Employee spotlight: Ashley Castiglione

The most motivating thing that inspires Ashley Castiglione in her work as an architect is being able to tell others about the buildings she’s helped to create.

This isn’t just because she wants people to know what she’s worked on, though.

“I like hearing their reactions and comments about their personal experience with those buildings, if they have any,” Ashley said.

Growing up, Ashley loved houses – especially old ones. She was particularly fascinated with the design and detailing of them, and although she can’t recall the exact moment she discovered this career path was for her, she’s certain she made up her mind when she was quite young.

She graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy in 2012 with a Masters of Architecture before landing an entry-level position at Hobbs + Black Architects in Ann Arbor. After getting married and moving to Ferndale, she wanted to be closer to home and downtown.

“Hamilton Anderson was always on my top list of firms to work for,” Ashley said. “I was lucky enough to join the team in early 2015.

Ashley is celebrating her three-year anniversary at HAA this month, and since becoming part of the team, she’s played a role on a variety of projects. She’s done to most work on MGM National Harbor, LCA, Elton Park and Wayne State Student Housing.

Working on a range of different project types has allowed Ashley to gain a breadth of knowledge she’s not sure she would’ve learned at other firms.

In her free time, Ashley likes to go for long walks with her dog, who is also very photogenic. In the summertime, she enjoys going boating and relaxing at her cabin. A little known fact about Ashley is that her favorite book genre is historical fiction, and her favorite book is Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet, which is a tale about the building of a 12th century Gothic Cathedral.