NYCxDesign 2019: Meet the Local Architects and Designers Shaping NYC

Elizabeth Diller, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, co-founder and partner
Elizabeth Diller of New York–based firm Diller Scofido + Renfro is one of the most sought-after architects for cultural projects, leading designs for prestigious institutions like the Broad in Los Angeles and the ongoing expansion of New York City’s MoMA. Her ingenuity is on display at the Shed, the arts and culture venue that opened this spring at Hudson Yards. Responding to the unpredictable future of the arts, Diller took a novel approach. “All that we could be certain of was that there would always be a need for conditioned space of different heights and sizes, a need for structural loading capacity, and a need for electrical power,” she says. “The solution was an architecture of infrastructure.” It took the form of a plastic-sheathed exoskeleton on wheels, which enables the Shed to contract and expand as needed. Between this venue and the new MoMA, Diller’s bold structures will ensure that Midtown retains its status as a cultural hub for years to come.

Diller Scofidio + Renfro 601 W. 26th St. btw. 11th & 12th Aves.

Mark Gardner, Jaklitsch / Gardner Architects, principal
Mark Gardner believes that architecture and equity are inextricably linked. “We have to be aware of the power we have as architects,” he states, saying design “can be used as a tool, like any good thing in our society, to oppress people. And so we have to be aware of the power that we have as architects. We have to try to make room at the table for everyone.” This thinking informs his work with Jaklitsch / Gardner Architects, where he has been a principal alongside Stephan Jaklitsch since 2010, as well as his teaching at Parsons and his advocacy work with Van Alen Institute. Whether designing a showroom, a home, or a center for beekeepers in rural Tanzania, the firm prioritizes a human-centered approach—one that has garnered nine American Institute of Architecture awards, including a National Honor Award for the Marc by Marc Jacobs showroom in New York.

Jaklitsch / Gardner Architects 115 W. 27th St. btw. 6th & 7th Aves.

Arielle Assouline-Lichten, Slash Objects, founder
Arielle Assouline-Lichten, the architect and designer behind Slash Projects, is the recipient of this year’s American Design Honors, a WantedDesign awards program. Her Greenpoint, Brooklyn–based studio is within walking distance of several marble and metal fabricators, a proximity she says influences the unexpected combinations (recycled rubber gym flooring, brass, marble) employed by her product offshoot, Slash Objects. The studio has gained recognition for its line of tabletop objects such as coasters, mouse pads, and mirrors, as well as its Coexist Collection of furniture. The Coexist Daybed, which riffs on the chaise longue, debuts during WantedDesign Manhattan. “When people experience my work they come over and they want to touch it immediately. They want to pet it and think about how it was put together,” says Assouline-Lichten. “To me that’s the success of the piece.”

Slash Objects 67 West St. at Noble St., Brooklyn

Jan Wilker, karlssonwilker, cofounder and creative director
Jan Wilker is the German half of German-Icelandic graphic design duo karlssonwilker, serving as the firm’s creative director. Together with Hjalti Karlsson, Wilker has been producing eye-catching and playful graphic design campaigns for a diversity of clients— including MINI and the Museum of the Moving Image—since 2000. In 2016, the Manhattan building that housed their studio was sold for development, so they decamped to Ridgewood, Queens, finding a new home in a former knitting factory with a south-facing garden and storefront. “Moving out here is one of the best things we’ve done with our office,” says Wilker, who talks enthusiastically about the opportunities the new space presents. Wilker and Karlsson plan to open a small design shop in the building this spring, creating a platform to share work by the studio and its friends.

karlssonwilker 682 Woodward Ave. btw. Gates Ave. & Palmetto St., Queens

Masamichi Udagawa and Sigi Moeslinger, Antenna Design, cofounders
Every day, millions of New Yorkers interact with and depend upon objects and systems without knowing or thinking about who designed them. Some, like MetroCard vending machines and LinkNYC kiosks, which have popped up to replace pay phones, were designed by Masamichi Udagawa and Sigi Moeslinger, known as Antenna Design. The studio has designed three new fleets of subway cars for New York City as well as workplace products for Bloomberg and Knoll. “Each design is a reflection of the people and the environment, so it is important to take an anthropological approach,” says Udagawa, who founded the studio with Moeslinger in 1997. He is inspired by Chelsea, where Antenna Design has been based since 2012. “Having the galleries around is definitely a plus,” he muses. “Sometimes when we need a change of mind, we drop in at a few galleries in the afternoon and come back to work with a refreshed mind.”

Antenna Design 520 W. 27th St. btw. 10th & 11th Aves.

Susan Chin, Design Trust for Public Space, executive director
“Distinctive design and public art pique people’s curiosity about their city and elevate their spirit and civic pride.” So believes Susan Chin, the executive director of the Design Trust for Public Space, an organization that works with city agencies and the community to advance the role of public spaces. The architect, advocate, and former assistant commissioner at the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs sees her current role as an opportunity, one that can connect New Yorkers with their city and empower them to stand up for the public spaces they want. “We help local leaders employ creative problem-solving, design, and negotiation skills in order to help them be better advocates for funding, project priorities, and content,” explains Chin. With an office in Lower Manhattan’s 19th-century street grid, the Design Trust is close to the nexus of city government, including City Hall.

Design Trust for Public Space 40 Worth St. btw. Church St. & West Broadway