Founded in 1965, PBDW Architects provides creative, sensitive, and innovative responses to a wide range of institutional, commercial, and residential design challenges. We are a collegial practice of partners, associates and staff who consistently deliver evocative designs that enrich their contexts and satisfy our clients’ objectives.
Firm Culture
We believe in fostering the growth of the “whole architect” in our practice. PBDW’s size and mix of projects exposes our staff to all aspects of design and construction. Expertise is cultivated through an open exchange of knowledge and further participation in focus groups for various topics such as material research, sustainability, and technology. This interchange underlies an informed curiosity about new design possibilities.
Client-Centered Practice
We consider ourselves to be our clients’ partners. The needs of our clients define the project. Throughout the project we listen, learn, and adapt as required to develop our client’s goals and realize their vision. We maintain a continuous and close collaboration with our clients and provide a consistent project team from start to finish to strengthen the relationships that define a successful partnership.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
We have made significant strides toward creating a more equitable, inclusive, and ultimately diverse practice, based on priorities aligned with our 2021 DEI Strategic Plan. In addition to internal staff-led DEI work groups on topics of design, process, learning, mentoring, and wellness, PBDW’s staff serve on non-profit boards and teach at various architecture schools in NYC. Our staff also mentor, write articles, and give lectures, engaging the firm in constant dialogue with others in intersecting fields and keeping the firm in the forefront of knowledge sharing and innovation.
Sustainability
A central part of PBDW’s work ethos is the commitment to developing environmentally responsible projects. PBDW is a signatory to the AIA 2030 Commitment, fostering energy performance improvements as we work towards a goal of carbon-neutral buildings by 2030. We strive to specify environmentally friendly materials as much as possible and take special pride in working on restoration and adaptive reuse projects, valuing the embodied carbon footprint of existing buildings along with their intrinsic historic value.
Award Winning Architecture
AIA New York Chapter Design Award
Powerhouse Arts
The New 42nd Street Studios
Saginaw Art Museum
New-York Historical Society
Cooper Union, Foundation Building
AIA New York State Design Award
Powerhouse Arts
The New 42nd Street Studios
Reece School
Dana Discovery Center
Cooper Union, Foundation Building
AIA National Honor Award
AIA/CAE: Educational Facility Design Award
AIA Michigan Design Award
NY Landmarks Conservancy, Lucy G. Moses Award
SARA NY, Design Award
MASterworks Award, Urban Amenity
OHNY, Open Cities Award
The Chicago Athenaeum: American Architecture Award
Preservation League of NYS: 2021
Pillar of New York State
Architizer A+ Awards, Popular Choice
Architecture + Sustainability
Architizer A+ Awards, Finalist
Architecture + Stone
CTGreen Building Council Award
The New 42nd Street Studios
LearningSpring School
Saginaw Art Museum
Powerhouse Arts 1 West 123rd Street
Powerhouse Arts
Powerhouse Arts
Powerhouse Arts
Moise Safra Community Center
Cooke School & Institute
Saginaw Art Museum
Reece School
Moise Safra Community Center
Firm Award, PBDW Architects
Williams College, Fellows Hall
Moise Safra Community Center
Williams College, Fellows Hall
Selected Clients
14th Street Y
462 Broadway
Archdiocese of New York
Brooklyn Conservatory of Music
Central Synagogue
Cooke School & Institute
Columbia Grammar & Prep School
Educational Alliance
Fordham University
Green-Wood
Hotel Beacon
LearningSpring School
Marymount School
Moise Safra Center
New-York Historical Society
Park Avenue Armory
Park Lane Hotel
Poly Prep
Powerhouse Arts
Regis High School
Riverdale Country School
Saginaw Art Museum
Spence School
Saint David’s School
St. Joseph’s Seminary
Vassar College
Williams College
Powerhouse Arts
Cooke School & Institute
Moise Safra Center
PARK AVENUE ARMORY
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Built in 1880 as both a military and a social club, the Seventh Regiment Armory houses a rare collection of significant period rooms designed by the most prominent artists and designers of their time. As a design counterpoint, the soaring, industrialscaled Drill Hall celebrates the structural innovations of the era. Since 2006, PBDW has worked closely with the Park Avenue Armory Conservancy (PAA) and Herzog & de Meuron to renovate and upgrade the building for contemporary use while showcasing a well-crafted balance between the patina of time and the evolution of the building which makes its history so unique.
From the outset, PBDW applied an investigative approach to develop an intimate understanding of the building’s cultural and construction history. This informs each element of the renovation, from the integration of modern infrastructure to the restoration of decorative paint schemes.
We have worked collaboratively with the PAA to define and refine each new project phase to best meet their evolving programming objectives as they have grown from a small group of concerned visionaries into one of New York’s most vibrant cultural institutions. The multi-phased renovation has transformed the Armory’s historic environs into a world-class arts and performance venue.
AT A GLANCE
Landmark Restoration
Visual and Performing Arts Venue
LEED Silver Certified SERVICES
Historic Preservation
Renovation
Phased Construction
Timed Egress Analysis
Building Systems, Code Compliance, and Accessibility Upgrades
HIGHLIGHTS
55,000 SF Clear-Span Drill Hall
Historically Important Period Interiors
Women’s Shelter Facilities, Administrative Offices, and Rehearsal Space
PALACE THEATRE
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
The Palace Theatre is a New York City Interior Landmark designed by Kirchoff & Rose and built for vaudeville mogul Martin Beck in 1913. Over its life it has functioned as a vaudeville playhouse, a movie theater and a legitimate Broadway theater. The project relocated the historic theater 30 feet vertically as part of the TSX Broadway development and restored its significant fabric while bringing the theater into the 21st century. Raising the building adds over 10,000 SF of newly accessible circulation and back-of-house space. The theater is part of the 47-story development that brings together high-end retail, entertainment, and hospitality programming. From 2013 through 2017, PBDW was the architect for the entire development, designing and obtaining all regulatory approvals and preparing construction documents up to design development phase.
The new entrance to the theater was moved to 47th Street, with a new 80-foot marquee. Patrons ascend by escalator to a new lobby at the orchestra level and enter the auditorium through its original doors. The stage house was rebuilt, including new gridiron, rigging, stage lifts, orchestra pit and trap room with elevators. The restoration included the elaborate decorative plaster, new custom light fixtures, careful retrofitting of MEP and state-of-the-art theatrical equipment, and a finish scheme inspired by the theater’s early appearance.
This transformation elevated the Palace physically, functionally, and experientially, while restoring its original grandeur.
AT A GLANCE
Theater Restoration
New Stage House and Back-of-House Construction
Vertically Raising Theater 30’
SERVICES
Programming Restoration
Renovation
HIGHLIGHTS
Restoration of the Landmarked Interior
Reconstruction of the Stage House and Back-of-House
New Lobby and Circulation
462 BROADWAY
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Erected in 1880 with frontage on Broadway, Grand, and Crosby Streets, 462 Broadway is the largest fully-clad cast iron structure within the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District. PBDW was retained to restore the entire façade, including all 400 linear feet of ground level storefront. We replaced 11’ tall double-hung wood windows, repainted the entire six-story elevation in the original color, and restored more than 1,550 of the original 2,000 cast iron pieces that made up the 108 Corinthian capitals.
All work is based on our Landmarks approved Master Plan, which allows different layouts while retaining the building’s historic character. After PBDW’s restoration, 462 Broadway has regained its original grandeur as one of the most impressive buildings in the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District. Our restoration was recognized with a Restoration Award from the Municipal Art Society, a Stanford White Award from the Institute for Classical Architecture & Art, and a Lucy Moses Award from the New York Landmarks Conservancy.
AT A GLANCE
Historic Restoration
Commercial Structure
Cast Iron Building
SERVICES
Historic Research and Paint Analysis
Façade Restoration
Master Plan for Future Interventions
Landmarks Preservation Commission Approvals
HIGHLIGHTS
Cast Iron Capitals
2-Color Paint Scheme
Monumental Storefronts
1 WEST 123RD STREET
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
One West 123rd Street was designed in 1890 by Frank Hill Smith for James Dwight, owner of the company that made Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. The Dwight family occupied the house until the 1930s before yielding to a succession of unsympathetic occupancies including doctors’ offices, a sanitarium, and a synagogue. A failed attempt to convert the structure into condominium apartments in 2009 left the house in a complete state of ruin.
Since then our clients have been restoring the house to its original condition, largely through an approach of “restoration by excavation”. The exterior scope included replacement of windows and skylights, removal of the fire escapes, and masonry restoration. We installed new street utilities and building systems, completed missing walls, refitted bathrooms, and exposed the main stair that had been completely concealed. Most of the work involved years of painstaking paint removal followed by new faux decorative finishes. Missing features and finishes were replaced with facsimiles, but the introduction of non-original elements was kept to a minimum.
The two-story annex, added in the 1940s, was converted into a library for the owners’ collection of over 10,000 books. The lower level is fitted out with salvaged bookshelves, while a minimalist Scandinavian shelving system on the upper level establishes a foil to the historic interiors next door.
AT A GLANCE
Restoration of landmarked townhouse in historic district
Exterior scope included window replacement, masonry restoration, and removal of fire escapes dating from use as a sanitarium
Complete interior restoration included new finishes, services, and utilities
2022 Lucy G. Moses Awards, New York Landmarks Conservancy
