Bartholomew Voorsanger


Bartholomew Voorsanger is an American architect.

Biography

Beyond international and national recognition, the built public architecture of Bartholomew Voorsanger, such as the Garden Court at Pierpont Morgan Library, as well as The Asia Society Museum overall and particularly its public space at ground floor, which represents a "fluid space where nature meets high tech", have received a steady acclaim from the general public.
The private character of his residential buildings include an equally consistent obsession with capturing nature and light through carefully calibrated and restrained architectonic gestures, and bringing them inside his houses, wherever they may be: Colorado, Arizona, Virginia, California, or Dubai. This is done in the spirit of the true beginning of American painting, starting with Friedrich Church’s depiction of the landscape of the Americas.
The New York architect Voorsanger received a bachelor's degree with Honors from Princeton University, a master's degree in Architecture from Harvard University, and accepted in 2005 the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Architecture and Urbanism “Ion Mincu”, Bucharest, Romania. Prior to opening his own practice, Voorsanger worked for three years with urban planner Vincent Ponte in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, followed by a decade as an Associate with I.M. Pei & Partners in New York.
The firm Voorsanger & Mills, was restructured as Voorsanger Architects PC in 1990, with Voorsanger as the Principal of the firm responsible for design. Voorsanger’s architecture projects have been published widely both nationally and internationally, in volumes, magazines, and articles. Earlier projects include studies for New York University, such as Midtown Center, the Graduate and Undergraduate dormitories, the Center for Advanced Digital Studies. Notable later projects include the International Competition for The Brooklyn Museum Master Plan, The Pierpont Morgan Library Garden Court, Eugenio Maria de Hostos Community College, the Air Traffic Control Tower at LaGuardia, the Asia Society and Museum in New York, Terminal B at Newark International Airport, and the Master Plan for the University of Virginia Art Museum.
Among the notable residential projects the firm has built are: Wildcat Ridge in Snowmass, Colorado, the Blue Ridge Residence in Charlottesville, villa in Tucson, villas and apartment complex in Dubai and just completed residence in the Napa Valley. A major public building, the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, was commissioned as a result of a competition. The first three phases have been completed and already open to the public; additional phases are still under construction. with additional phases under construction. In the new National Military Museum in Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates design competition, Voorsanger's proposal has been selected.
The Firm’s projects have been recognized internationally, nationally, and locally through the numerous awards and exhibitions at prestigious museums and galleries, which include the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Frankfurt Museum of Architecture, the Museum of Finnish Architecture, Ministerio de Obras Publicas Gallery in Madrid/Spain, the AA School of Architecture in London, Harvard University, the Hudson River Museum, the National Academy of Design, the AIA/NYC Center for Architecture, and New York University.
Voorsanger, a Fellow of the AIA since 1985, has served on national and international design awards juries and has been a speaker at numerous professional symposia. He has authored many articles published in national and international design and art periodicals, in addition to academic lectures, juries and adjunct faculty appointments at the Rhode Island School of Design, Harvard University, Columbia University, and the University of Pennsylvania. The architect’s interest in public service translated into past involvements such as Chair of the Board of Advisors of the Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture at Columbia University, President of the AIA/New York Chapter, and the New York Foundation for Architecture. In addition, he has served as a member the editorial board of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design Magazine, Chair of Design Review for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, and on the Board of the Society of Architectural Historians.
In late 2016, Oro Press published a monograph on Voorsanger's life and work, , written by Alastair Gordon.

Selected Projects

Napa Valley Residence
The National World War II Museum
Wildcat Ridge Residence Snowmass, Colorado
Blue Ridge Residence Charlottesville, Virginia
Elie Tahari Fashion Design Offices & Warehouse
Asia Society and Museum
Hostos Community College Allied Health Complex
Le Cygne Restaurant
NYU Graduate School of Business
NYU Midtown Center
Pierpont Morgan Library
Waldron House, Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.