EDI chairman and principal Victor Mirontschuk briefly recounts his work in Africa

In 1991 EDI chairman and principal Victor Mirontschuk took an exotic gig in Angola, to improve the country’s infrastructure prior to a visit from Pope John Paul II. The country’s three bridges and numerous roads had been blown away, so the firm was tasked with rebuilding them. Since then, EDI has created numerous buildings in West Africa, but the experience was a little more than Mirontschuk bargained for. In addition to working during a volatile civil war, AN heard that the architect was shot at, nearly arrested for taking photos, had several of his buildings bombed, ended up on the receiving end of an AK-47, and dodged a mine field. “I didn’t even get hazard insurance,” he quipped, according to our sources.