The Most Active New York City Architects in 2024

It’s been a chaotic year for New York developers and landlords — and as a result, for the city’s architects — with the real estate landscape being altered by state and city legislation, the whims of office tenants and actions by the Federal Reserve.

Nikolai Katz Architect emerged as the most active firm of the year, in terms of its number of initial permit applications for projects above a certain size. With 15 such applications, it was one of only three architects to hit double digits.

Many of Nikolai Katz’s projects were on the medium or small end of that spectrum. Other firms, such as SLCE Architects and Gensler, tackled fewer but larger projects. SLCE, for instance, surpassed 2 million square feet across seven sizable projects.

The year was full of challenges for the industry. The interest rate environment remained largely unforgiving, the state replaced the 421a multifamily tax break with 485x and changed the rules for office conversions, while the city passed its most sweeping zoning overhaul since 1961.

Meanwhile, development sites in New York City became even harder to find.

“The scarcity of parcels for multifamily real estate development is increasingly difficult,” said Ariel Aufgang of Aufgang Architects.

But there’s hope on the horizon. Architects contact by The Real Deal noted the significance of the City of Yes legislation, which loosened zoning restrictions and increased the density allowed for multifamily developments.

TRD’s most active architects ranking for 2024 is based on the number of initial permit applications filed for new buildings and renovations. It reflects the architects of record on permit applications filed through Dec. 3 for projects of 10,000 square feet or more. It uses a different methodology from the one TRD used for its annual ranking of New York City architects published during the summer.

1. Nikolai Katz Architect | 15 applications | 296K sf

Nikolai Katz’s eponymous firm was the busiest in New York City this year, especially in Brooklyn and the Bronx.

In the second half of the year, Nikolai Katz was listed as the architect of record in filings to build an eight-story, 28-unit residential building spanning 35,000 square feet at 556 Howard Avenue in Brooklyn, a 46,000-square-foot building at 585 Jackson Avenue in Woodstock and a 29,000-square-foot property at 1756 Anthony Avenue in the Bronx.

The Most Active New York City Architects in 2024 — Leandro Nils Dickson Architect’s Leandro Nils Dickson (Leandro Nils Dickson Architect, Getty)

2. Leandro Nils Dickson Architect | 12 applications | 258K sf

While a dozen projects exceeded 10,000 square feet, only a third of those surpassed 20,000. The largest was for a 13-story, 99-unit project at 1801 Weeks Avenue in the Bronx’s Mount Hope neighborhood. Westorchard Management owns the property.

Leandro Nils Dickson Architect grabbed the second spot with a large volume of modest-size projects. Many of the firm’s applications were also for major alterations, rather than new buildings.

S. Wieder Architect’s Samuel Wieder (LinkedIn, Getty)

3. S. Wieder Architect | 10 applications | 751K sf

S. Wieder Architect was all over project filings across Brooklyn and Manhattan this year, including a number of proposed builds. Three of those projects span more than 100,000 square feet, including Watermark Capital’s office-to-residential conversion of 175 Pearl Street in Dumbo and a 23-story, mixed-use building that Cheskel Schwimmer’s Chess Builders is plotting on First Avenue on the Upper East Side.

T-4. IMC Architecture | 8 applications | 405K sf

IMC Architecture was on plans in every borough outside of Staten Island, including a project in Brooklyn to replace dozens of parking spots with storage space at 177 Ardsley Loop.

Another notable project was the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School in the South Bronx, which began with a groundbreaking attended by the namesake player himself and NBA commissioner Adam Silver. That development didn’t count towards the total, however, as plans were filed at the tail end of last year.

T-4. Gerald Caliendo Architects | 8 applications | 170K sf

Gerald Caliendo was one of the most active firms in 2023, filing 33 projects of at least 5,000 square feet. The company was back at it this year. Among its bigger plans was for a 27,000-square-foot, 10-unit, mixed-use building at a Long Island City site owned by Aditya Shah and Palwinder Singh.

The company took home two awards in 2023 for projects in Queens, including the Waltham Hotel.

6. SLCE Architects | 7 applications | 2.3 million sf

SLCE Architects may have failed to notch the most applications, but the square footage of its projects speaks for itself. The firm is the architect of record for Tishman Speyer’s 10-floor conversion set to turn office levels above NBC’s “Today” show studios at 10 Rockefeller Plaza into a luxury hotel.

Before the year ended, SLCE was also on an application for a 757,000-square-foot project that Related Companies is pursuing at the Revlon Building site, 613 Madison Avenue.

T-7. Gensler | 6 applications | 1.4 million sf

Gensler appeared to crack the code when it comes to office-to-residential conversions, creating a scorecard that became one of the most talked about tools in the industry this year.

Conversions explain how Gensler ended up with so much square footage across only six eligible applications. A vast majority of it is linked to 219-229 East 42nd Street, one of the largest conversions in process in Manhattan. The former Pfizer headquarters is being transformed by Metro Loft into a 29-story, mixed-use building with 1,463 rental apartments.

The firm has roughly 4 million square feet and nearly 5,000 units just in the conversion pipeline, principal Tom McGoldrick said. Government action is also helping to boost Gensler’s outlook for the coming year.

“Uncertainty around regulatory reform in the housing sector gave us heartburn this spring, but we are upbeat now that reforms have been agreed upon at the state and city levels,” McGoldrick said.

T-7. Aufgang Architects | 6 applications | 1.1 million sf

Ariel Aufgang’s firm has a hand in planning, designing and constructing developments across the tri-state region, and has appeared on year-end rankings for most active developers. This year’s filings included a 296,000-square-foot, mixed-use property in Brownsville and a 73-unit, mixed-use building at 132 East 125th Street in Harlem, which Maddd Equities is developing.

The firm recently launched a luxury division, Aurae, to meet what it sees as a growing interest in luxury multifamily developments and “bespoke individual homes,” according to Aufgang. Several projects within the unit are underway.

T-7. Fred Geremia Architects & Planners | 6 applications | 192K sf

The firm based in Pelham is relatively under the radar, without a proper website to showcase its portfolio. Still, it’s finding a way into New York City residential projects. In July alone, Fred Geremia filed plans for a 20,000-square-foot, six-story building in Concourse Village and a 51,000-square-foot, eight-story building in Woodstock.

T-7. Baobab Architects | 6 applications | 135K sf

An MWBE-certified business, Tafadzwa Mwandiambira’s Baobab Architects mostly does projects in Brooklyn, though its work touches other boroughs as well. One of the biggest it filed this year was in Williamsburg: a seven-story, 30,000-square-foot residential building on South 6th Street, according to YIMBY.

T-7. Lester Katz | 6 applications | 126K sf

Lester Katz doesn’t have a dedicated website, but that doesn’t stop the Woodmere architect from pulling jobs, largely interior renovations and small conversions. This year, that included work on a seven-story, 27-unit residential building in the Bronx’s Mount Hope neighborhood.