Ruperto Arvelo, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB

Principal

Ruperto Arvelo has been practicing interior architecture since 1987 and has experience in different types of projects both nationally and internationally. He has worked in several architecture firms in New York, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico during his professional development as an architect. The last firm was the Gensler New York office as a designer and project manager. He also worked with renowned firms such as Rockwell Group and Robert AM Stern. This exposure has given him experience in residential, corporate, and commercial projects of all scales, and includes ground-up and adaptive re-use of interior and exterior renovation projects.

He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Puerto Rico and his Master’s degree from Syracuse University. He also did architectural studies in Italy. Registered as an architect in New York State, Florida and Puerto Rico he is a successful architect that can wear different hats and bring everyone together for the successful completion of his projects. He has also taught at leading design colleges and universities; including Syracuse University, Parsons, and Berkeley College. He is currently an adjunct professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT).

He is one of the founders of “Tertulia Latina”, an organization that promotes and encourages collaborations between Latino artists and supports their work. He was also an Associate Editor for the Spanish language interior design magazine Casa y Hogar. He is on the board of the Stonewall National Museum Archives & Library located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In his free time, he enjoys travelling, the arts, and outdoor activities. He travels frequently to Miami and Puerto Rico where he has homes. Because of his love for design and furniture, he dreams of opening a home furnishings and design store in NYC one day.

Manuel Merino

Project Architect

Manuel Merino has a total of 16 years of experience in different design areas, from urban design and planning, architectural projects, landscape to interior design, many of those with Civitas, an architectural firm in El Salvador. He has worked in new residential buildings, hospitality facilities, offices, banks and commercial buildings as in private houses and apartments. He earned his bachelor in architecture in UCA and since the beginning he devoted his practice to high quality design shown in every project he's involved. He has received several awards: two Bienal awards in El Salvador (2010, 2014), two design competition first price (2007, 2000) among others.

Angie Martínez

Design Assistant

Angie Martinez has recently earned her interior design bachelor's degree at Lasalle College in Vancouver and has earned her interior design diploma at Lasalle College in Bogotá. She started practicing interior design in 2016 at a construction company in Bogotá, Colombia. When she moved to New York City in 2017 she began to work with Arvelo Architecture+Design as an intern and is now a design assistant. She loves design and is looking forward to continuing to grow in her career.

Intern

With strong skills in AutoCAD and Photoshop, our intern’s develop a deeper experience in the architecture and interior design fields as part of our energetic and versatile team. A very hands-on process in mood board creation and material selection, adds up to knowledge for real life project situations. Our interns come from various leading US Universities and from around the world.