A Milestone Worth Celebrating: Dominic LiPuma Earns Architectural Licensure at +Detail
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A Dream Realized
For Dominic, licensure marks the culmination of nearly 15 years of education, experience, and hard work that began at Syracuse University. While this credential allows him to practice architecture in Ohio, it also holds personal significance: it acknowledges the relationships, challenges, and learning experiences that shaped him.
“This milestone symbolizes the peak of the challenging and fulfilling work, experiences, and relationships I formed along the way,” Dominic said. “I’m excited to step into this next chapter with the professional title of Architect.”
A Deeper Sense of Responsibility
The journey to licensure is intentionally demanding. Through years of exams, professional experience, and practical application, Dominic’s understanding of architectural responsibility deepened. He recognized the profession’s duty to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public.
In healthcare and behavioral health environments, architecture must balance complex functional needs with the human experience. Dominic’s path reinforced the importance of holding both aspects with equal care.
“At its foundation, architecture must ensure and promote health, safety, and welfare,” he noted. “That responsibility shaped how I think about design, how decisions affect people, environments, and communities.”
Where Design Feels Most Alive
For Dominic, architecture truly comes to life through collaboration. Whether in the early stages of concept development or making real-time decisions during construction, the collaborative process is where ideas are tested, refined, and strengthened.
“The work feels most alive when collaborating with others finding the best solution together,” he shared.
Designing for Healing and Human Experience
When asked to define good design in healthcare and behavioral health settings, Dominic emphasized more than just technical performance.
“Good design means people enjoy and want to be in the space, especially during stressful times,” he explained. “When the environment itself helps people feel better, that’s when design is truly successful.”
This belief influences his design decisions, where he consistently considers multiple perspectives from patients and visitors to clinicians and staff to create spaces that are accessible, intuitive, and supportive.
Seeing completed projects in use reinforces this responsibility. Visiting places like Cleveland Clinic, UH, MetroHealth, and Akron Children’s where +Detail has made significant contributions serves as a powerful reminder of architecture’s real-world impact.
Looking Ahead: Leadership, Mentorship, and Growth
As a newly licensed architect, Dominic looks forward to taking on leadership and mentorship roles. Having benefited from guidance throughout his own journey, he is eager to support younger designers as they grow in their careers.
“I enjoy the apprenticeship aspect of the profession and look forward to transitioning into more of a mentor role,” he said.
As +Detail expands into workplace and education sectors, Dominic is excited to apply what he learned through healthcare architecture. He aims to bring the same level of rigor, empathy, and systems thinking to new project types.
He is also interested in improving alignment between design documentation and construction, with a focus on reducing waste, minimizing errors, and leveraging evolving technologies to improve outcomes across the industry.
Culture That Supports Growth
Milestones like licensure do not happen in isolation. Dominic credits +Detail’s flexible and transparent studio culture for supporting him throughout this journey from workload planning to exposure across multiple project phases that reinforced exam material.
“There was never fear around asking for flexibility,” he shared. “The overlap between project work and exam content made the process feel integrated, not separate.”
Reflection and Advice
For those beginning the licensure journey, Dominic offers practical advice: treat it like a project.
“Put it on the calendar. Schedule exams like deadlines. Stay accountable without being hard on yourself.”
What carried him through the most challenging moments was the support of friends, colleagues, family, and his partner, along with a strong belief in his ability to complete the journey.
Moving Forward
With licensure comes increased professional responsibility, including the authority to stamp construction documents. More importantly, it renews Dominic’s commitment to the people who experience the spaces he helps design.
“This moment broadens my capabilities and reinforces my responsibility to clients, collaborators, and the communities we serve.”
Dominic’s achievement reflects what +Detail values: investing in people, honoring the discipline of architecture, and designing spaces that genuinely support human experience.
