Joshua Silbaugh, AIA, DBIA, NCARB, LEED Green Associate

My father, Dennis Silbaugh, was an engineer with GFT, and from the beginning, I knew I wanted to follow in his footsteps. GFT has always been part of my life as a family- and employee-oriented firm, and there’s never been another place I’ve wanted to work. One of the best pieces of advice he shared with me was that a good leader never micromanages but instead supports and develops their team — wisdom I carry with me daily.

I’ve grown from architectural intern to project manager, then organization manager, and now principal architect, regional manager, and vice president. I manage talented and diverse architectural studios across Pennsylvania and in multiple markets, including federal, transit, water, and commercial. Our team provides integrated architectural planning and design consulting services as part of GFT’s national architectural practice. 

I have a heart for community involvement, and GFT allows me to get involved in related extracurriculars. In addition to teaching and being involved in the AIA, I regularly volunteer for student science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) activities and speak at elementary and high school career fairs. I’ve also been fortunate to have great managers and mentors who have prepared me for leadership roles.

I was the project, task manager, and architectural lead for the Employee Learning Experience program, a year-long initiative for a large national transportation client. The project introduced a novel approach, blending conceptual campus programming with a cross-regional feasibility study that united expertise from several of our business groups.

Our team of architects and engineers documented training requirements, analyzed the client’s infrastructure, and shaped a technology and systems concept of operations. We also conducted site selection and analysis, developed detailed architectural programming, and created concept designs for a 200,000-square-foot national training and learning campus.

The design included administration areas, security and police training, classrooms, laboratories of various sizes and equipment, hands-on training spaces, and full-scale, environmentally controlled mockups. We also incorporated outdoor and yard training to support various learning needs.

In addition, we programmed an extended-stay lodge for employees and trainees, identified the need for a 500-room facility with amenities, and included it in the design. After more than a decade of planning, our analysis and concepts advanced the client’s vision for the campus closer to reality than ever. Once completed, the campus will strengthen training consistency and standardization.

Data centers are shaping the next wave of digital technology—and they also raise important questions about energy demand, resource use, and local community impacts. I’m especially excited by the design and architectural approaches emerging to maximize efficiency and reduce environmental footprint. In my work, I’ve supported adaptive reuse of existing facilities to serve new data center functions. And at GFT, our advantage is an integrated bench: power, sustainability, development and construction, and facility design/architecture working as one team to solve complex problems quickly.

Family is central to my life. I’ve been married since 2006 to the only girl I ever dated, and on our honeymoon, we were unexpectedly featured in skits for “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”. Today, my wife and I raise our two children, Hydee and Lochlann, and we’re active in our church, enjoy corn mazes every fall, and love family trips to Walt Disney World®.

Teaching is also a big part of who I am. Beyond the classroom, I once hosted a television program on Art Deco architecture in Harrisburg — an experience that combined my passion for design with my love of sharing knowledge.

On a lighter note, I have a strange affection for hilariously bad movies. Watching them with friends is always a good laugh — my go-to recommendation is “Frogs”.