June 2, 2021

We are pleased to welcome Amparito (Amp) Martinez, our new Design Professional, to Epstein’s Architecture department! Since joining, Amp has primarily been aiding in some of our industrial projects for Wholestone Farms and Cherkizovo. Prior to coming to Epstein, Amp was based in LA and working for an architecture firm in the Data Center sector.

Amp attended SCI-Arc (Southern California Institute of Architecture) for her Master of Architecture and the University of Illinois at Chicago for her B.S. in architecture. While at UIC, she was involved with the Arquitectos student chapter, which is a community of aspiring architects whose mission is to expand the knowledge of architecture by establishing relationships between studios, networking with professionals, and promoting involvement within the field. After completing her graduate program, Amp joined Arquitectos Professional, a society of Hispanic professional architects. She has since been elected onto the organization’s executive board and runs their communications and marketing sector with a team based in LA and Chicago.

Amp’s passion for architecture stems from examining an architect’s role as a visual storyteller through all forms of media and technology by pushing architecture beyond the world of the built environment. She is also drawn to the notion of bridging the gap between research and design. “For this reason, I continue to serve as a guest critic at SCI-Arc and continue to lecture at UIC’s architecture design program, furthering the conversation of the intersection of art, architecture and technology,” Amp said.

Amp was born and raised on the southwest side of Chicago, where she attended Curie Metropolitan High School. Side note: Epstein was the design architect and engineer for Curie. Throughout her high school years, Amp participated in the ACE Mentor program and received the ACE Summer Mentorship scholarship, which she says helped tremendously with her college journey.

Outside of work, Amp enjoys producing music on her Maschine Mk3, which is a sequencing software paired with a physical piece of gear and allows users to program beats, loops and melodies. When not producing music, however, you can find her checking out art shows, concerts, galleries and museum exhibitions. She is also a huge comic book and old-school movie enthusiast. Fun fact (and perhaps pop quiz for some of us): Amp was born on Chicago’s birthday.

Once again, welcome to Epstein, Amp! We are delighted to have you join us.