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Jay Valgora
ay Valgora — the architect behind the massive Astoria Cove redevelopment and Empire Stores in Dumbo, among numerous other noteworthy projects in the city — does most of his work at a long, communal table at the East 32nd Street office of his firm Studio V. The table, which is littered with models, books and materials, is set in front of an expansive architectural library, as well as a wall that displays the firm’s different projects. The architect prefers to stay out of the limelight. “We intentionally keep ourselves mysterious,” Valgora said. He barely ever posts renderings online and gets most of his assignments by word of mouth, he said. Valgora grew up in Upstate New York, lived in London from 1988 to 1991, including one year as a Fulbright fellow, and earned a master’s degree from Harvard’s Graduate School of Architecture. He recently took The Real Deal on a tour of his office.
By Claire Moses
Theater When Valgora is not thinking about architecture, he likes to attend the theater. He and his wife, Kathy, see about 40 productions each year. His wife picks the performances,
Mobi This mock-up is actually “a project in need of a home.” Valgora designed the structure — made from recycled wood from old water towers —on a pro bono basis. The design would fit in a park, Valgora said.
which are almost always small, offBroadway shows. Recently, Valgora saw — and was enamored by — “The Money Shot.”
Atlante di Storia Dell’ Urbanistica “There’s no book like this in the
Guitar
Wine
Valgora’s sons Tyler, 16, and Julian, 13,
The Studio V office is never without a stash of red
often stop by the office. Valgora and his
wine. Valgora likes to bring back wine from places
family live only a few blocks away. This
he travels to. But, to make sure that there’s always
guitar — a cheap six-string that was
enough wine in the office, he also orders bottles
customized by Tyler — sits against
online, mostly because he gets a better deal if he buys
the book shelves in the office.
them on the Internet. They get consumed fast. “Wine
Valgora himself plays as well.
is for drinking,” he said.
world,” Valgora said about the Italian-language edition on his desk. He bought the book, which is an atlas that outlines
New York Design Award
the history of urbanism, when
An award proudly stands in Valgora’s
he lived in London. (It’s now
window sill, next to two bottles of
for sale on Amazon for $560.)
wine. The firm won it earlier this year
It’s one of the books that clearly
for a commercial project it did in
show “great urban conditions.”
Yonkers, New York. Valgora said he
Valgora said he uses it often as a reference point .
was “pleased and surprised” to win.
Drawing The picture wall in the office serves as the firm’s living brochure of ongoing projects.
Studio
V doesn’t print a
Fishing Once a year, Valgora goes fishing with a small group of friends, his father and —more recently — his sons, in a remote region off the coast of Ontario. The men drive two days to the location, before they take a six-hour boat ride to the secret, untouched island in Lake Superior. For two weeks, Valgora is off the grid: There’s no electricity and no cell phone service on the island.
3D model Valgora’s desk houses multiple mock-ups of current projects.
Grain elevators
This particular model, made with a 3D printer, is currently under
These structures are
construction. It involves what he called “the longest continuous
the reason Valgora
bar in the world,” but Valgora wouldn’t divulge any more details,
became an architect.
including where it
He will soon travel to
is located.
Hamburg, New York,
brochure, so the wall
the small town near
is how Valgora and
Buffalo where he grew
his team displays their work to clients. The pictures change on
up, to work on turning
a regular basis, but one item is constant: this black-and-white
the grain elevators there into a cultural, creative community space.
drawing by Valgora’s younger son, Julian.
In high school, Valgora used to paint and draw the structures.
26 December 2014 www.TheRealDeal.com
PHOTOGRAPH OF jay valgora FOR THE REAL DEAL BY max dworkin