Jill Doran

Jill Doran is a Design Team Member in the Studio’s Chicago office. She pursued her undergraduate degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago and earned her M.Arch I at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Interested in cultural and civic projects that are heavily program- and user-driven, Jill was drawn to architecture for its puzzle-like quality—an exciting, open-ended question involving both form and function. Jill appreciates the Studio’s passion and compassion and how the projects communicate a care for ecology and communities, push materials, and provide opportunities to learn and improve. With a background in interior architecture, Jill is inclined toward the details of how architecture is experienced, choreographing spaces around their users and selecting the perfect finishes to ensure a cohesive and compelling design. She enjoys collaborating with any and all material trades—experts and artists who have a passion for their craft.

Calling the east coast home for nine years, Jill recently moved back to Chicago, where she grew up. She likes cooking and other forms of making that combine beauty and functionality. Her favorite landscapes include Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario and the freshwater lakes of her Midwestern childhood.