Glickman Schlesinger Architects is an Architecture and Interior Design company based in New York City, with additional project offices in Ithaca, NY, and Sonoma, CA. We are a New York City and State Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE).
At our core, GSA’s focus is the design of buildings and spaces that are thoughtful, responsive to the needs of our clients and livable. We consider space planning, programming, material selection, color palette, landscape and the smallest architectural details to be equally important factors in how a building is experienced. To that end we take great care to focus on all scales and facets of a project.
We also believe that every built project must be made to achieve a higher level of performance in energy efficiency, daylighting, ventilation, and end-user well-being. During the average lifespan of 79 years for a person, 71 of those years will be spent indoors. Knowing that, it’s crucial that our indoor environments are healthy. 1 out of 100 people will get sick or die from exposure to things we know can exist in indoor air. Just as we can decide what we eat, we can control the materials that surround us. To address these issues, we are certified passive house design consultants and use passive house principles in our projects to achieve well-insulated and healthy ventilated spaces. And, we are committed to using non-toxic building materials in our projects. Such carefully considered interior environments not only save the building owner money over the course of occupying the space, but they are noticeably comfortable to occupy.
When Adam Glickman and Lauren Schlesinger, partners in business and marriage who met as graduate students at Harvard University, started their eponymous design firm in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 2009, they had just spent the previous seven years designing university buildings, museums, global company offices, restaurants, and private residences. Avid designers and creative individuals, Adam and Lauren wanted to meld architecture and interior design and the creation of Glickman Schlesinger Architects marked the beginning of what has evolved into a multidisciplinary design firm, including furniture, landscape, and graphic design in our portfolio. GSA has become recognized for its minimalist contemporary aesthetic with an appreciation of historic buildings, materials, and building process, and espousal of high quality craftsmanship.
Over the past fifteen years renovating existing buildings, GSA has developed a knowledge base to address the challenges of working with aging structures, systems, and materials. We have efficient processes for working with the Department of Buildings, Landmarks Preservation Commission, Building Management Companies, and Co-op Boards, which have proven useful when working in municipalities outside of New York City
GSA understands that a project’s success depends on excellent collaboration with a variety of team players. We set realistic and detailed expectations from the outset and are effective at managing the full project team, embracing collaboration with all project stakeholders, consultants, construction professionals, and artisans. Consistent communication with our clients is a given, making sure their renovation or new building’s design is meeting their needs and through the use of evolving visuals, they understand what the end product will be. We know that excellent design is achievable regardless of the budget and we always aim to deliver beyond our clients’ expectations.