Mary Lorino

If BAM is a firm where everyone does a little bit of everything – and it is – then Mary’s work is its perfect embodiment. Prior to founding BAM with Anne Durkin and Burt Pinnock, she worked as a licensed architect in both Richmond and New York City where her projects ranged from new construction to adaptive reuse, master planning, commercial interiors and residential additions. She is particularly well versed in planning and feasibility studies and has collaborated with other local design firms to help guide the renovations of several of the city’s most notable buildings, including the General District Courthouse and the Landmark Theatre.

As the ‘M’ in BAM, Mary’s projects continue to reflect her own creative versatility. What was once an auto dealership became a branch office dedicated to children’s healthcare, complete with a garden terrace, gym, and music room; a cement plant shed its skin and emerged as a public park. Her wide array of professional experiences have led her to a certain ease with every facet of construction, and she’s just as likely to inspect a roof as she is to plan a formal garden.

Always generous with her ‘spare’ time, Mary has recently helped spearhead the creation of an outdoor learning garden at Holton Elementary School and is working with the good folks at Church Hill’s Henley Street Theatre on their plans to expand into new facilities. Speaking of Church Hill, Mary can be found most weekends in the alleys of her neighbourhood doing a bit of guerrilla gardening. As well, she is three houses into a plot to help her neighbours “renovate every house on Libbie Terrace.”