We're excited to announce that our Club Row project at John Jay College of Criminal Justice has completed construction! This renovation created a dedicated space for student groups and clubs on the College's campus in midtown Manhattan. Its open club meeting area, pictured below, will be a lively hub for students to gather, hold informal meetings, and work independently. The custom meeting booths were designed by SGS to provide comfort and functionality without compromising access to natural light or isolating students.

The design also features a multipurpose room with movable partitions to provide programmatic flexibility, administrative offices, specialized club rooms, and a campus store. Its bold and welcoming color and material palette creates a consistent, comfortable atmosphere throughout the full suite.

Alexander Severin Architectural Photography

 for capturing these beautiful photos. Please check out the 

 to see the full set of images and to read about Club Row. We're excited to share more about this project in the coming months!

John Jay Club Row

Club Row completes construction!

Construction is wrapping up at Avenue A, and 

New York YIMBY featured the project's progress

, highlighting its distinctive, detailed brick facade, which is already adding character to its busy block in the East Village. This building is one half of 

 that includes another site around the corner on East 12th Street, which was occupied earlier this year. Avenue A's ten units will be inhabited by the sites' original residents through the Affordable Neighborhood Cooperative Program (ANCP). We're excited to share more about Avenue A in the near future–stay tuned!

East Village

Construction update on East Village Avenue A from New York YIMBY

Three projects by Shakespeare Gordon Studio are featured in the 

, now on view until April 5, 2025. This exhibition showcases architectural work generated by architects in all five boroughs over the past 20 years.

Our contributions to the show demonstrate the diversity of work that SGS has undertaken over the firm's history, across different scales and typologies. You can find 

, our landmark affordable housing project that created hundreds of new units for low-income seniors, as well as our highly technical renovation of a 

, which transformed part of a historic McKim, Mead & White building. There's also 

, which represents our longstanding engagement with the rowhouses that characterize many neighborhoods in our home borough of Brooklyn.

Be sure to check out Built by New York over the coming months! The gallery is arranged alphabetically, so you'll find our work in the "C", "S" and "T" sections. We're excited to see our projects in conversation with the work of so many other designers and proud to be part of New York City's innovative, diverse architectural community. Together, we are envisioning and building a better city for all its residents.

Columbia University Chemistry Lab

10th Street House

Tres Puentes

SGS projects in Built by New York at the Center for Architecture

...and a slightly different address! You can now find us at 168 7th Street, Suite 3A, Brooklyn, NY 11215 – same building, same floor, just a different suite.

Last week, SGS moved into a larger office that will be the new home of our growing studio. We're really grateful to everyone who has worked on transforming our new space and look forward to sharing more about this project later this fall. Our design team has created a bright, comfortable space that will support SGS's staff and architectural work for years to come. We can't wait to welcome visitors!

SGS has a new home...

 has topped out! This 105-unit building will provide affordable, senior housing in the Highbridge neighborhood of the Bronx, and we’re happy to celebrate this important milestone for the project. Check out these site photos taken over the past several weeks, featuring the 8th floor steel frames and panoramic views of the city skyline. 

Our team is still hard at work at our office, selecting final finishes for the project and working closely with our partners at the 

West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing

Fischer Senior Apartments

Fischer Senior Apartments tops out

Shakespeare Gordon Studio's Ditmas House was 

 magazine, offering a window into this vibrant and playful residential renovation. We loved this article's exploration of the use of color in the project, a hallmark of SGS's award-winning design sensibility. 

"While the entire home is well balanced and suited for a creative design duo, the attention paid to the primary attic suite is particularly unique. With spaces that take advantage of the unique slope of the pitched roof, there's a coziness and undeniable character in every niche."

Thank you to Emily Conklin for the words, and to David Gilbert and 

 for the beautiful photos of Ditmas House, more of which can be seen on its 

Ditmas House

Ditmas House featured by AN Interior

We are pleased to introduce Shakespeare Gordon Studio, the next chapter of our architecture practice.

We have a new look and a new website, but we aren’t a new firm. Instead, see this announcement as a renewal – of our commitment to our clients, to our staff, to our design community, and to our city. The core values and architectural sensibilities that have always guided our work remain central to our practice. And what hasn’t changed is our commitment to providing design excellence and exceptional service to our clients, and to strengthening the built environment of our city through uplifting, inspired architecture.

We hope that our new name emphasizes the continued contributions of the talented studio of architects and designers that we lead, and we recently 

. We’re also growing, with three new designers joining us in the first half of 2024. Their energy and talent make us even more excited for what the future holds.

We invite you to look around our new website – we think it’s excellent. This transition inspired us to update our graphics to better reflect the identity of our firm and to showcase our projects. Thank you to 

 for lending us their graphic design and web development expertise.

Introducing Shakespeare Gordon Studio

We’re happy to announce that Ashima Chitre and Ana Sucena (formerly Associates) have been made Senior Associates. These titles reflect Ashima and Ana’s years of dedicated commitment, generous leadership,and design expertise. Two of the firm’s longest team members, they are an integral part of SGS, leading many of our most highly awarded projects and mentoring junior staff. And while Sean Kennedy’s title as Director of Construction Administration isn’t changing, we’d in the same way like to recognize his role at SGS as an essential leader, both in the field and in our office. We are privileged to have Ashima, Ana and Sean’s continued support as we enter this new chapter in the firm’s history. Congratulations to Ashima, Ana and Sean!

Ashima Chitre and Ana Sucena made Senior Associates, Sean Kennedy recognized as Director of Construction Administration

We’re pleased to announce that Jae Choi and MỹDung Nguyễn have been made Associates! These new titles recognize their years of exceptional design work and project leadership at our firm. Both Jae and MỹDung joined our staff in 2018 and have played major roles in some of our most complex and innovative projects. From intricate space planning at educational institutions, to dynamic and transformative affordable housing projects, they do it all. Their enthusiasm, rigor, and care for their work inspires our entire office. We are excited to honor their immense contributions to the firm with these promotions. Congratulations to MỹDung and Jae!

Jae Choi and MỹDung Nguyễn made Associates

SGS enjoyed welcoming two NYC high school students to our office this week as part of the Center for Architecture Discover Architecture program. Kaylee and Ella visited construction sites for our institutional and residential projects, interviewed young architects on our staff about their experiences in the field, researched an exciting design opportunity in Puerto Rico, and more. We wish them the best for their spring semester and future architectural endeavors. Thank you for being with us this week!

SGS hosts high school students through AIANY's Discover Architecture Program

Amy and Mark's playful renovation of their family's home in Ditmas Park was recently featured by a range of design publications, including 

. Their thoughtful yet unexpected design choices established a compelling new visual language in a historic home through material and color. Transforming the dark, cramped attic into a light-filled primary suite set a striking template for reimagining the conventional turn-of-the-century layout and informed design updates throughout the home, including in the kitchen on the first floor.

Ditmas House in the Press

As of the beginning of this year, Nicole Vlado Torres has stepped down from her position of Principal as she shifts her focus towards policy and advocacy in affordable housing, an evolution of her important work at SGVA. We are grateful for Nicole’s years of dedication and immense contributions to our firm, and we look forward to celebrating her future pursuits. We are pleased that Nicole will continue to be a valued collaborator with us going forward.

At the same time, we are also excited to announce the next chapter of our firm as Shakespeare Gordon Studio. What hasn’t changed is our commitment to providing design excellence and exceptional service to our clients, and to strengthening the built environment of our city through uplifting, inspired architecture.

We're starting 2024 with some big changes...

Archinect News recently published a feature on the Garnet, highlighting how the building’s design elements — its bold and dynamic facade, “contemporary, timber-detailed interior,” and internal connection to the outdoors — serve the project’s mission to create “housing that feels expansive and liberating, rather than constrained by its affordability.” Read the article 

The Garnet

The Garnet on Archinect News

The Garnet, our 103-unit affordable housing building in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, was recently featured in 

For our French readers, Paris-based muuuz magazine also published 

 on the project, and the New York Housing Conference 

Check out The Garnet project page for more information and photos of the building.

The Garnet in the Press

We competed for the first time in the yearly Pumpkitecture pumpkin carving competition at the Center for Architecture, as part of AIANY's Archtober. Our design was inspired by the Ninth Street Bridge/Culver Viaduct near our office in Brooklyn, which carries the G and F trains over the Gowanus Canal. We carved subway cars out of mini cucumbers and used our pumpkin's guts to represent the canal water below, and we also included the historic Kentile Floors sign that was once a neighborhood landmark. Thank you to our carving team and to the Center for Architecture for hosting us! We enjoyed seeing the creativity of fellow architecture firms at work, and we look forward to participating again in the future. 

SGVA participates in AIANY's Pumpkitecture

On September 12, SGVA celebrated the groundbreaking of Fischer Senior Apartments, which will provide affordable and supportive housing for seniors in the Highbridge neighborhood of the Bronx, with the West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing (WSFSSH) and Procida Construction. We began work on this project after NYC HPD selected our proposal for this city-owned site in 2019.

The Bronx Times published a feature as well, highlighting the building’s capacity “to meet seniors where they are” and the innovative “cluster care” design that will be piloted on two of its floors. 

The Housing Finance Magazine also wrote about the project in 

 and noted the design’s ability to “engage the sidewalk and enhance the pedestrian experience” in addition to providing high-quality housing within.

Fischer Senior Apartments Groundbreaking in the Press

 at the research labs that we designed for Columbia University!

Columbia University Physics Lab

Columbia University Biochemistry Lab

Columbia University Research Labs on Archinect News

Tres Puentes was recently featured as World Architects' 

Tres Puentes on World Architects

Tres Puentes was recognized with an Award of Merit at this year’s SARA National Design Awards ceremony.

 is a wellness-focused, two-building, 174-unit affordable housing development for seniors which includes a senior center, clinic and pharmacy and is connected by gardens to the recently renovated 

 in Mott Haven, transforming the site into a vibrant home for hundreds of aging New Yorkers.

Tres Puentes wins SARA Award

We’re incredibly honored to be chosen as one of twenty New York City architecture firms who’ll be working on public building projects in the city, and in great company! 

SGVA on NYC’s DDC Architects List

SGVA designed a Stuyvesant Avenue complete gut renovation for 

, transforming a deteriorated brownstone into a comfortable, modern home with original interior details carefully preserved, rethought and renewed. 

Historic Homes Renovations

Stuyvesant Avenue Home Renovation in the Press

The housing lottery for the SGVA-designed Garnet building (1620 Fulton Street) is now open! 103 affordable housing/middle-income units in Bed-Stuy: one block from Fulton Park, 1.5 blocks from the A and C trains at the Utica Avenue station; a 24-hour attended lobby, landscaped outdoor terrace, fitness center, children's playroom and laundry facilities on each floor. 

Affordable housing lottery is now open for The Garnet

HPD selects Shakespeare Gordon Studio for 100-units of affordable senior housing to be developed by WSFSSH and built by Procida. 

Shakespeare Gordon Studio wins RFP for Highbridge Site

City and State officials today announced the opening of Tres Puentes Senior Apartments, a $117.7 million affordable senior housing development that is continuing revitalization efforts in the South Bronx. 

The development includes 175 apartments for seniors and individuals with special needs and 10,000 square feet of health-orientated commercial and community space, and expands the existing Borinquen Court Senior Center that provides services for residents and neighborhood seniors. 

Tres Puentes Senior Apartments opens its doors in Mott Haven

On Saturday, May 18, AIANY held its second annual Day of Service. Five groups of volunteers helped to bring ideas to life for non-profit organizations around New York City. Leading up to this special day were months of behind-the-scenes planning, design and coordination on behalf of the many architecture firms and teams leading these projects. We were fortunate to participate! 

Rebuilding Together NYC Offices

AIA Day of Service

Mayor Bill De Blasio held a news event at the site of Tres Puentes and Borinquen Court on January 16, 2019 to celebrate the financing of 34,160 affordable homes last year. To celebrate this historic milestone, the Mayor visited Tres Puentes, a new senior housing development financed through HPD's Senior Affordable Rental Apartments program and designed by us. The project's 175 new affordable apartments for seniors, including 53 formerly homeless seniors, were constructed on what had been a parking lot and underused space next to Borinquen Court, a 145-unit federal HUD 202 senior project that the City previously preserved. This project is the prototype for the new Housing+ Initiative proposed as part of HNY 2.0. 

Borinquen Court Renovation

Tres Puentes, prototype for the new Housing+ Initiative

Our new residential project in Park Slope has been featured on Brownstoner’s column 

South Slope Townhouse

Brownstoner House of the Day

Our 8th Street House has been featured by Brownstoner on their weekly column The Insider! 

8th Street House

8th Street House Featured on Brownstoner

Shakespeare Gordon Vlado Architects is excited to announce that one of our projects will be featured in an upcoming book, New York Living: Re-Inventing Home by Paul Gunther, Gay Giordano and Charles Davey. 

 house is on the cover! The book features a host of contemporary homes throughout New York and will be released by Rizzoli on April 11, 2017. You can pre-order a copy 


Read the synopsis below for more information:

What does a home look like in twenty-first-century New York? While the city’s name alone brings to mind very specific ideas—the Fifth Avenue penthouse, with its elegant moldings and crystal chandeliers; the SoHo loft, with its bright spaces and air of bohemian ease; the Brooklyn brownstone, with its fireplaces, parquet floors, and lush backyards—the truth is, New York today is much more than this, and the potential for variety in ways of living is, now more than ever, virtually limitless. As a result, in the twenty-first century, the combined design professions enjoy an unprecedented menu of prospective solutions, whether based upon respect for a classically inflected New York past, an emphatic denial of such a tradition, or, most often, some hybrid response that often yields the best innovation possible.

News

Club Row completes construction! →

Construction update on East Village Avenue A from New York YIMBY →

SGS projects in Built by New York at the Center for Architecture →

SGS has a new home... →

Fischer Senior Apartments tops out →

Ditmas House featured by AN Interior →

Introducing Shakespeare Gordon Studio →

Ashima Chitre and Ana Sucena made Senior Associates, Sean Kennedy recognized as Director of Construction Administration →

Jae Choi and MỹDung Nguyễn made Associates →

SGS hosts high school students through AIANY's Discover Architecture Program →

Ditmas House in the Press →

We're starting 2024 with some big changes... →

The Garnet on Archinect News →

The Garnet in the Press →

SGVA participates in AIANY's Pumpkitecture →

Fischer Senior Apartments Groundbreaking in the Press →

Columbia University Research Labs on Archinect News →

Tres Puentes on World Architects →

Tres Puentes wins SARA Award →

SGVA on NYC’s DDC Architects List →

Stuyvesant Avenue Home Renovation in the Press →

Affordable housing lottery is now open for The Garnet →

Shakespeare Gordon Studio wins RFP for Highbridge Site →

Tres Puentes Senior Apartments opens its doors in Mott Haven →

AIA Day of Service →

Tres Puentes, prototype for the new Housing+ Initiative →

Brownstoner House of the Day →

8th Street House Featured on Brownstoner →

Featured in New York Living: Re-inventing Home →