Colin Murphy

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  1. What is one interesting fact about yourself? 
    • My grandfather was once the mayor of Ann Arbor. 
  2. Why did you go into your profession?  
    • I’ve always enjoyed physics and creative challenges.
  3. What is your greatest strength?  
    • I’d like to think I have a strong attention to detail and do a good job of thoroughly investigating and understanding the challenges I take on. 
  4. What is your greatest personal achievement (not related to work)  
    • …a bit cheesy, but I’m most proud of my 3 awesome children.  An achievement in progress, no doubt. 
  5. What is your greatest professional achievement? (related to IDS)  
    • I’ve been at IDS a relatively short time, but in that time I’m proud to have been able to work on so many successful projects. 
  6. What do you enjoy doing outside of work?  
    • Playing music, disc golf, and anything with the kiddos. 
  7. What motivates you?  
    • I try to be careful what I choose to work on, but when I choose, I figure I might as well try my hardest and make the most out of it. 
  8. What is your #1 professional goal?  
    • To enjoy the work I do and the people I work with… Check! 

“Master your instrument.  Master the music.  And then forget all that B.S. and just play.” – Charlie Parker 

Dominic Paone, III

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  1. Tell me an interesting fact about yourself.
    • Around the age of 8 I started driving forklifts at my dad’s shop. It began a life long love of driving, mechanics, and exploring.
  2. Why did you go into your profession?
    • I always liked trying to figure out how things worked. From a young age I would take things apart and put them back together again to understand them better. That never stopped. When I was in high school I worked co-op in the field and it lead me to where I am today.
  3. What is your greatest strength?
    • I like to pride myself on being able to see the big picture when it comes to things. That can be a job at work, a household project or the simplest task.
  4. What is your greatest personal achievement (not related to work)
    • My family has always been my #1 achievement. My wife Carolyn and I could not be prouder of our daughters Rosalie (10), Cecilia (7), and son Dominic (4). Knowing they are there at the end of day makes everything worthwhile.
  5. What is your greatest professional achievement? (related to IDS)
    • Being apart of the turnaround of Detroit will always hold a special place in my heart. There are two projects on two very different ends of the spectrum but both had the same end result. Namely the Detroit Achievement Academy and Shinola Hotel. Seeing those projects from concepts on paper to their ribbon cutting ceremony was truly the definition of regrowth. It was rewarding to know that I helped breathe life back into the city on a community and national scale.
  6. What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
    • Most people hate doing work around the house, but I actually love it. Renovation jobs and side projects are fun for me and I find it relaxing.
  7. What motivates you?
    • IDS has a very respected reputation in the industry. My motivation is to continue to live up to the gold standard we have set.
  8. What is your #1 professional goal?
    • When I first entered the industry, I was mentored by some fantastic leaders that I looked up to, and still do. The ability to learn from your mistakes and passing on what has been successful has immeasurable value. My goal is to do that for the younger staff at IDS.

“I never make a mistake in my life. I thought I did once, but I was wrong.”  – Charles Schulz 

Chris VanOverbeke

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  1. Tell me an interesting fact about yourself.
    • My friends and I have a challenge to each a whole 30 oz roll of cookie dough in one sitting, we have tried multiple times but never completed.
  2. Why did you go into your profession?
    • I started at IDS after being heavily influenced to go into the big three, University of Detroit Mercy sort of guides each mechanical engineering student to that lifestyle since automotive has such a big impact. But I wanted to do something different. Through school I determined I love to learn about the flow of systems, such as aerodynamics or the effect of dropping a rock in a river, and now learning about the flow of air through a duct or water through a pipe has peaked my interest and kept me learning on that path.
  3. What is your greatest strength?
    • I find my greatest strength is the desire to understand as much as I can and keep learning about different systems and how they work.
  4. What is your greatest personal achievement (not related to work)
    • My greatest personal achievement outside of work was working on my senior design project in college to help a disabled veteran walk better.
  5. What is your greatest professional achievement? (related to IDS)
    1. My greatest professional achievement was designing University of Michigan Fire protection system during my first year of work! It was interesting for a young professional in the industry.
  6. What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
    1. Outside of work, I like hanging out with my two dogs, going mountain biking, and relaxing at home. Through the pandemic, I have gotten really into Formula 1 racing as well.
  7. What motivates you?
    1. I would like to say coffee in the morning, but generally I just want to do a good job for the company, while also making the clients/owners happy with our work.
  8. What is your #1 professional goal?
    1. My professional goal is to design and model an entire mechanical room for one of the universities that we work with.

“You don’t expect to be at the top of the mountain the day you start climbing.” – Ron Dennis

MAF Photo Contest

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Do you love taking photos of Michigan architecture? Want the chance to see your photos (and photo credit) featured on MAF’s website and social media? What about the opportunity to win some prize money too? MAF announced its inaugural photography competition, “Architecture Inspires 2021” with an extended deadline due to popular demand! The new competition deadline has been extended through Wednesday, September 15, 2021!

Get out there and show them what inspires you! To submit your photos and learn more visit michiganarchitecturalfoundation.org/events/maf-architecture-inspires-2021-photo-competition/