Our Team

Ria Al-Ameen

Associate

OAA, CAHP, PMP

Ria is an architect and heritage consultant at Giaimo with over a decade of international experience in design and conservation. Since joining Giaimo in 2016, she has worked on numerous projects in Ontario from concept design through construction, ranging in scale from residential additions to large commercial-office tower renovations such as at 211 Yonge Street, Toronto. As a Project Management Professional (PMP), she has overseen dozens of heritage impact assessments, conservation plans, and other heritage projects for major clients such as Metrolinx, City of Toronto, Toronto Metropolitan University, and Public Works and Government Services Canada. She is currently managing multiple renovation projects at University of Toronto’s Knox College and Victoria College that integrate contemporary design within historic contexts.

Ria currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals (CAHP) and is a member of Toronto Society of Architects and DesignTO. Her current work explores innovative circular construction solutions including deconstruction, material salvage, and reuse, which she has presented on at the National Trust for Canada Conference and DesignTO Festival in 2023. Her background in academia, leadership in public art installation projects, and ongoing engagement with visual arts bring a creative and versatile perspective to her work.

Joanne Casiero

Administrative Director

BA

Over the last nine years at Giaimo, Joanne has ensured that the studio is always running smoothly. She currently oversees HR and accounting, balancing the operational performance of the practice while fostering a positive and productive environment. Prior to joining Giaimo, Joanne had over a decade of diverse experience in the brokerage business, from project coordination to research and analysis.

Joey Giaimo

Principal

OAA, MRAIC, CAHP

An architect and educator, Joey brings 30 years of experience across Canada in the architectural, heritage, and engineering professions, including an extensive portfolio in integrating design and conservation. He founded Giaimo in 2015 with an approach to architecture that sources the value and characteristics of existing buildings and places. As Principal, he has led dozens of public and private sector projects that integrate new design within existing buildings through renovations, retrofits, restoration, and adaptive reuse. His projects have received numerous awards, including a Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation for the revitalization of the Oculus pavilion.

Joey is actively involved in the design community – between 2020 and 2024 he served on the City of Hamilton’s Design Review Panel, and his work has been published and presented at several conferences, including the National Trust for Canada, Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada, and the Association for Preservation Technology. For over seven years, Joey has been an instructor in the Department of Architectural Science at Toronto Metropolitan University (previously Ryerson University) where he acts as thesis advisor, lectures on heritage conservation, and teaches design studios with an emphasis on heritage conservation and adaptive reuse.

Mitchell May

Associate

OAA, CAHP, CPHD

As an architect, heritage consultant, and certified passive house designer, Mitchell brings over a decade of diverse experience on project across Ontario that integrate new with old. Over the last nine years at Giaimo, he has led dozens of architectural projects within heritage-designated buildings, from the building envelope restoration of Rockwood Academy for Ontario Heritage Trust to the 90,000sq.ft. commercial retrofit of the Hermant Building in downtown Toronto for HNR Properties. Dedicated to developing sustainable solutions for clients, his work integrates low-carbon design, circular economy principles, and passivehouse approaches within existing buildings. He is currently managing the renovation of the historic 39 Queens Park Crescent at University of Toronto and the Heritage Register Update for Town of Georgina.

 

Mitchell is a member of the City of Toronto’s Toronto Preservation Board, as well as the CAHP Education and Professional Development Committee. Prior to joining Giaimo, he worked with Professors Marco Polo and Colin Ripley at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) to research and document Canada’s Centennial projects where his work formed part of the exhibition Architecture and National Identity: The Centennial Projects 50 Years On. His commitment to design excellence is evident in the number of award-winning buildings he’s contributed to, including the Conestoga College Student Recreation Centre (MJMA), Allandale Train Station (ERA Architects), and South House (Giaimo).

Sara Shemirani

Associate

B.Arch.Sc, CAHP

Sara is an architectural designer with experience working on existing buildings and heritage projects across Ontario. Over the last five years at Giaimo, she has contributed to a range of projects from multi-unit residential renovations, building condition assessments, and conservation plans to design exhibits and heritage interpretation installations. Whether working on heritage consulting for municipalities’ such as the Heritage Register Update for Town of Georgina in response to Bill-23 changes or interior design of new upgrades within heritage buildings such as at Meridian Hall for TOLive in Toronto, Sara’s work focuses on solutions that integrate contemporary needs within existing heritage contexts.

Passionate about heritage conservation, Sara has volunteered for the non-profit Architectural Conservancy Ontario (ACO) since 2019, most recently as the ACO NextGen Vice Chair. As TMU alumnus, Sara collaborates with students, faculty, and staff at the Department of Architectural Science's EDI Committee to identify, evaluate and resolve EDI barriers inside and outside of the classroom.