Ayers Saint Gross Welcomes Michael Nicolaus and Rainey Hufstetler

Ayers Saint Gross is pleased to welcome two new industry leaders to our growing team: Michael Nicolaus and Rainey Hufstetler. Together, these new hires expand our expertise and experience in innovation districts and STEM research.

Principal Michael Nicolaus, a senior architect and planner, joined our team in January, working in our Baltimore office. With more than 30 years of experience, Michael will provide insight and leadership in both urban design and architectural design across the firm’s mixed-use, edge of campus, and innovation district work. An integral part of the development of mixed-use buildings, neighborhoods, and communities throughout the United States and abroad, Michael is a proponent of smart growth, transit-oriented development, and the continuing revitalization of cities. His favorite projects are those that ignite transformational change to meaningfully impact communities in a positive way.

As an outwardly focused thought leader, Michael has served on various committees in the Urban Land Institute including the Trends Conference planning committee, the National Fall Conference planning committee, and the ULI Washington Mentorship Program. His work has been honored with design awards from both the AIA and the ULI. Learn more about Michael.

Senior Associate Rainey Hufstetler, an architect and senior lab planner, joined our firm in February with more than 20 years of design experience. Based in Atlanta, Rainey has wide-ranging expertise in STEM facilities and teaching and research laboratories. Throughout her career, she has designed a wide variety of specialized core lab spaces for higher education and government clients, including biocontainment, pilot plant, and vivarium facilities.

Rainey is a founding member of the Atlanta chapter of the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories and has contributed to lab design guidelines for the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control. She enjoys working closely with clients to uncover their specific research needs and finds it rewarding when she can create custom environments where scientists and other researchers can work more efficiently and creatively. Learn more about Rainey.