Layla Vrabel, AIA

Principal, Studio Director

Where are you from?

I’m Jersey-born but was raised in Virginia and have Massachusetts family roots. (Our family has a lot of sport team conflicts!) I’m also half-Moroccan—my dad’s side of the family is in Morocco.

What would Spotify say is your most-played track?

It’d be something different every couple of months but currently it’s probably “Feel It Still” by Portugal. The Man.

Where is your favorite travel destination?

It’s a tie between Morocco and Thailand. I’ve been going to Morocco all my life, so I’m a little biased, but I went to Thailand for the first time two years ago and it was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime trip. I was fortunate to be able to spend an entire month there!

What’s the best thing about working at Mancini Duffy?

Getting to working with some of my best friends every day. We’ve built a little bit of a Syracuse alumni club at Mancini Duffy.

Where would we find you on the weekend?

Probably on a plane. I’m a bit of a travel bug—I blame my parents. They took me on my first overseas flight before I was two years old. Both of my parents work in the travel industry and actually met while traveling in Morocco, so travel is a big part of our family.

What’s the most unusual item in your desk drawer?

A spatula, from last year’s kickball league theme-week costumes. You can guess what the costume was! The kickball league we play in every spring denotes one week of the season each year as “theme week,” each team having to show up to the game in a costume of the given theme. The best part is watching everyone play the games in their costumes. Who doesn’t want to see Greek salad ingredients playing kickball?!

Layla's Featured Work