Our Studio
To Be Done Studio harnesses the inherent goodness in people and the power of design to create sustainable solutions to the pressing problems that our world faces. We design and build spaces that uplift, inspire and support power within the communities it serves. We believe that a relevant design practice must be accessible to all rather than a few.
In order to create long lasting and impactful solutions to the multifaceted issues many communities in our country face, we work up and downstream of challenges. We research and engage local and topic area experts to ensure we are well informed before proceeding with design. We design robust solutions that take into consideration social, environmental sustainability and climate change. At times, we take the work all the way through and do the construction/fabrication ourselves.
Oh... and what's with the name? It was inspired by this poem: To Be of Use by Marge Piercy
To learn more about To Be Done Studio's work and accolades please access our CV:
Our Team
Omar Hakeem
Founder & Principal
Omar’s work focuses on geographical, socio-cultural frontiers and works to address the economic, environmental and health issues that plague these communities.
Through these efforts he has completed award winning affordable housing, rapid response disaster housing prototypes, urban bike and pedestrian infrastructure, regional drainage improvements and community based rural planning initiatives. Omar’s passion for design has taken him from the cloud forests of Costa Rica to the ravaged communities of the Gulf Coast and many places in between. Omar was recently named one of Grists 50 Fixers for his work on climate resilient housing solutions, sits on the American Institute of Architect’s Strategic Council and Climate Action and Design Excellence Committee.
Omar holds a bachelor's degree in Architecture from the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as a Masters Degree in Architecture and a Masters of Science in Sustainable Design from the University of Minnesota. He is a licensed architect in Washington,DC, and Texas.
Candace Maloney-Franklin
Senior Project Designer
Candace was born and raised on the small Caribbean island of St. Christopher (St. Kitts), where the importance of community and looking out for one’s neighbor was instilled in her from an early age. From early on in her career, Candace has carried these values into architecture - approaching her work with the deep belief that the input of residents who personally understand the history, assets and challenges of a community is critical to design and that thoughtful design should be accessible to all.
Candace has had the opportunity to work on various project types and scales throughout her ten-year career, ranging from housing and mixed-use developments to education and healthcare. Candace is excited to bring her passion for creating impactful long-term solutions through research and engagement.
Brandon Robles
Designer
Brandon is a Designer at To Be Done Studio and holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the School of Architecture at Virginia Tech. Their work seeks to balance an affective and speculative potential in architecture—situating its process in narratives informed by social, political, and environmental contexts. Their current interests involve a direction toward collective/community stewardship within the realization of projects. They continue to pursue these realities of architecture that respond to and work for the communities+environments in which they exist.
Their experience has allowed them to collaborate on varying projects, ranging programmatically from commercial to residential. Bringing their strength and passions to supplement discursive practices. Notably, affordable housing projects, "New Neighborhood Block" and "H.P.H.S," synthesize housing potential with new construction methodologies. And recently, their contribution to the designs of NRDC's new Chicago office. They hope to continue their growth to realize these hopes for architecture and our built environment.