Sean Canty

Sean Canty received an Master of Architecture degree from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the California College of the Arts.[2] During his academic tenure, he taught at the Cooper Union[3] in New York City, University California Berkeley,[4] and California College of the Arts.[5] Prior to establishing his own firm, he was a Project Designer at Iwamoto Scott Architecture in San Francisco.

In 2020, Canty created a widely published list of 200 black creatives practicing in the United States as a response to Black Lives Matter.[6] The list was a compilation of designers, artists and architects including Thelma Golden, Germane Barnes, Olalekan Joyifous, V.Mitch McEwen and many others.[7] In 2017, as part of Office III, Canty designed and constructed an all timber visitors' center for Governors Island in New York City.[8]

Canty's current design focus is on residential work which he has presented during several academic lectures across the United States including public talks at the University of Pennsylvania,[9] AIA New York Center for Architecture,[10] Ohio State University,[11] Le Laboratoire,[12] CU Denver,[13] California College of the Arts,[14] Cal Poly Pomona[15] and Cornell University[16] to name a few. His work has been exhibited in several institutions and museums including the Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York.[17] In June 2021, his work titled “Drawing Doubles” was exhibited at the SoHo’s a83 gallery as part of the “Architectural Drawing: Not for Construction” exhibition.[18]

Sean Canty has been a frequent speaker and lecturer at several academic institutions across the U.S. and globally including University of Pennsylvania,[19] California College of the Arts,[20] Ohio State,[21] Center for Architecture,[22] Wentworth Institute of Technology,[23] CU Denver,[24] CalPoly Pomona,[25] Woodbury University,[26] Cornell University,[27] University of Johannesburg,[28] Harvard University,[29] SoCal NOMAS.[30]

In 2020, Sean Canty was awarded the Richard Rogers Fellowship established by Harvard University alongside fellow architect Michelle Chang.[31]

The MoMA Young Architects Program shortlisted Canty in 2017 as one of four designers to envision a pavilion for the P.S.1 Museum courtyard.[32]

As part of the annual Times Square Valentines Heart program, Canty was shortlisted to create a design proposal for the 2020 competition.[33]

He was also finalist in the Civitella Ranieri Architecture Prize competition with the focus to invite one emerging architect each year to the Civitella Ranieri Center in Italy.[34] Pin-Up Magazine featured Canty as one of eight emerging firms.[35]