Author: Alexander Luckmann

Samuel G. White, FAIA, LEED AP, has practiced architecture for more than 40 years, most recently as partner at PBDW Architects. His designs are distinguished by their ability to insert new, flexible spaces into sites with strong historical context. Projects such as Temple Israel of the  City of New York, the addition to Poly Prep Lower School, and the renovation of the Casa Italiana, home of the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America, stand out in his diverse portfolio of cultural, educational, and residential projects. Civic projects include the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center in Central Park. The great-grandson of Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White, Samuel White has also written a number of books about his ancestor, and for many years taught at New York University. Here, he talks about the New York cultural institutions he has worked with, the responsibility of architecture’s public face, and the importance of his written work.

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Ann Rolland, FAIA, LEED AP, is a principal at FXFOWLE and founding director of the firm’s Cultural/Educational Studio. She has worked extensively in the New York City area, with major projects including the long-term development of the Calhoun School and the Spence School, as well as the Hunter’s Point South Campus, housing three closely related schools. Continue reading “Featured Member: Ann Rolland, FAIA, LEED AP”

Over the course of her 40-year career, Mary Burke, FAIA, has led projects in architecture, interior design, and historic preservation on multiple continents and for a range of firms. She is currently the principal of her New York-based firm, Burke Design, and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Pratt Institute. She previously served as Director of Interiors at both CetraRuddy and Gruzen Samton, and for five years directed a previous incarnation of Burke Design in Singapore. She has held senior roles with other firms including HOK, Swanke Hayden Connell Architects, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, and Tihany Design. In addition to her professional and academic positions, Burke previously served as Vice President for Public Advocacy at AIA New York State, and has held various other roles in the local, regional and national AIA. Here, she reflects on her winding path through the world of architecture.

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Michael Nieminen, FAIA, is a partner at Kliment Halsband Architects, a New York City-based firm focusing primarily on educational, cultural, and civic projects. Over his 35 years at Kliment Halsband, including 20 as partner, he has led a range of projects in both primary and secondary education. Major projects include the adaptive reuse of the Sterling Divinity Quadrangle at Yale University, the master plan and renovation of the Spence School in Manhattan, and the renovation of Welch Hall at the Rockefeller University in Manhattan. Nieminen has established a reputation for executing programmatically innovative designs within demanding historical contexts. He also lectures widely on his work and strategies, and is co-chair of the AIA/CAE Sub-Committee for Higher Education. Here, he talks about the importance of adaptive reuse and why young architects should be involved with the AIA.  Continue reading “Featured Member: Michael Nieminen, FAIA”

Vanessa Keith, AIA, is founder and principal of StudioTEKA, a New York City-based interdisciplinary design practice whose work ranges from small-scale interiors to research projects on the impact of climate change on the built environment. Trained in international relations as well as in architecture, she brings a broad vision to her professional practice, allowing her to investigate the environmental, social, economic, and political impacts of architecture. StudioTEKA’s recent built projects include the renovation of marketing and plastic surgery offices in New York. Caribbean Highlands, a community and eco-resort in Costa Rica, is currently in the works. Keith and StudioTEKA also recently published 2100: A Dystopian Utopia, which imagines a world transformed by climate change. In addition to her practice, she has taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate studios at Columbia University, Pratt Institute, and the City University of New York. In this interview, she discusses the scales of her practice and why the AIA is important in fostering the New York architecture community. Continue reading “Featured Member: Vanessa Keith, AIA”

Jeffrey Dugan, AIA, is a principal at Dattner Architects who specializes in projects in the public realm. His interest in the everyday experiences of New Yorkers has resulted in projects ranging in scale from major infrastructure redesign to educational and housing projects. Notable recent projects include the Myrtle-Wickoff Station Complex, which reimagines a transit node as a community hub on the Brooklyn/Queens border. This pilot in the MTA’s Design for the Environment program exemplifies Dugan’s ability to bridge the gap between infrastructure and the communities it serves. Similarly to Myrtle-Wickoff, the firm’s New Settlement Community Campus uses a specific use—primary education—and expands the brief to open up certain school facilities to local residents, and to include a community center. Dugan combines his innovative architectural practice with music, and is the founder and owner of recording label GD Stereo. Here, he discusses how he sees New York developing and why he’s been playing more acoustic guitar lately. Continue reading “Featured Member: Jeffrey Dugan, AIA”

Andrea Steele, AIA, is a Partner in the New York office of TEN Arquitectos. A graduate of Lehigh University and Harvard Graduate School of Design, she was principal of Andrea Steele Architect before rejoining TEN Arquitectos, where she had previously worked, as a partner in 2006. She oversees TEN Arquitectos’s New York office, and leads most US projects, including a large number of public buildings. Much of her current work is in New York City, including a residential development on the East Harlem waterfront, a cultural center for Downtown Brooklyn, and a community center in Queens. Recently completed projects include the New York Public Library 53rd Street Branch, the civic role and place in her practice of which she describes here. Continue reading “Featured Member: Andrea Steele, AIA”

Gabrielle Brainard, AIA, is interested in both the technical and cultural aspects of architecture. A facade consultant at Heintges and Associates, she was previously a senior associate at SHoP Architects, where her projects included 111 West 57th Street and South Street Seaport’s Pier 17. She has long combined her professional practice with teaching, and is currently a Visiting Associate Professor at Pratt Institute, teaching technical graduate courses. She has been published in publications including SQM: The Quantified House (2015), ARCH+, and CLOG. She co-edited Perspecta 41: Grand Tour (2008). Here, she tells us why we need stronger technical teaching and how she has been making the AIA her own.

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Leonard Kady, AIA, is a leader in the world of small firms. The principal of Leonard Kady Architecture + Design in New York, his practice bridges the disciplines of architecture and historic preservation in an international range of residential, commercial, and retail projects. Before establishing his own firm, Kady worked on larger projects at KPF and Beyer Blinder Belle in New York. Continue reading “Featured Member: Leonard Kady, AIA”

Architect Koray Duman, AIA, LEED AP, believes that “architecture should be functional and unexpected, engaged and poetic, experimental and affordable,” according to his firm’s website. Originally from Turkey, Duman continued his studies in Los Angeles, where he worked for a number of years, before moving to New York, where he started Sayigh+Duman Architects (now Büro Koray Duman) in 2009. Now boasting a team of eight architects, the Manhattan-based practice has built a name for itself as a conceptually and formally inventive firm addressing a broad range of issues through built work and research. This year, Büro Koray Duman received Architizer’s Emerging Firm of the Year Award. In addition to his practice, Duman teaches at the New School and is co-chair of AIA New York’s New Practices Committee. Continue reading “Featured Member: Koray Duman, AIA, LEED AP”