Meet Stephanie Morales Casariego, AIA Christopher Casariego, AIA | Principal Architects & Founders

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stephanie Morales Casariego, AIA Christopher Casariego, AIA and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephanie Morales Casariego, AIA, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I believe the most important factor behind the success of our company is that our role as architects go beyond design and we build strong professional relationships with our clients, consultants, contractors and our team. Our clients are trusting us with their homes and business so it is important that we give them creative and functional solutions, and while doing it we do so with gratitude, care, and great customer service. We manage a highly skilled team of 6 women who all have professional Architecture degrees, who help make our success possible. We all collaborate on ideas and we also focus on having each of them reach their full potential while still maintaining a good quality of life and a positive working environment. It is our relationship and care for our team and clients that has helped us become the company that we are today.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a husband and wife owned architecture firm and have been working on creative projects together since we were in college. We are influenced by coastal, tropical modern, and contemporary design and focus on custom luxury single family homes, condo remodels, and small scale retail and commercial projects. We are both licensed architects and have different attributes that make us better together. Chris’ extensive construction and technical background allows us to properly study the buildability of our designs without compromising creativity and also gives us the opportunity to take on complex remodels. Clients get impressed how he can quickly visualize solutions in our initial meetings. Stephanie dedicates her time to the creative direction of the company, special attention to detail with our clients, and overall professional development of our team. We started our company while both having full time jobs. It all started with us taking on Freelance work, whether it was doing shop drawings for millwork companies, renderings for duty free brands, and when Chris got his license he went full time, We’d do very small projects, we were lucky if we got a bathroom remodel and he did some project management for commercial projects. It was not easy. Then Stephanie was pregnant with our first child and during maternity leave we received a call from a contractor who wanted to do a few new homes in Key Largo. We didn’t know if it was enough to sustain Stephanie’s salary but we took a leap of faith and she resigned and went full time while raising a new baby and finishing her licensing exams. That was the most challenging part of starting our company, making a lot of sacrifices and not knowing what would happen next. We took whatever work we can get, nothing was too small but we did it with pride. And after every project completed, we’d have a new happy customer and new contacts that led us to even more contacts, and that is how we grew. We did everything ourselves from 2010-2016 when we hired our first employee who is still with us today and now we have 6. Now we are working on at least 10 brand new luxury single family homes and have developed a specialty in vacation homes with work in Broward, Miami Dade, and Monroe County. We believe that if you don’t lose sight of the big picture for your company and remain consistent, you will get to where you want to be.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would start them off by staying at the SLS Luxe in Brickell because it’s very chic and the rooms are spacious and well designed, then cross the street to Sugar at East, a rooftop bar with a Beautiful view at Brickell City Centre. In that area I recommend going to the Frost Science Museum and bring a bag lunch and have a picnic on the steps facing Biscayne Bay . It has one on the best waterfront views in Miami. For a laid back night out of dancing I recommend Blackbird Ordinary or Better Days. For live music I recommend going to Gramps, Center for Subtropical Affairs, or The Fillmore in Miami Beach. Sweat Records owned by DJ Lolo Reskin is a great place to find great records. My favorite casual bar for locals with great music is Jada Coles, which has a fun activity every night. If you’re here in the cooler months I highly recommend the Anhinga Trail at Everglades National Park, where you can see a lot of native birds, alligators and enjoy the peaceful scenery of the everglades. And if you are on your way down to the Keys, no trip is complete without a trip to Alabama Jack’s on Card Sound Road. For great Italian food and drinks I recommend Forte by Chef Adrianne in Coral Gables.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
It truly has taken a village to make our dreams come true. We would like to thank German and Elizabeth Morales Jr. and Sr., and Stephanie’s late grandmother Maria Rodriguez who helped care for our two beautiful children Jonas and Violet, as we worked tirelessly launching our business. Celeste and Orestes Casariego for their unwavering support and all our friends and family for believing in us. Our clients, contractors, and consultants for their trust. Our exceptionally talented team at CSpace Architecture and Design: Maria Medina, Mariana Velasquez, Limosha McIntosh, Pilar Marte, Alyssa Duyvelaar, and Tatiana Delgado.

Website: www.cspacearchitecture.com

Instagram: cspacearchitecture

Image Credits
Photographs are by Fayth Photography, Renderings by CSpace Architecture and Design, Inc.