Meacock chairing zoning board
CRANBURY — The New Jersey chapter of the American Institute of Architects held its annual Awards Dinner Jan. 9, presenting Service Awards to three KSS Architects, LLP. designers in recognition of their individual accomplishments that have provided distinguished service to the profession and to the Society, according to a press release.
Cranbury resident Merilee Meacock, a partner, was named AIA NJ Architect of the Year, reflecting her many professional, technical and personal achievements.
As a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University, Ms. Meacock earned her Bachelor of Architecture in 1990, and has since practiced with KSS Architects.
She was named a partner in 2010, and currently oversees one third of the firm’s work – concentrated in the fields of education, special needs, community, housing, urban revitalization, and master planning, the release said.
Within KSS, Ms. Meacock is the partner in charge of marketing, leading efforts in firm identity and market development, and managing communications across multiple media.
According to the release, she loves to lead and inspire, allowing team members the opportunity to thrive in a highly collaborative and creative environment.
As the first woman to be named Architect of the Year in 16 years, Ms. Meacock takes equal pride in her personal accomplishments, according to the release.
Forging ahead in the gender-skewed profession of architecture, she manages to be a single mom to three boys and the family dog, and takes on the roles of habitual DIY Aficionado and Cub Scout Leader, the release said.
She also chairs the Cranbury Township Zoning Board and is a member of the Development Review Committee, lending her expertise to the improvement of her hometown.
“Merilee is a valued member of our zoning board and we’re thankful she stepped up this year to chair the (it),” Mayor Jay Taylor said Wednesday. “We have always recognized Merilee’s experience and expertise and I am very happy to see her peers recognize her talents. As a resident, it is comforting to know that key zoning issues which greatly impact the town are being reviewed by someone recognized as a leader in her field.”
According to the release, Ms. Meacock’s overriding strength is her entrepreneurial drive to identify opportunity to serve her community, her firm and her clients through her passion and mastery of architecture.
“She creates thoughtful spaces that affect people’s lives by bettering the way they work, enriching the way they learn, and enhancing the way they build community,” the release said. “Through architecture, Merilee creates meaningful change.”
According to the release, KSS Architects LLP. is an award-winning architectural design firm with offices in Princeton and Philadelphia.
Founded in 1983, KSS specializes in the design and planning of places for learning, commerce and community. The firm brings to each project the unique ability to create meaningful change through architecture, and has been named AIA New Jersey’s Firm of the Year in 2002, 2005, 2009, and 2013.
According to the release, the firm has been involved in several regional projects including includes a precedent-setting distribution center for Coca-Cola in South Brunswick, the “workplace as marketplace” corporate headquarters for Burlington Coat Factory, a research institute to reposition Rowan Business School as a regional promoter of economic development, the mixed use, education-based consortium of Teachers Village, and a leading edge learning and residential campus for Bancroft, the non-profit helping those with disabilities lead independent and fulfilling lives.