Juliana Cestaro

I grew up in a city called Bauru in the central of Sao Paulo state in Brazil, surrounded by nature where over the weekends I used to spend time with my dad in a little farm outside the city. I was fortunate enough to have access to step on raw soil growing up, take care of plants, trees, animals, and be surrounded by fresh air. I saw my dad and mom work on building houses on their own, saw a wooden heritage house have a flowing stream of water running inside the home on a carved  trunk, where we could wash dishes and do laundry. It's a memory I'll never forget and I guess all of this made me make the decision to be involved with building and the envionment we live.

I graduated from a renowned university in Brazil in 2016 (UNESP) in Architecture and Urbanism, and right after, went to live in the Cayman Islands and work at my first architecture job there. I learned so much from my manager and principal at that time, and later went to work at a firm where I got to go on-site frequently and saw very closely how the steps and phases of building are incredible and complex. 

I decided then to expand my knowledge and went to Colorado, Denver, for a Master’s degree in Architecture in 2019. Another phase in life where I absorbed every knowledge I could, especially because building is so different from what I was used to in the Cayman Islands since Denver is a cold climate region and Cayman only has one season, summer. It was a marvelous time.

After graduating, I got back to the Cayman Islands where I could put in practice everything I learned, and eventually started to work independently, having my own projects to design and work with.

I am still passionate about gardening, plants, landscapes, and animals, especially birds and cats (they are a good combo after all! And don't worry, I have no caged birds! Just like to feed them), and of course, building and our surrounding environment. My professional journey has taken me to so many diverse locations, including the Cayman Islands, United States, and Canada, and for that,  I'll be forever thankfull to be involved with building the roofs we live in.