Belleville, Nutley Architects Named to Leadership Positions in State Group

The New Jersey Chapter and Region of the American Institute of Architects this week appointed Belleville and Nutley architects to statewide leadership positions.

Robert Cozzarelli, a Belleville resident was named Regional Director during AIA-NJ’s annual awards gala at Shadowbrook in Shrewsbury over the weekend.

Nutley resident Jason Peist was installed as regional associate director at the same event. 

Cozzarelli is a principal of Rutherford, N.J.-based Bertone Cozzarelli Healthcare Architects and Cozzarelli Cirminiello Architects, which has more than 30 years of experience in the design of nursing homes, hospitals and health-related facilities. AIA members noted that Cozzarelli is an award-winning architect and planner specializes in the areas of education, recreation, institutional and residential design for federal, state, municipal and private-sector clients.

A 28-year member of AIA, Cozzarelli was also the 2004 AIA-NJ State President and the 2009 AIA-NJ Architect of the Year. In 2008, NJIT Alumni honored Cozzarelli with an Honor Roll Medallion for exemplifying leadership, in architecture, planning and design.

In 2011, Cozzarelli was honored with a UNICO Millie Grazie Award for his Pro-Bono services throughout the state. In 2010, he was honored as Columbus Day & Heritage Celebration Italian-American Man-of-the-Year.

Cozzarelli earned his bachelor of architecture degree from the New Jersey Institute of Technology School of Architecture and is licensed to practice architecture in several states.  

“Architects are a unique and irreplaceable profession and to be able to represent the members of AIA-New Jersey on the national level is the greatest honor of my professional career,” Cozzarelli said in an email. “As Regional Director, my efforts will be to continue to communicate to the public the essential role of the architects in society and their professional obligation to the public in the practice of architecture by designing functional, efficient, attractive and safe environments.” 

Peist is Design Director for T.M. Rybak & Associates and this week begins his second and final year as the organization’s associate regional director. The Nutley resident is the Design Director for Rutherford, N.J.-based T.M. Rybak & Associates (TMR), a full-service architectural, planning, interior design, engineering, construction management and design/build firm. 

Peist has been a member of AIA for five years.

In addition to his work at TMR, Peist also has his own business, Jason Peist Design & Graphics. The business, which he founded in 2012, specializes in graphic designing, rendering, technical writing and marketing geared towards architecture firms.

A graduate of the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), AIA members noted that Peist was honored as the AIA-NJ Intern Architect of the Year in 2009 and received the Carleton B. Riker, Jr Associate Emeritus AIA Award.

“I’m excited to complete my term as the Associate Regional Director for New Jersey,” Peist said in an email. “This organization has allowed me to meet new people throughout New Jersey and the country. I am looking forward to the next stages of my career as I hope to become a licensed architect by 2015.”