Gabrielle Brainard

Associate Principal

SOM

Gabrielle Brainard is an architect, facade specialist, and educator. She teaches architecture and building science at Columbia GSAPP and Pratt Institute, and previously taught at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Her research on high-performance, low-carbon retrofits for multifamily housing has been funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the AIA Upjohn Research Initiative. Previously, she worked on iconic, high-performance facades as a project manager and facade specialist at SHoP Architects, and as a curtainwall consultant at Heintges Consulting Architects & Engineers. She is active in her local chapter of the AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE), and serves on the Facade Tectonics Institute Education Committee.

Christoph Timm

Principal

SOM

Christoph Timm leads SOM’s Enclosure Group, a practice embedded among the design and engineering studios in the firm’s New York office that focuses on the design of building enclosures and facades. With more than two decades of experience in the creative field, Christoph has designed a wide variety of projects that go far beyond architecture to encompass products, furniture, and even streetlights.

Christoph has deep expertise in the design and fabrication of high-performance building enclosures, and is particularly interested in how their aesthetically crafted appearances shift under varying lighting conditions. At SOM, Christoph started a construction site visit program that regularly takes young architects to different sites in New York to create a better understanding of the complexities of construction in relation to design. He is deeply engaged with technological innovations in the field and shares his expertise actively at conferences and industry events. He has also lectured on design and building performance-related topics worldwide.

Kwong Yu

Associate Principal

SOM

Kwong has been leading the facade and technical design efforts in large scale international and domestic projects. His experience includes mixed-use (office/residential/hotel/retail), airport passenger terminal, healthcare, hospitality, adaptive reuse, and super tall office towers.

Colin Koop

Design Partner

SOM

Colin has been the driving force behind some of SOM’s most unexpected projects since joining the firm in the early 2000s.

A focus on the human experience is the foundation of Colin’s design philosophy, which he applies across a range of project types including education, transportation, culture, workplace, and urban planning. Clients and collaborators appreciate his genuine interest in understanding the complexities of each project and confronting and resolving these challenges through rigorous dialogue.

Colin’s designs for MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing and for a habitat on the Moon both demonstrate his passion for science, technology, and human-centered design. His relentless attention to detail and an emphasis on the best possible user experience are behind SOM’s design for the Walt Disney Company’s New York City headquarters at 4 Hudson Square. The monumental National Museum of the U.S. Army, which opened to the public in January 2021, allows visitors to experience the story of the oldest branch of the United States military from a soldier’s point of view. Colin also brought the design for Moynihan Train Hall in New York to the finish line, which has been hailed as one the most important U.S. infrastructure projects of the century. Most recently, Colin led SOM’s competition-winning designs for the 2026 Olympic Village in Milan and for The New York Climate Exchange, a new, net-zero-energy campus on Governors Island that will be a first-of-its-kind international center for developing solutions to the climate crisis.

As a founding partner of SOM’s Talent, Equity, Diversity, and Development team, Colin is invested in creating the most productive and inspiring culture for SOM’s talent to grow, prosper and make a lasting impact on the built environment. Commercial Observer included Colin in its 2021 Power 100 list.

Guillermo Murcia

Principal

Meier Partners

Since joining the firm 20 years ago, newly appointed Principal Guillermo Murcia has embraced a wide number of roles in urban design, residential, hospitality, and commercial projects. His contributions to the firm range from conceptual aspects of design and development to cultivating strong relationships with clients. Mr. Murcia has nurtured and honed his design and managerial skills within the firm at which he commenced as a Senior Designer. His early collaborations were instrumental in the fulfillment of large projects in the Czech Republic and Newark, followed by a robust period of conception and design of numerous projects in Latin America, Asia, Europe and the United States. Some notable exemplars include the Seamarq Hotel and JEI Commercial Building in South Korea, the Vitrvm Residential Towers in Colombia, the SoMa Master Plan in Newark, One Waterline in New York and Parkview in Prague. He currently oversees several projects in South Korea and Spain, including the recently completed Sorol Art Museum in Gangneung, South Korea

Sharon Oh

Senior Associate

Meier Partners

Sharon Oh joined the firm in 2012. As a key senior staff member, she has held significant roles as project architect and manager and collaborated on projects ranging from museums and residences to hotels and high-rise buildings. Ms. Oh has been involved with designing projects throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, and her extensive experience includes, One United Nations Park residential tower and One Waterline Square tower in New York City, Torre Cuarzo on Reforma Towers in Mexico City, Engel & Völkers Headquarters in Hamburg, the Seamarq Hotel in Gangneung, and JEI Commercial Building in Seoul. She recently led the design as project architect for the Sorol Museum in Gangneung, and also manages a corporate headquarters tower in Seoul.

Silverio Patrizi

Associate Principal

Thornton Thomasetti

Silverio Patrizi joined Thornton Tomasetti in 2011 and is experienced in the structural analysis and design of different façade systems. He manages design consultation, detail development, specifications, shop drawings review and site inspections. Silverio has performed extensive research on the New York City Energy Conservation Code [NYCECC] and is considered Thornton Tomasetti in-office expert in providing analysis to prove project compliance with the NYCECC. He collaborates with multiple practices across the firm, providing expertise in thermal performance analysis, structural glass analysis, cladding and glazing material selection, and detailing of custom façade systems.

Elliot Glassman

Building Performance Lead

CannonDesign

Elliot Glassman AIA, LEED AP BD+C, CPHD is an architect specializing in environmentally sustainable design. He is the firm-wide building performance leader at CannonDesign.
Elliot obtained his Bachelors of Architecture from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and earned a Masters of Design Studies degree with a concentration in sustainability from the Harvard GSD. He is licensed in New York State and Connecticut and is accredited in the LEED and Passive House standards.

In his professional career, Elliot has worked on several types of projects as an architect and high performance building consultant including multi‐family residential, mixed‐use buildings, commercial, religious/institutional, medical, athletics, and hospitality. Elliot’s work incorporates a variety of building simulation tools with parametric design techniques in order to generate environmentally responsive design solutions.
Elliot is a board member of the Connecticut Green Building Council, in addition to serving on the Mayor’s Climate Council in Stamford. He also teaches at Columbia’s Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation, Pratt Institute, and City Tech.

Charul Chhabria

Sustainability Coordinator

CannonDesign

Charul Chhabria, LEED AP BD+C, serves as the Sustainability Coordinator at Cannon Design in New York City. With a passion for sustainable architecture, Charul brings a global perspective to her role. She holds a Master of Science in Urban and Regional Design from the New York Institute of Design and is a registered architect in India with a Bachelors of Architecture degree.

Advocating for integration of regulations, sustainability, and cutting-edge design, Charul offers practical strategies for creating environmentally friendly structures that go beyond mere compliance.

Drawing from her rich background she enjoys working on different scales, from macro to micro. Moreover, Charul’s focus extends to navigating local building codes, particularly Local Law 97, and understanding their parallels to sustainability certification pathways. She aspires to be at the forefront of devising strategies for buildings to not only comply with local codes but also surpass them in terms of efficiency and sustainability.

Justin Den Herder

Principal

Tylin

A prolific writer and lecturer, Justin is passionate about the profession and seeks out opportunities to share his experience and learn from others.
As Associate and co-leader of a studio for TYLin’s Silman Structural Solutions practice, Justin oversees new construction, renovation, and historic preservation projects of varying scales around the world.
Justin was the Editor in Chief of SEAoNY Cross Sections from 2014-2017. He has written articles published in Modern Steel Construction. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and as an adjunct professor, he currently teaches several courses at the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at City College in New York City.

Bob Zhang

Sales Director | North America

North Glass

Bob is the Sales Director of Tianjin Northglass for North America, the leading fabricator of specialty and oversized architectural glass for the global construction industry.

Bob has many years of experience working with Quality Control department. Bob was the project manager for Apple Park project in Cupertino, supporting the design team on the glass selection for Apple’s new headquarters. In 2015, Bob came to the US to make more connections with architects and support their designs of future projects with the innovation and capabilities that Northglass has to offer.

Alejandro Daras

Global Projects Director

Neolith

Global Projects Director at NEOLITH, Alejandro has an extensive expertise on Rainscreen systems and solutions. Leading NEOLITH’s international expansion since 2021, he played a key role in the company’s growth. With dual master’s degrees in architecture from Valencia and the Illinois Institute of Technology, Alejandro transitioned from independent architect roles to the Construction Materials industry in 2016. His career spans Valencia, Munich, Chicago, New York, and Dallas, understanding of architectural intricacies on a global scale.

Silas Jeffrey

Senior Associate

Robert A.M. Stern Architects

Silas Jeffrey, Senior Associate, has been with Robert A.M. Stern Architects since 2008. His institutional projects for the office include the LEED-Platinum, Net-Zero Kohler Environmental Center at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut; the Inman Welcome Admissions Center and Dwight C. Schar Hall for the McEwen School of Communications, both at Elon University in Elon, North Carolina; a new STEM classroom building at the St. Mark’s School of Texas in Dallas, Texas; the Hancock Center for Mathematics and Computer Science and the Natural Sciences & Allied Health Building at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York; and a new clinic and laboratory building for the College of Dentistry, and new buildings for the Department of Theater and the Timashev Family School of Music, all at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. His planning work for the office includes master plans for the Arts District and University Square precinct, both at The Ohio State University. His commercial work for the office includes a new headquarters building for American Water in Camden, New Jersey.

Mr. Jeffrey recently served as Project Manager for the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University and the Conway School of Nursing at Catholic University of America, both in Washington, DC.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Jeffrey was a designer for Perkins-Eastman of New York City, where he worked on the Chinese Academy of Science in Beijing, China; and a designer for Studio Panzi in Florence, Italy, where he worked on the Palos Verdes Arts Center in Palos Verdes, California.

Mr. Jeffrey graduated from Tulane University with a Bachelor of Arts degree and received his Master of Architecture degree from Syracuse University. He is a registered architect in the State of New York.

Angel Ayón

Principal

AYON

Angel Ayón, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB is the founder and Principal of AYON Studio Architecture • Preservation, P.C. (AYON Studio) in New York City, where he provides comprehensive professional services in the fields of Architecture and Historic Preservation. Mr. Ayón has more than twenty-five years of learning from, advocating for, and ultimately conceiving and overseeing conservation efforts to save and secure our built heritage as a cultural asset for current and future generations. His experience with Modern architecture includes the rehabilitation and exterior enhancement of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum for which he was the project architect between 2004 and 2008 (prior to founding AYON Studio). Among other organizations, he is a member of Docomomo_US and its local chapter Docomomo New York/Tri-State, the Historic Preservation Committee of The Municipal Art Society of New York, the Board of Advisors of the Historic Districts Council, the Board of Trustees of the Preservation League of New York State and Save Harlem Now! He was awarded the 2015 James Marston Fitch Mid-Career Fellowship to undertake the research presented in this book. Mr. Ayón holds a professional degree as an Architect (1995) and a M.Sc. in Conservation and Rehabilitation of the Built Heritage (1998) from the Higher Polytechnic Institute “José Antonio Echeverría” in his native Havana, Cuba, and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Conservation of Historic Buildings and Archaeological Sites (2002) from Columbia University in New York.