DOMINICK HART, AIA

Born in South Carolina and raised in Kentucky, Dom received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy Cum Laude from Berea College in Berea, Kentucky in 1988. After working as a carpenter for a year, Dom moved to Syracuse where he attended University College as a part-time student for a year before enrolling in the Masters of Architecture program at Syracuse University, where he graduated in 1994. While at Syracuse, Dom was awarded three academic merit scholarships, was a teaching assistant for several courses, spent a semester in Florence Italy and received a Dean’s Citation for his Masters Thesis.

After graduation, Dom moved to Dallas where he worked for HOK and then for Ibanez Architecture. In 1997, he joined Pierce Goll Architecture where he helped author a competition-winning entry for the Dallas Nature Center. Dom spent four of his eight years in Texas with Gideon Toal (now Bennet Benner Partners) in Fort Worth where he collaborated on projects that received an Honor Award, three Merit Awards and a Citation from the local chapter of the AIA.

In 2002 Dom moved to Chicago to work for Wheeler Kearns Architects. While there he served as Project Architect for four homes on Lake Michigan in St. Joseph, Covert and Lakeside, Michigan.

In 2010, Dom established DHA, an architectural practice which collaborated with other architects, engineers, designers and builders to assist clients with the delivery of projects of various types, scale and scope with a focus on residential as well as small commercial and institutional projects.

In 2019, Dom began working with UrbanWorks in Chicago as a Senior Project Architect. Recently completed projects include A Safe Haven Veterans Studios, a five story, 90 unit, affordable housing building for Veterans in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago, and Evergreen Senior Housing, a four story, 60 unit affordable housing building for Seniors in Evanston. Current projects include updating the 2002 Grant Park Framework Plan for the Chicago Park District and the rehabilitation of a former church into a Community Hub in the Boston Square neighborhood of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Dom lives in Chicago's West Ridge neighborhood in a vintage brick bungalow with his wife, a school photographer, and their 2nd of two sons, a student at the University of Illinois in Springfield studying music, art and education. Their oldest son is a Naval Aviator, flying the E2-D Advanced Hawkeye with a carrier strike group based in Japan. Dom also likes to play basketball and guitar. A favorite place, other than his house, is Blue Lake Resort in Minocqua, Wisconsin :-)