK and FXFowle.

Andrew Y. Cheng, AIA, LEED AP

Andrew grew up in Hollin Hills surrounded by natural light, open floor plans, and rooms of glass. At Kerns Group, he uses his natural talent for managing projects with a persistent attention to detail that insures everyone gets what they need when they need it.

Out of the office, Andrew enjoys tennis, soccer, basketball, and builds computers, occasionally finding time to play video games with his two sons. Andrew also serves as a community volunteer, a guest speaker at AIA Chapter events and a youth sports coach.

With his architect father's encouragement, he went to UVA for a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and to Virginia Tech for a Master of Architecture. Andrew is a LEED Accredited Professional, a licensed Virginia Architect and worked at OP&A before joining Kerns Group.

Mary H. Frickie, CID

Mary helps clients and end-users create interior spaces they'll enjoy. She likes to be involved in all aspects of the design process to develop creative interiors options and help build consensus for the selected design.

When she's not nurturing design ideas and needy-architects, she helps new mothers as a postpartum doula. As a mother of three (and soon to be grandmother), she is used to helping others (finish their homework, clean their rooms, etc.) and brings a special understanding to the project team.

Mary graduated with a Bachelor of Interior Design from Auburn University and is a Virginia Certified Interior Designer. She first designed corporate interiors at CooperCarry-Atlanta and, in the DC area, worked at a small, design-oriented firm before doing contract interiors at HOK.

Pauline Komo, CB

Pauline is our bookkeeper. She lives and excels in a world foreign to most of us where debits, credits and retained earnings actually make sense. She keeps our financial house in order, sends out complete and accurate invoices to our clients and makes sure we pay our bills on time.

Pauline graduated from the University of Alabama in Birmingham with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. She is also a seasonal tax preparer (another expertise we're glad someone else has) and is originally from Kenya where in high school she first found her interest in business.

Some day, she may become a licensed CPA where she can help others keep track of the numbers in their lives. For now, she visits zoos all over the East coast, tries to tame the wild financial animals in our firm, and lives with her husband in Alexandria.

D. Matthew Alexander, AIA

Matt enjoys focusing on design details and how they complete the overall design concept. He is also a ready-resource helping others wade through the nuances of code interpretations and the complexities of construction.

Matt teaches a class on materials and methods at Northern Virginia Community College, serves on the Northern Virginia AIA Chapter Schools Connections Committee and is on the Falls Church Architecture Advisory Board. He and his wife are proud parents of two (which keeps him in such good shape that he can complete the Marine Corps Marathon).

Matt graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture from Virginia Tech and is an NCARB-certified Architect licensed in Virginia and the District of Columbia. Before joining Kerns Group, Matt worked on commercial projects at DCS, a large DC-area firm.

Shane Dunlevy

Shane is thoughtful and has a depth of knowledge belied by his quiet, unassuming nature. Few architects work for contracting firms, but Shane actually worked for a builder and learned to build buildings. He sincerely believes people can work together if they just trust each other.

Shane has a lot to say, especially about architecture, if you can just get him talking. Ask about his urban cemetery thesis, where he learned to cook, or about his varsity basketball and soccer days in high school and how they prematurely ended. He's got stories to tell.

Shane came from Ohio to study at Virginia Tech where he received both a Bachelor and Master of Architecture. Along the way, he was in a foreign exchange program, L'Academie d'Architettura, in Mendriso, Switzerland, before returning to Kerns Group where he worked as a student.

Glenn M. Canencio, Assoc. AIA

Glenn is the most polite person you could ever meet, listening intently and responding with incredible insight and creativity. As a college professor, he keeps reminding us that, while paper architecture has an abstract beauty, construction and use give buildings spirit and life.

Glenn and his wife camp with their young son and cheer him from the soccer sidelines. He's still polishing his English skills, mostly by reading architecture history which he says is much less confusing than HGTV in trying to decipher American language, customs and design interests.

Glenn grew up in Colombia, graduated as an Architect from Universidad del Valle, and has won a number of design competitions. He has extensive urban, infrastructure and institutional project experience working with international firms (and at least one design/build contractor).

Koji Hirota, AIA, LEED AP

Koji is an energetic, versatile member of project teams and likes to integrate automated technology into the building process. He has a detailed knowledge of accessibility requirements, years of construction experience, and thoroughly applies himself to make projects better.

He and his wife have just become first-time parents which may somewhat curtail his penchant for extreme foreign travel to kayak on the world's most remote and dangerous rapids. Closer to home, Koji has served in leadership of the AIA, Arlington Food Assistance Center and Canstruction.

Koji graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture from Virginia Tech, is a LEED Accredited Professional, an Associate in the firm, and a licensed Architect in the District of Columbia. He started with Kerns Group fresh out of school three recessions ago and he's been at home here ever since.

Susan Kerns Warlick, CID, LEED AP

Susan appreciates natural light and efficient spaces, undoubtedly influenced by both the modern architecture of Hollin Hills where she grew up as well as her architect father. She likes working with people to make their office, school or church an enjoyable place to work, learn or worship.

With two young children, Susan is good at multi-tasking and meeting deadlines. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling with her husband and staying at her family's lake house where she likes the solitude and peace.

Susan graduated with a Bachelor of Interior Design from James Madison University, is a LEED Accredited Professional and a Virginia Certified Interior Designer. Before joining Kerns Group, she worked in the DC office of a large firm, EYP, doing institutional and contract interiors.