ODA Announces Two New Principals
Design Firm Expands Leadership and Welcomes New Staff to Growing Team
ODA announces the promotion of Olivera Grk AIA and Michael Unsicker AIA to Principals. Grk and Unsicker, formerly project directors, join current principals Eran Chen, P. Christian Bailey, Ryoko Okada and Dongyoung Kim on the executive leadership team. The architecture and design studio’s expansion of senior leadership signals a new era for the prolific firm. ODA is in a period of significant growth, welcoming over 20 new team members to the firm in the past year. Grk and Unsicker are shepherding millions of square feet of design and construction around the world, as the firm grows its roster of large-scale mixed-use work and master planning from Los Angeles to Moscow.
Principal, Olivera Grk, first joined ODA in 2013. She has led the design of large-scale projects totaling over twenty-five million square feet, including the towers at 420 Kent Avenue in New York, 1045 Olive Street in Los Angeles, the mixed-use complex El Plaza Condesa in Mexico City, as well as the winning international competitions for the MAZD Territory masterplan and Badaevskiy in Moscow. Her career at ODA also encompasses work on their vast high-end residential portfolio. Prior to joining ODA, Olivera worked for the OMA New York office where she collaborated with world renowned artist Marina Abramović. Olivera earned her graduate degree in Architecture from the University of Belgrade as the Valedictorian of her class. She obtained a Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, where she was granted the Honor Award for Excellence in Design and the William Kinne Travel Grant. She is a registered architect in New York State and a member of the American Institute of Architects.
Principal, Michael Unsicker joined ODA in 2016 and has led the design on such high-profile international projects as the acclaimed historic conversion of the Postkantoor into POST Rotterdam, a new mixed-use jewel of urban renewal, as well as Paseo Gigena, a new hybrid public park and Class A office building in Buenos Aires, the Jerusalem Hebrew Academy in Israel, and a new luxury residence on the Moscow River. Domestically he has served as project director on new mixed-use megaproject in Chicago, a 3 million square foot masterplan Innovation QNS in Astoria, NY for Silverstein Properties, and a highly-anticipated towering new icon on the NYC skyline. Michael’s alternative approach to architectural studies, utilizing the AIA Architectural Apprentice Program with the State of Vermont, augmented by the curriculum at the Architecture and Design Department of Denmark’s International Study Program (DIS), an affiliate of The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, followed by a two-month placement as a visiting architect at BRAC University of Bangladesh, has made him one of the universal, experience-based architects in the practice. Prior to joining ODA, Michael worked as a project manager at Rafael Viñoly Architects.
“We are excited to grow our leadership team and reward these exceptional architects for their hard work and dedication,” said Eran Chen AIA, Founder and Executive Director. “Both Olivera and Michael are instrumental members of our team and company culture. Externally, they are having a major impact on the future of cities and the quality of life of people all over the world. This is not a responsibility to be taken lightly, and I am grateful for their intellect, curiosity and the empathy they bring to the profession.”
Additionally, ODA promoted Katherine Mendez to Director of Interiors, Jessica Shoen to Senior Interior Designer, and Audrey Topp, Gene Pyo, Matthew Boker, Vladimir Chervoniuk, and Christopher Sjoberg to  Associates.
See all of our new team members and updated headshots on oda-architecture.com/about
About ODA
ODA is an office of architecture based in New York. Since its inception in 2007, ODA has quickly emerged as one of the most recognized firms of its generation, promptly establishing a reputation for delivering imaginative and mold-breaking designs. Seeking to reorder architectural priorities by putting people first, ODA challenges conventional perspectives of dwelling that will, over time, influence life in our cities.Through a range of projects, ODA seeks to reconcile the conditions of vertical urban living with the qualities which benefit and nurture us as human beings, the desire for protected shelter while observing wide perspectives, the seamless transition between indoor and outdoor spaces, and the general improvement of life through good design.
