This is an ongoing series that profiles Norfolk small businesses and entrepreneurs who have benefitted from the programs offered by the Norfolk Department of Development and their partners. September 15 to October 15 is National Hispanic American Heritage Month. Here’s a Norfolk Hispanic-owned business making a difference in Norfolk and the Commonwealth.
Norfolk based architecture and interior design firm Andre + Marquez Architects, Inc., is a certified Small, Women and Minority (SWaM), and Hispanic owned architecture and interior design firm in Norfolk. Sitting at the helm is Georgie Márquez, the principal owner. The firm was started by her and her husband, Joel André, in 1993. Their office specializes in Commercial and Government work.
Ms. Márquez received her Bachelor of Architecture degree from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, when few women were encouraged to study architecture or pursue STEM careers. During her time at Pratt, she received a grant from the John Hay Whitney Foundation to work with a youth gang turned sweat-equity organization, the Renegades, in East Harlem, NY. Following graduation, she continued working with the group assisting them with their urban renewal plans and fund-raising. She later moved on to private practice, working at several small firms in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Ms. Márquez continues to leverage her architecture and design talents to bring a positive impact on her community. She is certified as a CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) Professional. She recently completed the Safety Assessment Program Evaluator Training to assist local governments in safety evaluations of their built environment in the aftermath of a disaster.
Some of her regional and national work includes:
• Project Architect for the renovation of the 9th and 10th floors of the New Executive Office Building, part of the White House campus, in Washington, DC
• Project Architect for various Support Buildings in the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion project
• Project Administrator in charge of Interior Design for a 22,000 SF, Silver LEED Certified Dining Facility for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection
She is involved with several local and national organizations including the Hampton Roads Chamber, serving as the 2020 Chair for the Norfolk Division Board, and currently as Vice-Chair, Small Business, for the Chamber’s Board of Directors. She has served on the Board of Directors for CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) Hampton Roads, and volunteers with the Hampton Roads chapter of the American Institute of Architects, where she serves on the statewide Disaster Assistance Committee.
In 2018 Ms. Márquez was appointed by the Norfolk City Council to the Mayor’s Advisory Commission on Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation. She was selected as an honoree for the Women In Business Achievement Awards by Inside Business. In 2021, she was appointed as an Invited Member to Virginia Governor Northam’s Technical Advisory Committee to support developing a Coastal Adaptation and Protection Master Planning process.
Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, she has lived in Mexico City, Mexico, and Madrid, Spain, and she now calls a 110-year-old house in the Port Norfolk area of Portsmouth, a nationally designated Historic District, home.