Macrae-Gibson Architects

Profile of Macrae-Gibson Architects

Business Name

Macrae-Gibson Architects

Location

United States

Services

Architecture

Website

http://www.m-ga.com

Gavin Macrae-Gibson

Principal(s)

Gavin Macrae-Gibson (born 1955)

• Master of Arts, Cambridge University, 1977
• Master of Architecture, Yale University, 1979

Philosophy

Macrae-Gibson Architects specializes in urban architecture and its components. Since its founding in 1982, the firm's intelligent and stylish projects have become embedded in the texture of Manhattan, strengthening the architectural quality of the city. The firm designs both new construction and renovations for residential, institutional and commercial clients.

Residential

The firm's residential scope ranges from the transformation of raw downtown lofts, to renovations of New York's classic modern and historic apartment buildings and townhouses to restorations of, additions to and construction of the vacation homes to which New York escapes. The firm's attention to the architectural demands of each project results in high quality, supremely livable spaces that reveal a discerning respect for the building's history and setting, and for the personality of the inhabitants.

Institutional

Macrae-Gibson Architects has worked for some of the foremost institutional clients in New York. Among these are the New York Public Library, for whom the firm has completed the full rehabilitation of the historic Ottendorfer Library; Lenox Hill Hospital, for whom the firm is designing the Heart and Vascular Institute, a new building that incorporates six historic townhouse facades, and the New York City School Construction Authority, for whom the firm has designed some 25 projects, including the $10m renovation of Truman High School. From schools to libraries, Macrae-Gibson Architects brings its sensitive attention to the creation of memorable urban infrastructure.

Commercial

The firm has completed many projects for notable companies including new buildings, interiors and public spaces. Among the firm's clients are: Hartz Mountain Industries, for whom the firm designed the public spaces of Blue Cross Blue/Shield of New Jersey as well as those of New Jersey Transit; Metropolitan Life; New York Life; York/Hunter Construction and Kaufman Management, for whom the firm has recently designed a new 14 story office tower near Pennsylvania Station. The firm's commercial work not only expresses the structure of a company in outstandingly effective spaces, but finds imaginative ways to adroitly convey corporate imagery.

The ten-person practice is led by principal Gavin Macrae-Gibson. He is the author of The Secret Life of Buildings, an American Mythology for Modern Architecture (MIT Press), as well as numerous articles in American and International Magazines. He has taught extensively at the Yale School of Architecture, as well as Columbia University and the University of Miami, and has lectured widely throughout the United States and Canada.

Background

• Founded: 1995
• Offices: 1
• Design team: 10

Key projects

• The Garden House, Brooklyn, NY 1985-7
• Blue Cross/Blue Shield of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 1989-91
• Treyz Residence, Chappaqua, NY 1993-4
• 450 7th Avenue, New York, NY 1998-99
• The Ottendorfer Library, New York, NY 2001-2
• Maison Des Ecorces, Quebec, Canada 2002-4
• Ibero Loft, New York, NY 2003
• Lenox Hill Hospital Heart and Vascular Clinic, New York, NY 2003-4
• Museum of Urban Transformation, New York, NY 2005
• PS 70, Bronx, NY 2007

Key publications

• The Secret Life of Buildings, MIT Press, 1985
• The Continuity of the Modern, Perspecta, 1984
• Gavin Macrae-Gibson, Archiworld, April 2004
• New York World Trade Center Competition, Archiworld, 2004
• Magnificent Possessions, Robb Report, Fall 2004
• Modern By Design, New York Spaces, April 2006
• Gavin Macrae-Gibson: Modern Innovation Informs Canadian Tradition, Architectural Digest, September 2006
• Top 30 Architects, Robb Report Luxury Home, Summer 2007

Key awards

• 2007, Chicago Athenaeum, International Architecture Award, Chicago, USA
• 2007, American Institute of Architects New York State, Citation, Albany, USA
• 2007, Society of American Registered Architects, Design Award, New York, USA
• 2005, New York Council Society of American Registered Architects, Award of Excellence, Cooperstown, USA
• 2005, California Council Society of American Registered Architects, Award of Merit, Pasadena, USA
• 2005, Chicago Athenaeum, American Architecture Award, Chicago, USA
• 2005, California Council Society of American Registered Architects, Award of Excellence, Pasadena, USA
• 2005, New York Council Society of American Registered Architects, Design Award of Honor, Cooperstown, USA
• 2004, Chicago Athenaeum, American Architecture Award, Chicago, USA
• 2002, American School and University, Design Excellence Award, New York, USA