102 | JULY 14 • 2022 

E

li Forta has plans to use 
his architectural skills to 
better the community.
The 23-year-old recent 
Lawrence Technological 
University undergraduate, who 
is now pursuing a master of 
architecture degree at the same 
school, is working on a thesis 
about using advanced digital 
fabrication methods to alleviate 
financial devastation in Detroit.
“It’s a huge urban zone that 
suffered tremendously through 
various waves of movement 
and social change,
” Forta 
explains. “Now that it’s working 
its way back up, how can we 
utilize new technologies in a 
way that benefits the existing 
community?”
It’s one area of architectural 
design, among many others, 
that Forta is currently learning. 
His role as assistant project 
manager at Ferndale-based 
architectural firm Fusco, Shaffer 
& Pappas Inc. (FSP), is also 
giving him firsthand experience 
in numerous aspects of 
architectural design, his favorite 
of which are the smaller, finite 
details.
“I love looking into details,
” 
Forta says. “When you really 
zoom in on something and you 
put it all together … sometimes 
it’s very generic and there’s a 

way to do it and then it’s done, 
but sometimes it requires a very 
thoughtful solution.
”
For example, like working 
with elements that are one-
quarter inch by 2 inches, Forta 
says, which isn’t uncommon 
in his line of work, which 
also includes keeping water 
out of windowsills or fitting 
door jambs into a wall. It’s 
completing and figuring out 
these little details, he explains, 
that make the job rewarding.

THE INS AND OUTS OF 
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
Since being hired at FSP during 
his junior year of college after 
working with the company as 
an architectural intern, Forta 
has steadily increased the types 
of projects he’s taking on.
“When you start an 
architectural job, you start 
doing much simpler things 
because school teaches you 
a very theoretical side of the 
profession,
” he explains, “and 
not so much the practical. 
Those are skills you’re intended 
to pick up as you become a 
professional.
”
It was a learning curve, but 
one that Forta enjoyed. He 
began his career by working 
on fencing for parking lots and 
simpler tasks that were more 

detail-oriented, understanding 
along the way exactly how 
everything comes together. 
“
As you pick up skills and 
as you learn these things, then 
you can start transitioning into 
bigger projects,
” he says.
FSP owner Jim Pappas says 
Forta is catching on quickly. “Eli 
is an outstanding 
employee and 
future architect,
” 
Pappas explains. 
“He has progressed 
further and faster 
than any intern in 
recent memory. He has shown 
the ability to handle projects 
to a level I would expect from 
someone with much more time 
and experience in this field.
”
A “sharp intellect” paired 
with a “real drive for the 
profession” is what helps Forta 
succeed, Pappas continues. 
“We look forward to working 
with him and being able to 
contribute to his professional 
development.
”

GIVING BACK THROUGH 
ACTIVIST ARCHITECTURE
For now, Forta is gaining 
experience in a wide variety of 

projects. With a busy summer 
season ahead at FSP
, he begins 
his day at 7 a.m. Throughout 
the week, he’ll work on 
anything from figuring out roof 
drainage to maintaining fire 
safety compliance. “There’s a 
decent amount of code work 
that has to happen,
” he explains 
of architectural design.
Yet, each scenario he handles, 
no matter how unique, boils 
right back down to the details 
that make the job interesting. 
“In the professional world, 
it’s something that has to be 
considered in every single job 
in every single scenario,
” Forta 
says of details.
Working at FSP is also 
rewarding to Forta, who 
has a history of community 
involvement and activism. He 
calls FSP a company that prides 
itself on activist architecture or 
using architecture to give back 
to those in need. One way they 
do so is by partnering with local 
nonprofit organizations to build 
housing for homeless or at-risk 
individuals. 
“You don’t get to see it that 
often,
” Forta says of activist 
architecture. “The fact that 
it’s right here in Michigan in 
Ferndale near where I grew 
up, that’s just something that 
really appeals to me, that they’re 
willing to help people.
”
The firm recently did work at 
both campuses of Jewish Senior 
Life.

FINDING A NEW 
PERSPECTIVE
Growing up in Oak Park, where 
he continues to live today, 
Forta never truly considered 
architecture until his father 
brought up the idea to him. 
It sounded promising, Forta 
explains, so he decided to 
pursue the field. Little did he 

Adding Quality
to Lives and 
Neighborhoods

Improving Metro Detroit’s community 
with smart architectural design.

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Eli 
Forta

Jim Pappas

business SPOTlight

brought to you in partnership with 
B I R M I N G H A M

 

continued on page 104

