Rafael Viñoly Architects, founded in 1983 and based in New York City — with offices in London, Manchester, Abu Dhabi, Buenos Aires, Chicago, and Palo Alto — is an internationally renowned architectural firm with projects spanning six continents. Over the past thirty-three years, the practice’s key trademark is its ability to reinvent institutional typologies and integrate the public realm into civic buildings.
The uniquely diverse work the firm has completed includes award-winning courthouses, museums, performing arts centers, convention centers, athletic facilities, banks, hotels, hospitals, laboratories, recreational venues, residential complexes, and commercial, industrial, and educational facilities. Projects range in scale from laboratory casework to large urban commercial and institutional master plans. The firm has also completed several projects involving the restoration and expansion of buildings of significant historical and architectural value.
Guided by the design leadership of principal, Rafael Viñoly, the firm is managed by the Vice President Jay Bargmann, who also administers projects jointly with each of the firm’s project directors. These experienced architects—many of whom have been with Rafael Viñoly Architects for two decades or more—share the advanced, centralized resources of the firm as well as a high level of commitment and a rich database of knowledge. This structure guarantees consistency and high standards of design and documentation and enables the firm to maintain its longstanding record of successfully completed fast-track, design-build projects, as well as conventionally scheduled and organized assignments worldwide.
The practice’s atelier design intelligence coupled with the capabilities of a large, multi-disciplinary firm produces appropriate, creative responses to program requirements. We consider design an integrated field in which programming, function, implementation, engineering, economic feasibility, and cultural impact are not independent concerns or disciplines but elements which should be equally evaluated and addressed. This approach requires versatility, expertise, and above all a pragmatic overview that expands the need for creativity rather than limits it.
