West Orange Man Takes Helm Of NJ Architect Trade Group

WEST ORANGE, NJ — A West Orange resident has officially taken the reins of the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) New Jersey chapter.

Last week, the AIA’s New Jersey chapter announced that Ronald Weston has begun his term as 2023 president.

According to a news release from the AIA:

“Weston is the founding principal of Weston Architecture LLC, where he applies his four decades of experience in the architecture, design, and construction industry advising clients and project teams on best practices in delivering successful buildings and facilities. Ron served as president of his local section, AIA Newark and Suburban Architects, in 2018. During his 37 years as a licensed architect, and AIA NJ member, Weston has led a wide variety of commercial, educational, hospitality, institutional, and mixed-use projects. His work has ranged from being a principal architect of record on numerous new schools, commercial buildings, and multi-family residential developments in the New Jersey/New York region, to managing design teams on larger-scale national and international mixed-use developments. Prior to recently founding his consulting practice in 2021, Weston served as a principal and practice leader at New Jersey-based PS&S and Hillier Architecture.”

Outside of his architecture roles, Weston currently serves on the New Jersey Advisory Board of the Trust for Public Land nonprofit organization, where he just completed a four-year term as chair. He also recently completed 20 years of continuous service as a West Orange Planning Board commissioner, including eight years as board chair.

Weston’s bona fides include holding architecture licenses in seven states and the District of Columbia and has held his NCARB certificate for over 35 years. He is a licensed professional planner in New Jersey, and is a LEED-accredited professional through the U.S. Green Building Council.

Weston has stated that one of his overarching goals for this coming year is “to have AIA New Jersey focus more on engaging with government officials, industry leaders, students, and the public writ large so that more people develop a better understanding of the value that good architecture and design adds to society.”

“Working with professional colleagues to create new school buildings that will educate generations of students ranks as the most rewarding type of projects for me,” Weston said.

“The larger commercial and mixed-use developments I have worked on certainly were more complex and exciting, yet they tend to be less enduring and impactful for their communities,” he continued.

Weston is a graduate of the Syracuse University School of Architecture, where he earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree. He and his wife still live in West Orange, where they raised their two adult children, and enjoy spending time with their three young grandsons.

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