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Over the weekend, we had the pleasure of welcoming undergraduate and graduate architecture students from across the northeast into our office as part of the Architectural League’s 2025 Student Program.

The annual program connects students from fifteen regional schools with professional practices across New York City, offering a behind-the-scenes look at how design studios operate. During their visit, students toured our office, learned about our current projects, and heard directly from Katie, Peter, and Christina about their professional journeys and roles at Marble Fairbanks.

We were delighted to share our work and culture with such an engaged group, and we left inspired by their curiosity and thoughtful questions. Many thanks to the Architectural League and to all the students who joined us!

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Marble Fairbanks is providing advisory support for the Manhattan Plan, a major citywide initiative with the NYC Department of City Planning to add 100,000 new homes in Manhattan over the next ten years. The plan seeks to expand housing opportunities while guiding growth in ways that strengthen and reflect the city’s diverse communities. 

Led by Agency Landscape + Planning, the project team is hosting a series of conversations throughout each of the NYC boroughs throughout the Summer and into the Fall. These community engagement sessions will allow input directly from New Yorkers: residents, leaders, and experts, which, in concert with an infrastructure assessment, will inform priorities and strategies for the future of housing in Manhattan.

We are proud to collaborate with Agency, Hive Public Space, Karp Strategies, Partner & Partners, Buro Happold, and Sherwood Design Engineers on this effort to help shape a more equitable and accessible future for the borough.

Read More: The Manhattan Plan

As part of this year’s Discover Architecture program through the Center for Architecture, we had the pleasure of hosting Esther, a talented local high school student, in our office over the past few days. During her time with us, Esther immersed herself in a range of architectural topics, from touring local projects such as the Schomburg Center, Greenpoint Library, and Center for Brooklyn History, to hands-on experiences with Rhino tutorials and VR walkthroughs. It was inspiring to witness her curiosity and passion for architecture, and we look forward to seeing where her journey in the field takes her!

Read more at the Center for Architecture website

As part of the inaugural cohort for NYC Economic Development Corporation’s Mass Timber Studio, Jason Roberts from MFA and Justin Den Herder from TYLin | Silman Structural Solutions presented how our New Lots Library team has been exploring the use of mass timber in NYC. The first of its kind in the city, the Mass Timber Studio was created to prioritize the decarbonization of the built environment by supporting and helping to advance mass timber projects. During Climate Week NYC, we joined the six other project teams from the inaugural cohort for a final public presentation to share insights on design strategies, structural innovations, regulatory challenges, and other key lessons learned. Deepening our commitment to sustainable building practices and thoughtful material use, this project reinforces mass timber’s potential to reshape urban architecture.

We are pleased to announce two new Senior Architect positions for returning team members, Peter Adams and Katie Shima.

Peter Adams, AIA

Peter Adams rejoined Marble Fairbanks as a Senior Architect in June 2023 after gaining valuable experience over the past five years at FullStack Modular, COOKFOX Architects, Centurion Real Estate Partners LLC, and Assembly OSM. Having worked at the firm from 2015 to 2018 and with over 12 years of experience in New York City, Peter brings a wide range of knowledge within several sectors of the AEC industry to MFA. Currently, he is Project Lead for a renovation and addition project for the historic Beebe Plain Land Port of Entry, on the US-Canada border and is part of a team working on a 60,000SF full renovation of an historic building in the Charlestown Navy Yard for the National Parks of Boston Headquarters. During his previous time at MFA, Peter worked on the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center, Colman Hall at Lawrence University, and POTS. Peter can be contacted at [email protected].

Katie Shima, AIA

Katie Shima has over 15 years of experience in cultural, civic, and workplace architecture. Having worked at Marble Fairbanks from 2005-2006 and from 2009 to 2012, she rejoined the Marble Fairbanks team as a Senior Architect in January 2024 after serving as Design Director at SITU Studio.  She is currently serving as design lead for a renovation of the New York University Law Library as well as the National Parks of Boston Headquarters and is part of the collaborative design team with MASS Design Group for the New Lots Library in Brooklyn. During her previous time at Marble Fairbanks Architects, Katie contributed to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Glen Oaks Branch Library, Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center, and Flatform, our installation included in the exhibition Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling at the Museum of Modern Art. Katie can be contacted at [email protected].