Tony Bracali, AIA, LEED AP
President, Principal
Anthony (Tony) Bracali, AIA has served as President of Friday Architects/Planners Inc since 2010 and joined the firm in 2007. Tony’s role is to guide the firm to a new generation of service and creativity. During nearly 20 years of practice, Tony has been involved with the design and execution of a wide spectrum of buildings working with a range of client types. He has developed particular strength for working with the public, communities and large and complex client groups to reach consensus, His formative years were spent at the renowned firm of Venturi Scott Brown and Associates where he contributed to projects emblematic of the firm’s interest in the commercial vernacular and worked closely with the late Steve Izenour. Later, he was an Assistant Designer and Project Architect for Citizen’s Bank Park.
In 2006, Tony received the AIA Philadelphia’s Young Architect Award, and was one of the youngest architects ever to be so honored. Tony has served on the Board of Directors of AIA Philadelphia and as the Board President for The Charter High School for Architecture + Design (CHAD). Bracali has is a longtime active Adjunct Professor at Drexel University and has also taught at Community College of Philadelphia and Philadelphia University. He and his family are active supporters of Drexel Athletics and with three kids, they form their own seating section. Although he is not a skateboarder, he often wishes he was.
Frank Mallas, AIA, LEED AP
Treasurer, Principal
Mr. Mallas has spent nearly all of his professional career at Friday Architects/Planners, Inc after early stints with firms in New York City, Rome, Italy and with Vincent King Associates in Philadelphia. In 1980, Mr. Mallas became a Principal at Friday. Frank has been central to establishing the firms’ well-known reputation for detailed, well crafted, budget “inspired” architecture.
With extensive experience in all phases of new, adaptive re-use, and rehabilitation projects, Mr. Mallas serves as principal-in-charge of many of Friday’s larger commissions. He operates as Friday’s technical and construction expert and advises on most projects when they enter the construction documents and construction phases.
Frank is active in the Powelton Village Civic Association, where he and his wife Sophia purchased a home in 2004. In the 1990’s, Frank served on the board of Veritas (now New Horizon’s), a supportive housing program for recovering drug addicts. He has been skydiving but is not sure he will go again.
Anna Diskin, RA
Mrs. Diskin keeps the wheels turning at Friday by managing projects of all types and scales. She has a diverse background working on projects ranging from commercial & hospitality to educational & multi-family residential. In 2004, she graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Drexel University.
Ms. Diskin is able to multi-task and manage the variety of aspects involved with many different project & client types. She works as a project architect on the firm’s commercial, community, & educational projects taking them from schematic design through construction administration. Anna possesses a strong sense of commitment to the client’s vision and a good understanding of the design process.
Kim DeStratis, NCIDQ, LEED AP
Kim joined the Friday team in 2012 and has been immersed in the Philadelphia design community since graduating from Philadelphia University in 2003 with a Bachelors in Interior Design. Her variety of experience spans from large corporate renovations, and education projects to designing residential additions and selecting finishes. Kim has served as project manager for major corporate interior renovation projects. Her diverse experience has given her the ability to undertake any type of project with efficiency and has given her the capability to creatively design, produce construction documentation, relate to clients and resolve on-site issues. She is currently on the faculty at both Moore College of Art and Community College of Philadelphia.
Katie Mooney
Currently in her thesis year of the Drexel University 2+4 Architecture program, Katie brings the excitement and perspective of a design student to her work at Friday. She has lent her skills and experience to a number of projects during various stages of the design and construction process, including the Reading Terminal Market Avenue D Renovation and Drexel University Vidas Field Masterplan. Katie is active in the Drexel Architecture Community and recently completed her term as the Past President of Drexel’s chapter of the American Institute of Architecture Students. She is a die-hard Flyers fan and is anxiously awaiting their next trip to the finals.
Ryan Tighe
Ryan is our latest call up from the minors of the Drexel 2+4 Program. He has been lending his skills to the Performing Arts Charter School project… and we expect more and greater things from him in the future. He is talented with a variety of software and rendering programs and is helping make good things come together.
Don & Arlene Matzkin
Retired since July 2010, the Friday “Founders” crafted the firm around values and interests inspired by the types of clients they most wanted to serve. Arlene served as a mentor to many women architecture students in Philadelphia and continues to be a role model for many more. She was only the third women elected to membership in the 300 year old Carpenters’ Company. Don crafted a professional life around community service and design and helped found CHAD and the Community Design Collaborative. In 2008, they were awarded AIA Philadelphia’s prestigious John Harbeson Award for their outstanding contributions to the community and to the profession. They continue to serve the firm in an advisory capacity.