SYLVIA J. SMITH, FAIA, LEED

Senior Partner

Sylvia Smith formed and leads FXFOWLE’s Cultural/Educational Studio, which has won numerous awards for design excellence. Sylvia is constantly cultivating new ways to make architecture more expressive and enriching. She is interested in design as a practical and poetic articulation of theoretical ideas, and is firmly committed to a sense of optimism at the heart of those ideas. She believes a strong architectural concept can empower every project, regardless of type or size, and enliven the experiences of people who occupy or pass by.

Sylvia's current work includes the design of SUNY Purchase's Center for Integrated Technology Learning, the design for the HealthCare Chaplaincy in Lower Manhattan, a 140,000 square-foot school in Hunters Point South for the NYC School Construction Authority, and a master plan for the National University of Rwanda. Sylvia is Partner-in-Charge of the expansion of The Juilliard School and the renovation of Alice Tully Hall (with Diller Scofidio + Renfro). She recently completed the adaptive reuse of the Lion House, the first landmark building in New York to receive LEED Gold Certification, and the LEED Gold Certified Center for Global Conservation, both at the Bronx Zoo.

Sylvia's past projects include the Martin J. Whitman School of Management for Syracuse University, the Knowledge Union Technology Center and the Arnhold Hall Cultural Center for the New School, the Black Rock Forest Center for Science and Education, a renovation/addition for the American Bible Society headquarters, and renovations of the Spence, Dalton, Calhoun, Grace Church and Ramaz Schools.

Sylvia earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in studio art and art history from Dickinson College, where she was named a Metzger Fellow. She received her Master of Architecture from the University of Virginia School of Architecture.