Michael Gerace of Jamestown, NY, has been named to the Future100 Class of 2025 by “Metropolis” magazine, an annual list of North America’s top 100 architecture and interior design graduates.
Gerace will graduate in December with a Master of Architecture degree from Lawrence Technological University. He earned a Bachelor of Architecture at LTU a year ago.
“Metropolis” is an internationally recognized design and architecture magazine with a strong focus on ethics, innovation, and sustainability in the creative sector. The Future100 is a prestigious recognition offered to architecture and interior design students across North America who represent the best and brightest in their field.
Gerace currently works remotely for the Rochester, NY-based architecture firm LaBella Associates. Thanks to a scholarship, this summer, he will be working with SmithGroup, spending his first summer in Detroit since he came to LTU. Among his career goals is becoming a licensed architect and focusing his professional work on what he calls “empathy design,” user-centered architecture.
One of seven children, Gerace was homeschooled through high school. He took AP classes at community college, which allowed him to transfer to LTU. Two of his brothers attended Concordia University in Ann Arbor, which played against Lawrence Tech in hockey and tennis. That’s how he came to learn about LTU.
Sketches from the ID5 “Greater Flint” project. Focused on Flint’s diverse population, the objective is to create a cultural mixing ground with transparent, equitable, and flexible community spaces for new and native residents.
“My experience at LTU has been amazing. CoAD has a really great culture. I’ve learned a lot from my studio classes, classmates, and peers. Because I played sports here for three years, I still have the close friends I met then.”
Gerace’s winning portfolio included last spring’s urban design project titled “Pollen District” in Detroit and “Greater Flint,” an adaptive reuse project that converted an existing building to create a community center.
Gerace was nominated for the Future100 honor by Associate Professor Dan Faoro, who’s been a mentor to him since he took Integrated Design 3 (ID3) in the fall of 2023. “I think Michael Gerace was a deserving recipient due to my interaction with him and reviews of his coursework in two classes and a review of his portfolio and resume.
“I believe that, based on his well-rounded overall academic skills and abilities, professional internships, and working hard to obtain his professional credentials, he will have long-term success in our field and will accomplish his goals. He would rank in the upper 2% of the students I have worked with in courses over the past 28 years.”
By: Renée Ahee
Sketches from the ID4 “Pollen District” project. The project aims to create sustainable, visually captivating environments that support plant growth, improve air quality, and inspire future urban developments.
