MBB Architects

MBB Architects is an architectural design firm based in New York City. The firm is known for the preservation and renewal of historically significant buildings such as St. Patrick's Cathedral, Trinity Church Wall Street, and Park Avenue Synagogue.

Exterior of Park Avenue Synagogue 87th Street addition following renovation

History

In 1998, the firm was established under the name Murphy, Burnham & Buttrick. Founding partners Mary Burnham, Jeffrey Murphy, and Harold Buttrick, formerly of Buttrick, White and Burtis, were joined by another partner, Sara Grant, in 2004.[1] The women-owned firm had approximately 30 employees as of 2020.[1]

Interior glass wall within a stone arch at St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York City
Green Roof Environmental Literacy Laboratory at PS41 Greenwich Village School in New York City

Notable Projects

In 2015 the firm completed a 10-year, $177 million restoration, renovation and geothermal energy system for St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan.[2][3] According to New York Magazine's architecture critic Justin Davidson, “The result is so conspicuously glorious that it makes Rockefeller Center look suddenly shabby by comparison.”[4] Davidson continued, “The most impressive tasks aren’t even visible: replacing the entire cooling and heating system and hooking them up to geothermal wells that have been sunk up to 2,200 feet below Manhattan’s asphalt crust.”[4]

Steel and glass canopy at Trinity Church New York

In 2021 the firm completed a three-year restoration and renovation of Trinity Church Wall Street, which The New York Times called “a shining example of stewardship.”[5] In addition to restoring the historic interiors and uncovering hidden windows,[6] the project improved the church's accessibility, acoustics and energy performance.[7] The firm has also led renovations to the historic Park Avenue Synagogue in collaboration with Judaica expert Amy Reichert.[8][9]

19 Washington Square North (right) has been renovated to serve as New York University's Abu Dhabi Institute.

In 2017 the firm renovated the historic Billie Holiday Theatre in Brooklyn, which U.S. President Joe Biden later called "an incredible place" that is "nurturing a new generation of Black playwrights, performers."[10] Notable education design projects include NYU Abu Dhabi Institute at 19 Washington Square North in New York City; Public School 330[11] in Queens, New York City, built around a glass-enclosed “gymnatorium”;[12] a rooftop athletic center addition to the Grace Church School; an educational green roof at PS 41 Greenwich Village School;[13] and the renovation and expansion of St. Hilda's & St. Hugh's School,[14] where the firm "scrutinized every bit of space from basement to roof to maximize programmatic use."[15]

Interior of the renovated Billie Holiday Theatre in Brooklyn, New York

The firm's 2003 Habitat for Humanity Row Houses in the Bronx were described as "well-designed, dignified and enhancing the urban streetscape" by The New York Times.[16] Another civic housing design, a post-disaster module made of "mold-resistant boating and surfer materials," was selected as a finalist in a 2008 competition organized by New York City's Office of Emergency Management.[17]

References
  1. Gamolina, Julia (2020-09-22). "Design That Matters: MBB's Mary Burnham on Embracing Opportunities and Taking the Long View". Madame Architect. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  2. Otterman, Sharon (2018-03-14). "The New, Green Pride of St. Patrick's Cathedral Is Underground". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  3. Budds, Diana (2015-09-22). "How To Give An Iconic 136-Year-Old Cathedral A $177 Million Overhaul". Fast Company.
  4. Davidson, Justin (2015-09-11). "What We Can Learn From the Restoration of St. Patrick's Cathedral". Intelligencer (New York Magazine). Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  5. Margolies, Jane (2019-02-08). "The Church With the $6 Billion Portfolio". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  6. Melchiorre, James; Winterbottom, Colin (2021-07-08). "Rejuvenation: The Hidden Windows of Trinity Church". Trinity Church Wall Street. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  7. Kaufman, Simon (2022-02-17). "Trinity Church Wall Street". Partners for Sacred Places. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  8. Silow-Carroll, Andrew (2019-12-10). "Park Ave. Synagogue Celebrates A $96 Million Expansion". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  9. "Arcat Podcast Episode: 39: Park Avenue Synagogue | MBB Architects". ARCAT. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  10. Culgan, Rossilynne Skena. "Brooklyn's Billie Holiday Theatre just won the nation's most prestigious arts award". Time Out New York. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  11. Kim, Sheila (2018-02-08). "The Glaring Issue of Daylighting in Education Settings". Architectural Record. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  12. "Public School 330Q". Rethinking The Future Awards. 2017-07-14. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  13. "Greenwich Village School Green Roof—PS41 | MBB Architects". Archinect. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  14. "St. Hilda's and St. Hugh's School". Architect Magazine. 2015-12-02.
  15. Delgado, Lisa (Winter 2008). ""No Place to Go but Up or Down"" (PDF). Oculus: Publication of the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter. 70 (4): 39 – via US Modernist.
  16. McDowell, Edwin (2003-06-15). "Habitat for Humanity in the Bronx; Sweat Equity Helps to Create 13 Houses". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
  17. Weiss, Lois (2012-11-07). "Disaster housing holdup". New York Post. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
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