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This by That

@thisbythat

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This by That is an agency representing progressive architects. 📍 NY/LA

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A peek inside @mkcarchitecture founder @michaelkchen’s Chatham Towers home in Sunday’s @nytimes. Michael, his husband @andydbeck, and their beloved miniature dachshund Archie have lived in the Brutalist co-op in Manhattan’s Chinatown since 2007. “I’ve always been in love with this building,” Michael says. “I think the way it meets the city at the ground, the way it meets the sky and its sculptural expression is really beautiful.”

In their roughly 800-square-foot apartment, limited space often means choosing pieces that can serve multiple functions, like a mid-century cabinet by Italian architect Gianfranco Frattini that doubles as a bar. “It’s one of my favorite design eras, and it’s one of those historical periods I model my own practice after,” Michael adds.

Read about their favorite Design Finds at the link in our bio. 🔗

✍️ Tim McKeough
📷 Photos by @winniewow taken in Manhattan, New York by @thisbythat

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4 days ago

For this Neo-Grec Brooklyn brownstone, built circa 1878, @architensions approached renovation as a process of subtraction, removing non-historic alterations that had obscured the building’s original proportions and ornamental clarity. On the facade, the architects restored masonry details, introduced new high-performance windows, and reinstated the threshold between stoop and street via a custom-fabricated iron fence, modeled on archival references and neighborhood precedents.

“This was a project where we tried to preserve most of the existing materials and ornamentation as a design method,” explains Architensions co-principal Alessandro Orsini (@orsiniale).

Inside, the project reconsiders the spatial organization to align with contemporary modes of living. Existing skylights were retained and enhanced to draw daylight deep into the plan, while selective removal of interior partitions allows for a more fluid sequence of spaces across the parlor and upper floors, counteracting the inherent narrowness of the brownstone typology. Rather than neutralizing the interiors, the design celebrates the original ceiling moldings and woodwork, restoring them as a richly textured backdrop, set against a contemporary material palette of terrazzo, soft pastel ceramics, and continuous white oak flooring.

“The interior of a landmark brownstone always tells a story,” adds Architensions co-principal Nick Roseboro (@nickroseboro). “We wanted to add to its story integrating original and new elements which build on its character.”

📸 Courtesy of Architensions taken in Bedstuy Brooklyn by @thisbythat

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9 days ago

A Harvest Moon housewarming for @heartofdinner’s new SoHo studio, lovingly designed by @mkcarchitecture. Hosted by Heart of Dinner founders @yinchang @moonlynntsai and MKCA founder @michaelkchen, the evening celebrated the organization’s first permanent space supporting its ongoing work addressing food insecurity and isolation among New York City elders, with a table full of longtime friends and advocates.

Michael, who often talks about the meaning behind the making, remarked that evening that the power of design is in giving shared values a tangible form in the world. This effort, designed and built at cost with help and donations from @a05studio, @ladiesandgentlemenstudio, @safar_rugs, @dahingplantsnyc and more, is an example of architecture as an act of care, a living thing by and for community. Since 2020, Heart of Dinner has delivered over 250,000 meals to vulnerable Asian elders, and this space will help them to continue that work.

MKCA team @michaelkchen @harpernatasha @_inmo_omni_, plateware generously provided by @tortugaforma @truegenuine, florals by @fdk_florals, photos by @kelseycherry ✨ taken in New York, New York by @thisbythat

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12 days ago

The Nolen Study Room, The Watson Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC

I toured the newly redesigned Nolen Study room at the @metlibrary with architect Michael Young of Young & Ayata. The original 1960s bookshelves were taken apart, CNC milled with a pattern inspired by book marbling and reinstalled as wall panels.

@metmuseum is full of period rooms, little vignettes frozen in time. This interpretation of a mid century library is the newest one.

Design: Young & Ayata @young_ayata (Michael Young, Kutan Ayata, Morgane Copp)
Wall panels: Situ Fabrication @situ_fabrication
Lighting: The SEED Lighting @theseed.lighting taken in Thomas J. Watson Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art by @thisbythat

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23 days ago

Nearly a year ago in Marfa, celebrating the re-opening of Donald Judd’s Architecture Office with @juddfoundation after a seven year restoration led by @schaumarchitects @troyschaum.

Its hard to believe what they say about the landscape in West Texas until you see it for the first time, in my case Ieaving the extractive dust of Midland (grids of oil derricks viewed from the sky, an airport full of PJs) and driving the open road west until the land unfurls and doubles around you, through what seems like multiple microclimates and ecosystems, ending in an impossibly inky starry sky. I developed a bad habit of filming while driving, chasing sunsets while attempting to somehow record a heretofore unknown vastness (not recordable, or knowable, without first making yourself very small).

The work on the Architecture Office incorporated quiet adaptations to the energy consumption and material configuration of the 1907 building, including passive cooling and rooftop solar. We recently shared the exciting announcement that Troy and team will also lead @chinatifoundation ’s restoration of Donald Judd’s Artillery Sheds, commencing soon. Thank you to Troy and Schaum Architects for having us along for this ride ✨ taken in Marfa, Texas by @thisbythat

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a month ago

A great evening at l.a. Eyeworks’ Fairfax flagship for the Campus Tour and Talk with Brent Zerger of l.a. Eyeworks, Escher GuneWardena Architecture and the L.A. Forum.

Brent, Frank and Ravi discussed the rich history of l.a. Eyeworks and the design process behind its iconic silver foam interior, drawing inspiration from Andy Warhol’s Silver Factory in New York.

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Photographs: 1, 2, and 11 courtesy of l.a. Eyeworks; 6, 7 and 9 by Ilaria Mazzoleni.
@laeyeworks @laforum_aud by @thisbythat

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a month ago

Join Troy Schaum (@troyschaum), Principal of Schaum Architects (@schaumarchitects) and Professor at @ricearch, in conversation with Tei Carpenter (@teicarpenter), founder and director of Agency—Agency and Assistant Professor at @princetonarchitecture, at @headhi_ny next Wednesday to celebrate the launch of Blanking, a new publication on the work and vision of the architecture firm Schaum/Shieh.

Troy will reflect on the effort and thought that went into Blanking, authored with Rosalyne Shieh, as well as his next chapter as Schaum Architects. Published by Park Books (@park_books), the book invites readers into the working studio, a real and conceptual space where they work on recurring themes: operating within the city at the scale of building (urbanism); the interrelation of materiality, units of form, and building products (tectonics); and ways to collaborate with the life of a building in its context (preservation), among others.

Wednesday, Sept. 16, 6:30-8:00 PM
Head Hi | 146 Flushing Ave, Brooklyn

🎟️ RSVP at the 🔗 in bio.

📸 Slide 3: Shenandoah House by Schaum/Shieh (Photo by @studionahokubota)

#Blanking #SchaumArchitects #ParkBooks #HeadHiNY taken in Brooklyn, New York by @thisbythat

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a month ago

In celebration of Lauren Halsey’s (@summaeverythang) “sister dreamer lauren halsey’s architectural ode to tha surge n splurge of south central los angeles,” a monumental sculpture park in South Central LA, Mira Henry (@mira_henry) and Matthew Au (@wvyvwvyvw) of Current Interests (@current_____interests) hosted a conversation with L.A. Forum (@laforum_aud) this past July. “sister dreamer” was conceived as a sanctuary for the neighborhood, with Current Interests serving as architectural collaborator, coordinating the project on an infrastructural level.

Mira Henry and Matthew Au were joined by architecture practitioners Emanuel Admasu (@eadmassu) of AD-Wo (@ad__wo), and Katy Barkan (@katy.barkan) of Now Here (@nownowherehere), as well as artist researcher Zion Estrada (@zionestrada) and the Black Reconstruction Collective (@blackreconstructioncollective) for “Unfinished City,” a conversation reflecting on their current work, with a focus on how their practice attends to context, explores materiality, and centers collaboration.

You can read more about the architectural aspects of the project in @surfacemag and @archpaper. (🔗 in bio)⁠

📸 Halline Overby taken in South Central, Los Angeles by @thisbythat

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a month ago

There’s no need for AC in this Córdoba home designed by @messanaororke. Located in Spain’s so-called “Iberian oven,” where summer temperatures routinely exceed 100°F, the 2,700 square-foot residence was built using highly sustainable Passive House standards, while offering a distinctly minimalist interpretation of the vernacular row house.

Thermally insulated concrete, radiant heating and cooling, and a central courtyard allowing for optimal airflow keep the home comfortable year-round. Inside, a cool palette of white walls and concrete floors is accented by chestnut wood detailing. A rooftop solar array covers the home’s energy needs, with enough left over to sell back to the town grid.

“For Messana, who began his career working for the influential modernist architect Richard Meier, the project took him back to a core idea of minimalism—one rooted not in austerity for its own sake, but in making the most of available resources and conditions,” writes @annequito in @metropolismag.

“It’s not about getting rid of everything, but about focusing on what we have,” adds Messana O’Rorke co-founder @brianmessana. “Ultimately, minimalism is about thoughtfulness.”

📖 Read the full story at the 🔗 in bio.

📸 @fernandoaldafotografo

#messanaororke #passivehouse #córdoba taken in Córdoba, Spain by @thisbythat

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2 months ago

@bscarchitecture has transformed a former Gilded Age reading room into a finely tuned pied-à-terre within the historic Engineers’ Club building, a 1907 landmark overlooking Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan.

The project reconciled the apartment’s fragmented and asymmetrical nature, a result of its 1970s loft conversion, by introducing a fluid, curvilinear design language. The clients’ request for a second sleeping area unlocked the apartment’s key design solution: a floating mezzanine suspended from a steel structure in the ceiling, with a kitchen nestled beneath it. Sheer, curving curtains lend privacy throughout, allowing distinct areas to flow seamlessly without any hardened boundaries.

“We appreciated the evident layers of the building over time, and wanted to interject the new without losing the space’s original character,” shared Jane Stageberg, principal and co-founder of BSC.

📖 The project recently appeared in @wsj @wsjrealestate. Read more at the 🔗 in bio.

📸 @jasonschmidtstudio taken in Midtown Manhattan by @thisbythat

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2 months ago

Just announced: @schaumarchitects is leading architectural design for the @chinatifoundation’s restoration of the Artillery Sheds, two former military buildings that artist Donald Judd repurposed for the permanent installation of his 100 untitled works in mill aluminum in Marfa, Texas. Schaum is working closely with Chinati’s Executive Director @caitlincollinsmurray, Director of Preservation and Planning Stephen Martin, and Head of Conservation Bogna Skwara, alongside a bench of engineers, climate specialists, conservators, and landscape designers.

“The real ingenuity of the restoration is maintaining Donald Judd’s vision and editing around the edges. Through the use of low-energy mechanical systems, we are working in the margins and finding subtle opportunities for intervention that can be leveraged across the buildings to do the work of preservation,” explains @troyschaum, Principal of Schaum Architects and a professor at @ricearch, whose ongoing preservation work at Chinati includes the restoration of the John Chamberlain Building, completed in 2022.

As part of this major undertaking, Judd’s 100 untitled works in mill aluminum will be moved for the first time since their placement in the 1980s, marking a once-in-a-generation conservation intervention for the collection.

Read more about the project in @theartnewspaper.official, @archpaper, @dezeen, @wallpapermag, @artforum, @artnews & @ocula.art. (🔗 in bio)

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📸[1 & 3] Donald Judd, 100 untitled works in mill aluminum, 1982–1986. Permanent collection,The Chinati Foundation, Marfa, Texas. Photo by Alex Marks, courtesy of The Chinati Foundation. Donald Judd Art © 2026 Judd Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

📸[2] Donald Judd inspects the recently installed pre-fabricated metal panel roof on the SouthArtillery Shed, 1984. Photo courtesy of the Chinati Foundation Archives. taken in Marfa, Texas by @thisbythat

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2 months ago

Out in @archdigest, Escher GuneWardena Architecture (@egarchla) has completed a six-year architectural restoration of trailblazing architect Paul R. Williams’ historic home in Los Angeles’ Lafayette Square neighborhood. Known for restorations of midcentury icons like the Eames House and John Lautner’s Chemosphere, the firm’s careful interventions included major structural stabilization of the home’s foundation and the revival of Williams’ original color palette through archival research and paint analysis.

“Paul R. Williams is renowned with good reason,” shared Frank Escher, co-founder and principal at Escher GuneWardena. “And with this being the architect’s own home, he was able to freely express his ideas for an ideal living environment. We felt a strong conviction to restore the house to its original atmosphere and honor Williams’ intent from 1952, while ensuring its habitability for generations to come.”

Williams had a career of many firsts, becoming the first African American architect registered west of the Mississippi and designing more than 2,000 buildings, many during an era of segregation, including homes for Hollywood stars like Lucille Ball and Frank Sinatra. This summer and fall, his legacy will be celebrated in three major exhibitions at the @gettymuseum, @lacma, and @uscedu.

📖 Swipe through to see the project in AD’s March 2026 issue (words by @sarcherize). The home and its new owner @darrenwalker was also recently covered in the @wsj. (🔗in bio)

Interiors by @billycotton and @leydenlewisdesignstudio.

📸 @frankfrancesstudio

#eschergunewardena #paulrwilliams #architecturaldigest #midcenturymodern taken in Lafayette Square by @thisbythat

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2 months ago