Bartholomew Voorsanger

Voorsanger received a bachelor's degree with Honors from Princeton University, a master's degree in Architecture from Harvard University, and accepted in 2005 the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Architecture and Urbanism “Ion Mincu” in Bucharest, Romania. Prior to opening his practice, Voorsanger worked with urban planner Vincent Ponte for three years, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, followed by a decade as an Associate with I.M. Pei & Partners in New York.[1]

Voorsanger, a Fellow of the AIA since 1985, has served on national and international design awards juries and has been a speaker at numerous symposia. He has authored many articles published in national design, international design and art periodicals as well as participated in academic lectures and juries. He has had adjunct faculty appointments at the Rhode Island School of Design, Harvard University, Columbia University, and the University of Pennsylvania. The architect has also served as Chair of the Board of Advisors of the Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture at Columbia University, President of the AIA/New York Chapter, and worked with the New York Foundation for Architecture. In addition, he has served as a member of the editorial board of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design Magazine, Chair of Design Review for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, and on the Board of the Society of Architectural Historians.

In late 2016, Oro Press published a monograph on Voorsanger's life and work, UNFOLDED: How Architecture Saved My Life, written by Alastair Gordon.

The architecture of Bartholomew Voorsanger has gained both international and national recognition as well as acclaim from the general public. His work includes the Garden Court at Pierpont Morgan Library (completed in 1994 - demolished 2001), as well as The Asia Society Museum - particularly its public space on the ground floor (completed in 2001), which represents a "fluid space where nature meets high tech".[2]

The private character of his residential buildings both captures nature and light through carefully calibrated and restrained architectonic gestures, and brings nature and light inside his houses, wherever they may be: Colorado, Arizona, Virginia, California, or Dubai. This is done in the spirit of American artists such as Frederic Edwin Church and his depiction of the landscape of the Americas.[3]

The firm Voorsanger & Mills (est. 1978), was restructured as Voorsanger Architects PC in 1990,[4] with Voorsanger as the Principal of the firm responsible for design. Voorsanger’s architecture projects have been published both nationally and internationally. His earlier projects include studies for New York University, including Midtown Center (with Edward Mills), the Graduate and Undergraduate dormitories, and the Center for Advanced Digital Studies. Notable later projects include the International Competition for The Brooklyn Museum Master Plan, The Pierpont Morgan Library Garden Court, Eugenio Maria de Hostos Community College (with Hirsch Danois Architects), the Air Traffic Control Tower at LaGuardia, the Asia Society and Museum in New York, Terminal B at Newark International Airport, and the Master Plan for the University of Virginia Art Museum.

Notable residential projects the firm has built include Wildcat Ridge[5] in Snowmass, Colorado, the Blue Ridge Residence[6] in Charlottesville, a villa in Tucson, a villas and apartment complex in Dubai, and a recently completed residence in the Napa Valley. Voorsanger was commissioned to design the National World War II Museum in New Orleans[7] as a result of a competition. The first three phases (with Mathes Brierre Architects) have been completed and are already open to the public; additional phases are still under construction. Voorsanger's proposal has been selected for the new National Military Museum in Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates design competition.

The Firm’s projects have been recognized internationally, nationally, and locally through the numerous awards and exhibitions at museums and galleries such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Frankfurt Museum of Architecture, the Museum of Finnish Architecture, Ministerio de Obras Publicas Gallery in Madrid, Spain, the AA School of Architecture in London, Harvard University, the Hudson River Museum, the National Academy of Design, the AIA/NYC Center for Architecture, and New York University.

• The United Arab Emirates National Military Museum, Abu Dhabi
• Mudon City, Dubai
• Napa Valley Residence, Napa, California
• The National World War II Museum (with Mathes Brierre Architects), New Orleans, Louisiana (formerly the D Day Museum) [8]
• Olana Museum & Visitor Center, Hudson, New York
• University of Virginia Art Museum, Charlottesville, Virginia
• Elie Tahari Fashion Design Office, Milburn, NJ
• Asia Society & Museum, New York, NY
• Wildcat Ridge Residence, Snowmass, Colorado
• Blue Ridge Residence, Charlottesville, Virginia
• Coronado Ridge Residence, Tucson, Arizona
• Birch Creek Residence, Lima Montana
• Waldron Residence, Martha’s Vineyard
• LaGuardia Air Traffic Control Tower, New York, NY
• JFK Airport/Impact Studies of AGT
• Pedestrian Distribution Systems to Selected Terminals
• The Pierpont Morgan Library Master Plan and Expansion
• Brooklyn Museum Master Plan Competition
• AGT Project/Port Authority (Monorail) Manhattan-JFK
• CBS Theatrical Film
• Friede Residence
• Eugenio Maria de Hostos Community College Allied Health Complex (with Hirsch Danois Architects), Bronx, New York
• Park Tower Reality
• Le Cygne Restaurant
• AGT Project/Port Authority: (Monorail) Environmental, Impact Statement
• NYC/AIA Headquarters
• New York University: Graduate & Undergraduate Dormitories
• New York University Midtown Center

Napa Valley Residence

The Chicago Athenaeum & The European Centre for Architecture Art Design

The American Architecture Award

The National World War II Museum[9]

Society of American Registered Architects, Pennsylvania,

Design Award of Excellence, 2012

The Chicago Athenaeum & The European Centre for Architecture Art Design, The American Architecture Award

The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Design Award

Wildcat Ridge Residence Snowmass, Colorado

Residential Architect Grand Award

American Institute of Architects (AIA) Housing Award

American Institute of Architects/NY State Merit Award

American Institute of Architects/NYC Merit Award

The National Academy of Design

2007 Lenard Kester Annual Prize & The Samuel F.B. Morse Medal

Blue Ridge Residence Charlottesville, Virginia

American Institute of Architects/NY State Excellence Award

American Institute of Architects/NYC Merit Award

Elie Tahari Fashion Design Offices & Warehouse

Chicago Athenaeum American Architecture Award

National AIA Interior Architecture Award [10]

American Institute of Architects/New Jersey Honor Award

American Institute of Architects/NYC Merit Award

Asia Society and Museum [11]

The National Academy of Design, Cannon Prize

Hostos Community College Allied Health Complex

The American Institute of Architects National Honor Award

New York Art Commission, Office of the Mayor Award for Excellence in Design

New York State Association of Architects Design Award

City Club of New York: Albert S. Bard Award

Le Cygne Restaurant

Interiors Magazine Fifth Annual Interiors Award

American Institute of Architects New York Chapter

Architecture Magazine National Design Award

AIA/NYC Chapter Distinguished Architecture Citation

NYU Graduate School of Business

Administration Library National AIA Library Buildings Award

NYU Midtown Center

NY State Association of Architects Excellence in Design Award

Pierpont Morgan Library

Landmarks Preservation Commission Award

Tucker Award of Design Excellence, Building Stone Institute

Waldron House, Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.

American Institute of Architects National Better Homes for Living Competition

• Bartholomew Voorsanger Unfolded: how architecture save my life. By Alastair Gordon. Gordeon de Vries Studio, Novato, CA. 2017.