DRA Architects

02/18/2026

Meet our newest Principals:
✨ Angel Khazadian, AIA, LEED Green Associate
✨ Bonnie Peters, AIA, LEED AP BD+C
✨ Sarah Carda, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

These powerhouse architects have been transforming our design practice with their creativity, leadership, and passion for creating amazing spaces. 🏗️💪

From managing complex projects to building strong client relationships and fostering our collaborative culture—they've done it all with style!

Now they're stepping into even bigger roles, and we couldn't be more excited about what's next. 🚀
Join us in showering them with congratulations! Drop a 🎊 in the comments to celebrate!

12/10/2025

We're proud to be part of the team that will transform this historic building into a modern library.

Thank you Blandford, for coming out to support our little library! We are honored to be able to take the next step in our expansion process and are so happy we will have the ability to bring all our residents the library services you deserve!

The unanimous vote in favor of our expansion tonight shows that libraries truly do bring communities together ❤️

This could never have happened without the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners Grant, Sally and Sumner Robbins, the Building Committee, Library Staff and Trustees- and of course- our outstanding patrons who make our work so joyful!

09/03/2025

DRA is proud to be part of the team bringing a new Northeast Metro Tech facility to Massachusetts. Next year students will be in the new state-of-the-art school with an expanded enrollment and more program offerings. The facility represents a significant step forward in technical education for the region. We extend our sincere appreciation to the newly appointed state education commissioner, Pedro Martinez, for his engagement with students and staff, and welcome him to the Commonwealth.

08/26/2025

Another fun Builder Challenge at our Waltham Studio. We tested our communication skills to recreate a LEGO model where one person describes it for others to build. Teams of 3, 31 bricks, 1 base, 1 mini figure and a lot of listening. Congrats to the winning team!

04/29/2025

DRA once again participated in the Charles River Clean Up, an Annual Earth Day event in support of the Charles River Watershed Association. Ten of us spent a few hours in the warm spring air clearing trash out of Cutler Park Reservation along the Blue Heron Trail. We arrived armed with work gloves, grabbers, and trash bags. Our pile of refuse included plastic bottles & caps, aluminum cans, glass bottles, broken glass, car parts, styrofoam, couch cushions, an iPad, broken furniture, cups, animal bones, rusty metal, fast food containers, cigarette butts, clothing, mosaic tiles, food packaging, and of course plastic shopping bags. Next year will be stocking up on tick repellent because they were out in full force.

03/04/2025

Another fun event at the Waltham Studio. Yesterday we held our first pie competition. Participants could bring whatever type of pie they wanted, either savory or sweet. One person, being an overachiever, brought both. There were eight types of pie, well, seven because two people brought key lime pie. Other contenders included cherry, Tourtiere (French Canadian Meat Pie), spinach & mushroom quiche, mud pie, apple blueberry pie, and chocolate chip cheesecake (yes, it is pie, just ask Alton Brown). Thirteen people were tasked with tasting and rating each pie based on appearance, taste, originality, and crust. There was a lot of talk about the need for a walk or a nap or not eating again for the rest of the week, but we got through it. All the pies were delicious and we made quite a mess. The winners included the meat pie, mud pie, and key lime pie. Read about the winners below.

Angel Khazadian, Associate Principal, won Best Savory for her meat pie, although we should have deducted points because she got help from her Dad. Also of note, both her pies got the top votes for appearance.

Rylee Beauvais, one of our talented CAD designers won Best Sweet for her key lime pie. She proved her dedication by hand squeezing 28 key limes. It took an hour but it was worth it because she beat out our Marketing Director’s key lime pie by a point.

Madeline Dube, a fresh face at DRA as an intern from Wentworth Institute of Technology, won Best Overall for her Mud Pie. Who doesn’t love coffee ice cream pie? We certainly appreciated the caffeine.

We are already thinking about what type of food competition we’ll have next. Stay tuned.

11/27/2024

Team bonding at our studio sparks joy, and what better way to share smiles while sharpening our communication abilities than diving into an exciting game? This time we played "Sneak a Peek," a memory challenge where participants glimpse a sculpture and must rely on their mental snapshot to guide teammates in building a duplicate, putting their observation and communication prowess to the test; victory goes to the first team that recreates the original model. We picked Legos as our building medium. Our Marketing & Sales Director, Debra crafted the original model. Our crew split into three teams of 2 and 3, with 20 minutes on the clock to complete the mission. There was hiccup at the beginning because two of the teams didn’t pay attention to the instructions. Not surprisingly, the talented women of DRA nailed the challenge, completing their perfect replica in under 15 minutes.

08/19/2024

Another engaging and fun in studio event - SPAGHETTI TOWER CHALLENGE: Build the tallest, freestanding structure in 18 minutes using spaghetti, marshmallows, string, and tape with a single marshmallow on top. We had three teams of three. There were accusations of an unfair advantage to the team using the best tape holder and everyone ignored the string until the very end despite being reminded repeatedly about it. Our fearless leader Vladimir and his team took home the gold! Thanks to Courtney for organizing.

07/31/2024

Earlier this month we held our annual summer outing. Each year we find a different venue for staff and their families and friends to gather and have fun. There was some pretty cutthroat giant Jenga happening. Lots of conversation and laughter, and live music featuring yacht rock favorites. We did a great job imbibing a vast quantity of iced tea and lemonade and several of us enjoyed the signature cocktails.

07/12/2024

We love seeing changes to our buildings. This bookshelf is a great addition to the children's room. The photo in the comments below was taken when we completed the new Roe Jan library in 2011. The young model just graduated from high school.

04/26/2024