Hollwich Kushner (HWKN) completes 25 Kent tech campus in Brooklyn

Hollwich Kushner is a leading architecture firm based in Lower Manhattan and winners of the prestigious MoMA/PS1 Young Architects Program where we built Wendy. We have gone on to design projects at every scale: intimate to awe-inspiring, and everything in between. Hollwich Kushner creates forward-looking buildings that place people first. We are a new kind of architecture firm that believes in entrepreneurship — we founded Architizer.com and were named one the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company.

Study members

Marc Kushner, AIA, is an architect with just one agenda: he wants you to love architecture. As partner at Hollwich Kushner and co-founder and CEO of Architizer, Marc is a celebrated designer and pioneer in the digital media industry. Marc presents at events such as TED, PSFK, and GRID on topics surrounding architecture’s intersection with digital media. He is the 2017 Harvard Graduate School of Design Entrepreneur in Residence and has taught at Columbia University’s GSAPP. His book ‘The Future of Architecture in 100 Buildings’ published by TED Books and Simon & Schuster in 2015 is #1 in Architecture on Amazon. Marc is the President of the Board of Friends of + POOL, a nonprofit behind the development of a water-filtering, floating swimming pool that will filter and clean urban rivers.

Matthias Hollwich, AIA, has established himself at the forefront of a new generation of groundbreaking international architects. Matthias believes the key to successful architecture lies in finding new and exciting ways to create dialogue and relationships between people and buildings. He was recently honored in Fast Company’s ranking of the world’s top 10 most innovative architects and in Business Insider’s list of top business visionaries. Matthias has spoken regularly at events such as TED and PICNIC and has taught architecture as a visiting Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. His work is regularly published in leading media outlets such as the New York Times, Wallpaper* and the Wall Street Journal and his second book on ‘New Aging’ was published by Penguin Books in 2016.

Jessica Knobloch-Arscott brings a diverse perspective to her projects at HWKN. Her extensive international design experience spanning from Germany, Switzerland, the UK, and the US has provided her with myriad exploration and innovation opportunities. Jessica led all phases of design for Die Macherei, the studio's first built project in Germany, and explored innovative typologies during the R&D process for WeLive and with the Bushwick Generator, a new office complex in Brooklyn.

Robert May has been the Design Lead of HWKN for the past 12 years. He brings a keen eye for detail and a vast knowledge of design techniques to the firm. He helps teams strategize, plan, and fine-tune their approach across all typologies. Robert's tenure led him to spearhead the Purposeful Beings initiative, a retrospective analysis of HWKN's past work that was brought to life in the form of sculptures. He has led several HWKN projects including the Young Architecture Program's winning entry, Wendy, at MoMA PS1, Journal Squared, a three-tower, high-density transit-oriented development in New Jersey, and Pennovation, the innovation center of the University of Pennsylvania.

Dorin Baul has been with HWKN for 5 years and oversees a team specializing in master-planning and cultural projects. His vision is evident throughout his various projects, where he designs with the user-experience foremost in mind. He led the Riyadh Art Master Plan in collaboration with UAP and Futurecity, fulfilling HWKN’s commission to spearhead and manage Riyadh's cultural urban activation through a consortium of artists, architects, and designers. He also led JAX 01, Saudi Arabia's first art biennale, and collaborated on multiple large scale office building designs.

Olga Snowden holds a vast array of experience spanning U.S. and international markets and has been with HWKN for 2 years. She brings strategic design skills, notably to a new office brand now rolling out nationally in Germany. She has led and participated in projects across a wide range of sectors, including mixed-use (super-tall), health care, education (elementary and special education schools), institutional (embassy), residential, office, and campus (pharmaceutical and corporate). Olga is a registered architect in the state of New York and a LEED- accredited professional. She is currently leading HWKN's in-house intergenerational living brand FLX in both Germany and the U.S.

Gensler is a global architecture, design, and planning firm with 46 locations and more than 5,000 professionals networked across Asia, Europe, Australia, the Middle East and the Americas. Founded in 1965, the firm serves more than 3,500 active clients in virtually every industry. Gensler designers strive to make the places people live, work and play more inspiring, more resilient, and more impactful.

Arthur Gensler Jr., FAIA, FIIDA, RIBA (1935—2021) founded the firm in 1965 together with his wife Drue and their colleague James Follet. He is widely credited with elevating the practice of interior design to professional standing. He was a Fellow of both the American Institute of Architects and the International Interior Design Association, and a professional member of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Art graduated from Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art and Planning and was a member of its Advisory Council. A charter member of Interior Design magazine’s Hall of Fame and a recipient of IIDA’s Star Award, he also received Ernst & Young LLP’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year Award. In 2015, he wrote Art’s Principles to offer entrepreneurs the business insights he wishes someone had given him when he was starting out.

Arthur Gensler is recognized as an industry icon and an astute businessman who propelled a small practice into the largest and most admired firm in the industry over the course of his 65-year career.