For over four decades, Alan Wanzenberg has practiced an interdisciplinary craft of architecture and design. Beginning with work undertaken in partnership with the late Jed Johnson, Alan established a reputation for creating residential environments characterized by rigorous design, fastidious detailing and a respectful injection of modern sensibility into objects from the past. Working frequently with artists and collectors, Alan creates a unique blending of art and furniture that is often informed by his deep appreciation for the Arts & Crafts and other analogous movements. When possible, he opts to reinvigorate and repurpose historic or vernacular structures in a thorough and unpretentious way. As evidence of the broader appeal of his refined sensibility, Alan has recently worked on several major development projects in New York City including Chelsea Enclave and 455 West 20th Street for the Brodsky Organization, 150 Charles and 10 Madison Square West for the Witkoff Group, as well as prior projects for both the Zeckendorf Organization and Whitehall Partners.
Parallel to his private commissions, Alan’s commitment to nonprofits runs deep and he has used his professional talents to further the missions of several education and community based organizations. He serves as President of Board of Trustees at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, an intensive nine-week summer residence program for emerging visual artists which was established in 1946. Alan has shown a devoted interest to the advancement of the school’s presence in New York City, and was integral to the conception and design of its permanent space outside of Maine. He plays an equally critical role in the Buildings and Grounds Committee and is overseeing the development of the first campus master plan in Skowhegan’s history. As a Trustee of Parsons, Alan spearheaded and stabilized the activities of The Design Workshop, an innovative design and build architecture studio that offers graduate students an opportunity to integrate their academic practice with intentional, socially-oriented projects through pro-bono design and construction services for various nonprofit organizations. Previously, as a Trustee of Housing Works, Alan created and realized Housing Works’ first housing facility over a seven-year period beginning in the early 1990s, and publicly opening in 1997. At this facility, which has become a model for other, similar facilities throughout the United States, 40 previously homeless individuals with HIV/AIDS had access to a healthcare facility, cafeteria and job training facility, as well as accommodation.
He has been recognized for design excellence with numerous AD100 and Elle Decor A-List awards.
Lastly, in 2013, Pointed Leaf Press published Journey: The Life and Times of an American Architect, the first-ever monograph to chronicle the trajectory, work, inspirations and motivations that shape Alan’s approach to architecture and design.