Researchers & Partners
Individuals
2009/10 Research Fellow, Rafael Vinoly Architects PC
Iftekhar is principal researcher on “Relief Efforts After the 2004 Tsunami (Indonesia)”
Iftekhar Ahmed has a doctorate from Oxford Brookes University and a Master of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has taught at the Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology and worked as consultant on building and disaster related projects for several international agencies including the United Nations Development Programme, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center and the European Commission Humanitarian Assistance Office.
Vice President, Rafael Viñoly Architects PC
Jay is the founder and guiding spirit of the research program. He maintains a close interest in all research projects and chairs the steering committee and the selection committee.
As vice president of Rafael Viñoly Architects, Jay has overseen programming, planning, design, and construction administration on all of the firm’s major projects for two decades. In addition to his expertise in managing large-scale projects, he is especially interested in the fusion of craftsmanship and innovative technology to solve specialized design problems. His recent research has focused on developing prototypes for flexible, modular casework systems, and he holds a patent for the lab bench system used by the Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Jay also lectures and participates regularly in conferences.
Jay has contributed his professional experience to the training program, chairs the research program steering committee, and works closely with fellows to solve technical and design problems.
2009/10 Research Fellow, Rafael Vinoly Architects PC
Marcel is principal researcher on “Housing in China, Exploring Steps Towards a Solution”
Marcel Baumler is an American educated professional planner based in Shanghai. Baumler has extensive international experience with the government and the private entities on planning, policymaking and analysis in Asia, America and Europe. Through the work in China in the past years, Baumler has had in-depth experience in the Chinese architecture field. He has published on French journal and his strategic research has been presented to the French and German governments. Mr. Baumler has a master’s degree of Urban Planning from New York University.
Technical Director, Rafael Viñoly Architects PC
One of the research program’s original committee members, Charles serves on the selection committee and shares his expertise with researchers. He has worked particularly closely with Mike Silver, the firm’s 2006-07 Research Fellow, to develop a prototype of a long-span carbon-fiber truss.
As the firm’s director of technology, Charles has led the development of many innovative structural and enclosure systems, including the use of structural glass, moveable architectural elements such as rotating louvers, and highly transparent cable-stayed curtain walls. The breadth of his experience has been enriched by time spent working abroad, including years at the site offices of the Tokyo International Forum in Japan and the Samsung Jong-ro Tower in Seoul, South Korea. Before joining Rafael Viñoly Architects, Charles was a Fulbright Scholar in residence at the Museum of Finnish Architecture in Helsinki. He serves on both the research and training program steering committees, and, this fall, he will be extending his habitual roles as mentor and problem-solver to a more formal classroom setting. Charles assisted Mike Silver’s research on composite materials with his extensive experience of structures and materials.
2009/10 Research Fellow, Rafael Vinoly Architects PC
Richard is principal researcher on “The Transformation of Squatter Settlements into Urban Neighborhoods (Mexico)”
Richard De Pirro is an Architect and Urban Designer from the Rhode Island School of Design and received a Masters in Urban Design at Harvard University, Graduate School of Design in Cambridge, MA. He has coordinated housing and development projects in several cities in Mexico. He has been a lecturer at the Iberoamerican University in Mexico and the University of Miami. Co-founder of DGL,s.c., De Pirro and Garcia Lascurain Architects, an urban design consultancy firm located in Mexico City since 1993. He is Professor of Urban Design at UNAM and Co-founder of the Mexican Institute of Urbanism, A.C. in Mexico City.
2009/10 Research Fellow, Rafael Vinoly Architects PC
Guochuan is principal researcher on “Housing in China, Exploring Steps Towards a Solution”
Guochuan Feng is the vice chief architect in a Shenzhen based firm. His decade’s practice bears the witness of the urban and architecture evolution in China. Since 1997, he has been contributing his critical thoughts through his design, writing and lecturing. He has published in many Chinese architecture journals and exhibited across the country and in UK. Mr. Feng holds a bachelor degree of Urban Planning and a master’s degree in architecture.
2009/10 Research Fellow, Rafael Vinoly Architects PC
Mayra is principal researcher on “The Transformation of Squatter Settlements into Urban Neighborhoods (Mexico)”
Mayra Gamboa is an Urban Planner from UNAM and has a Masters in Urban Planning from the University of California, Los Angeles. She has been a consultant of the UN-Habitat office in Mexico and the National Science Foundation for urban indicators and housing market research projects. She worked at the Federal Secretary of Social Development and the Secretary of Urban Development of Mexico City in an urban poverty relief program and developing urban regulations. She works at DGL, s.c. since 2006 and is Co-founder of the Mexican Institute of Urbanism, A.C. in Mexico City.
2009/10 Research Fellow, Rafael Vinoly Architects PC
Ana is researcher on “The Transformation of Squatter Settlements into Urban Neighborhoods (Mexico)”
Ana Rita Garcia Lascurain is an Architect form the Iberoamerican University in Mexico and has a Masters in Real Estate Development from the Technological Autonomous Institute of Mexico and the Politechnical University of Madrid. She has worked for the National Institute of Anthropology and History. Co-founder of DGL,s.c. De Pirro and Garcia Lascurain Architects, a consultant firm in Architecture and Urban Design in Mexico City.
2005-06 Research Fellow, Rafael Viñoly Architects PC
Building Technologies Project Manager, Federation of American Scientists
As Research Fellow for 2005-06, Joe brought an engineering background to the analysis of the thermal properties of green roofs and developing new systems for improving and simplifying their construction.
As 2005-06 Research Fellow at Rafael Viñoly Architects, Joe investigated new ways of integrating green roofs into the construction of buildings. Through sophisticated heat transfer analysis, innovative new uses of industrial materials, and partnerships with biologists, climate scientists, landscape architects, and the designers at the firm, he developed a system that promises to provide superior performance, facilitate installation and maintenance, and reduce structural loads. Rafael Viñoly Architects is currently leading an effort to build a demonstration project, based on Joe’s work, on the roof of a New York City public school.
Before coming to Rafael Viñoly Architects, Joe won Metropolis magazine’s Next Generation Design Prize in 2005 for “Biopavers,” a manufacturing strategy to incorporate bioremediating plantings within concrete pavers. In 2006, with a degree in architecture, he earned a second degree in civil engineering at Columbia University. Joe now works for the Federation of American Scientists in Washington, where he continues his research as project manager for building technologies. His current interests include addressing environmental and energy injustice in affordable housing and developing advanced, energy-efficient wall systems.
Project Manager, Rafael Viñoly Architects PC
Martin previously served on the selection committee and is now contributing his insights as a member of the research program steering committee for 2008-09.
Martin joined Rafael Viñoly Architects in 2002, after six years of professional experience throughout the United Kingdom and Europe. He has worked on laboratories, public buildings, transportation projects, and residential developments, with particular expertise in complicated multi-phase projects. He has overseen two-phase medical and research facilities for the National Institutes of Health and the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Martin has served on the RVATR application review panel in the past, and he is currently a member of the steering committee for the 2008 research program.
Director, Architectural Training and Research Programs, Rafael Viñoly Architects PC
Principal, Kaufman Conservation
One of the research program’s founders, Ned oversees its operation. He manages the applicant selection process, supports researchers, and organizes publications and exhibits. He is currently directing the campaign to turn Joe Hagerman’s research on green roofs into a 20,000-square-foot demonstration project on a public school in the Bronx.
Ned Kaufman helped launch the Rafael Viñoly Architects Training and Research Programs in 2005 and continues to direct them. He earned a Ph.D. in architectural history from Yale University and, when not working for Rafael Viñoly Architects, runs his own consulting practice, Kaufman Conservation, focusing on preservation planning, historical and policy research, and interpretive programming. Previously he served as director of historic preservation for the Municipal Art Society of New York, helping to save the African Burial Ground and the hospital buildings of Ellis Island. He also founded and co-directed Place Matters, a non-profit program dedicated to celebrating and protecting places of community significance. In his spare time, Ned teaches at Pratt Institute and Cornell University. The National Park Service is publishing his study of Sagamore Hill, while his book Place, Race, and Story: Essays on the Past and Future of Historic Preservation will be published by Routledge in 2008.
Director of Engineering, Front, Inc.
Phil contributed his expertise with structures as a consultant on Mike Silver’s 2006-07 research project, the development of a prototype long-span structure made of carbon fiber.
Phil leads the engineering team involved in the analysis of innovative structures at Front, Inc., a New York City-based consultancy in architecture, engineering, and façade design. After earning a Bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Manchester, he carried out work for the government of Nepal, researching and designing a number of long-span trail suspension bridges used by local residents to transport yaks across deep Himalayan gorges. While working for Dewhurst Macfarlane and Partners in New York, Phil has collaborated regularly with Rafael Viñoly Architects on projects like the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Most recently, he served as consulting engineer on Michael Silver’s research, undertaken as 2006-07 research fellow, on long-span composite structures.
Project Director, Rafael Viñoly Architects PC
Andrea is a member of the steering committee for the research program and is responsible for coordinating its activities with the training program and other firm initiatives.
During her ten-year career with Rafael Viñoly Architects, Andrea Lamberti has developed wide expertise in building projects, master plans, and design competitions. She is currently the project director for Phase II construction of the Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and oversees new business development and publications for the firm. Andrea chairs the training program steering committee, is a regular participant in the classroom, and sits on the research program steering committee.
After earning a Bachelor of Science in Arts and Design from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, followed by a Master of Architecture degree from Harvard University, Andrea received a Starr Fellowship for work and study in Japan from 1991-1993. In 2007 she was named one of Building Design+Construction magazine’s “40 Under 40.”
Vice President, Automated Dynamics (Schenectady, NY)
Rob contributed not only his own expertise in designing and creating high-performance parts out of composite fiber materials, but also the manufacturing capacities of Schenectady-based Automated Dynamics, to support Mike Silver’s 2006-07 research into architectural applications of carbon fiber and other composite materials.
Robert Langone is vice president of Automated Dynamics, a Schenectady, New York-based automation company that manufactures high-performance composites and processing equipment for aeronautical, automotive, medical, defense, energy, and architectural applications. Rob and Automated Dynamics worked in partnership with Rafael Viñoly Architects to support 2006-07 research fellow Michael Silver in his effort to develop cost-effective, next-generation methods of using composite fiber materials in architecture. Rob is a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and of Union College and has been with Automated Dynamics for nearly two decades, first as a technician, then as vice president of the company’s manufacturing division.
Project Director, Rafael Viñoly Architects PC
One of the original members of the research program steering committee, Chan-li serves on the selection committee and shares his expertise with researchers both informally and through regular project reviews.
A registered architect with more than fifteen years of professional experience, Chan-li Lin has extensive design and management skills cultivated from wide-ranging project experiences, including four years in Japan overseeing construction of the Tokyo International Forum. His work includes university laboratories, convention centers, conference facilities, residences, performing arts facilities, and a university stadium. He lectures often at professional conferences and universities. He has a Bachelor of Science in Art and Design and a Master of Architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chan-li is a regular contributor to the training program and is a member of both the training and research program steering committees.
2009/10 Research Fellow, Rafael Vinoly Architects PC
David is principal researcher on “Relief Efforts After the 2004 Tsunami (Indonesia)”
David O’Brien is a design and construction lecturer at the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne. He has worked as an architect in Australia and South-East Asia and has extensive experience investigating rural housing. He has assisted NGO groups addressing housing needs and advised on policy, design and technical issues.
David Rolland, AIA, JIA, NCARB, LEED AP
Project Director, Rafael Viñoly Architects PC
David is a member of the steering committee for the research program.
David has a wide variety of design experience across the United States, South America, China, and Africa. He has overseen numerous cultural and civic projects, including sustainable buildings such as the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (the first LEED Gold convention center in the United States), and the Brooklyn Children’s Museum in New York City. He has also worked on intensive research facilities for Bard College and the Pennsylvania State University. He sits on the research program steering committee.
Project Director, Rafael Viñoly Architects PC
Josh is a member of the research program steering committee.
Joining Rafael Viñoly Architects in 2001, Josh has particular expertise in designing research and medical facilities and has worked with the firm’s technical group to oversee the implementation of three-dimensional modeling as part of design and documentation. He sits on the research program steering committee.
2007 Research Fellow, Rafael Viñoly Architects
Principal, Mike Silver Architects
Assistant Professor and Director of Technology Transfer, Cornell University, College of Architecture, Art & Planning
As Rafael Viñoly Architects’ Research Fellow for 2006-07, Mike explored the technical and aesthetic potential of composite fiber materials and, working with architects and engineers at the firm and in partnership with Automated Dynamics, developed a prototype of a long-span composite truss.
As 2006-07 Research Fellow at Rafael Viñoly Architects, Michael Silver focused on transferring what avionics and high-tech industrial manufacturers have learned about composite fiber materials to architecture. Combining great strength with remarkable lightness, carbon fiber and other composite materials have already made significant contributions to the design of yachts, bicycles, and aircraft. In collaboration with the firm’s designers and engineers and with Automated Dynamics, a leading composite manufacturer in Schenectady, New York, his research focused on the design of a long-span structural element that could simultaneously cover and illuminate a very large atrium.
Mike is also founder and principal of Mike Silver Architects, a multidisciplinary design firm based in Brooklyn, New York, and the author of Pamphlet Architecture 19: Reading Drawing Building and Programming Cultures: Architecture, Art and Science in the Age of Software Development. Since starting his work at Rafael Viñoly Architects, he has been appointed assistant professor of architecture and director of technology transfer at Cornell University.
Structural Engineer, Rafael Viñoly Architects PC
Carlos provided invaluable expertise and guidance to Mike Silver throughout the development of the long-span composite truss that was the focus of his 2006-07 research project.
Carlos Maria Soubié has been practicing structural engineering for more than 50 years in Argentina and the United States, joining Rafael Viñoly Architects in 2000 as the firm’s in-house engineering expert. Since then, he has developed the structural systems of nearly all of the firm’s projects.
Carlos earned his Master of Engineering degree from the University of Buenos Aires in 1953. He has taught at several universities in Buenos Aires and, in 1975, founded Soubié, Fernandez & Associates, where he designed, supervised, and built highly complex projects from residential high-rises to convention centers. His work also included museums, hospitals, convention centers, sports complexes, commercial and industrial facilities, airports, water treatment plants, and over a hundred designs for bridges built in Argentina under a development plan implemented by the World Bank.
Carlos was a principal participant with Mike Silver in the funded research project for 2006-07, which focused on the design and fabrication of long-span structures using computer-automated fiber placement. He also sits on the training program steering committee.
2009/10 Research Fellow, Rafael Vinoly Architects PC
Nicolas is principal researcher on “A Critique of the Performance of Large-Scale Urban Projects in Bogotá, Colombia”
Nicolas Tixier is an architect and has a doctorate in engineering (2001). He teaches at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture in Grenoble, France, and is a researcher at the National Sound Space and Urban Environment Research Center, also known as the Cresson Laboratory, where his work mainly concerns architectural and urban ambiances. He also works on projects with the collaborative group BazarUrbain, which was honored in 2007 by the Palmarés des Junes Urbanistes. Since 2003 he has been in charge of the scientific program of the Bureau of Architectural, Urban, and Landscape Research of the French Ministry of Culture and Communication.
Project Director, Rafael Viñoly Architects PC
Fred is a member of the research program steering committee.
A registered architect with over 22 years of professional experience, Fred joined Rafael Viñoly Architects in 1995. He has wide experience in directing projects for government and civic clients with extensive security requirements: as the project director of the 775,000-square-foot Bronx County Hall of Justice, he directed a vulnerability analysis for the building and designed the blast-resistant glass curtain wall. As a result of this and other projects, he is a frequent speaker on security design. He also received a New York State Energy Research and Development Authority grant for the Bronx County Hall of Justice. Fred sits on the research program steering committee.
2009/10 Research Fellow, Rafael Vinoly Architects PC
Juan is researcher on “The Transformation of Squatter Settlements into Urban Neighborhoods (Mexico)”
Juan Carlos Zavala is an Architect from the Iberoamerican University, Mexico City. He worked for Gicsa, one of Mexico's leading Real Estate Development Company, coordinating different projects in the US. He is Professor of 3D modeling in Urban Design at UNAM in Mexico. He works at DGL, s.c. since 1997, a consultant firm in Architecture and Urban Design in Mexico City.
2009/10 Research Fellow, Rafael Vinoly Architects PC
Hai is principal researcher on “Housing in China, Exploring Steps Towards a Solution”
Hai Zhang was educated in both China and the US. He practices architecture and photography. He has extensively worked with various prestigious architectural firms in the both countries. In photography, Hai Zhang has been consistently and closely observing and examining humanity, whether focusing on an intimate personal subject or taking wider concerns of society. His photographic works have been exhibited in Whitney Museum of American Art, Kansas State University, Asian American Art Center in New York and other galleries and institutional venues in New York City, Washington, DC, and China, as well as his writings and photo essays have appeared on the professional journals, magazines and newspapers. Currently, Hai Zhang resides in New York City.
Institutional Partners
A manufacturing firm with special expertise in the design and production of advanced composites, Automated Dynamics provided technical expertise as well as materials and machinery to support the research on long-span composite structures undertaken by Mike Silver as 2006-07 Research Fellow.
This Bronx-based non-profit is a leader in the movement towards environmental restoration and the integration of human communities in natural systems. The Gaia Institute is a partner in the Stevenson Green Roof project.
A leading fabricator of architectural metal, Milgo/Bufkin worked with Rafael Viñoly Architects and 2006-07 Research Fellow Mike Silver to design and fabricate a mandrel for a prototype long-span composite truss.
New Visions for Public Schools
A leading advocate for New York City school reform, New Visions is a partner in the Stevenson Green Roof project.
This leading manufacturer worked with 2005-06 Research Fellow Joe Hagerman to understand the potential of Foamglas as an insulator in green roofs and is a partner and supporter of the Stevenson Green Roof project.
The Salvadori Center supports the work of New York City public schools by offering project-based learning focused on the built environment. It is a partner in the Stevenson Green Roof project.
Established in 1988, this public agency manages the construction of public schools in New York City as well as all capital projects in the city’s existing inventory of more than 1,200 schools. The School Construction Authority is working with Rafael Viñoly Architects and its partners to design and realize construction of the Stevenson Green Roof project.
Located in the Soundview section of the South Bronx, the seven public schools of the Stevenson Campus share the building once entirely occupied by Adlai E. Stevenson High School. The Stevenson Schools are partners and clients of the Stevenson Green Roof project.
This national roofer is a partner and supporter of the Stevenson Green Roof project.
