James Biber
Encyclopedia
James Biber is an architect and partner in the firm Biber Architects, based in New York.
, studying Biology before receiving his profession degree in Architecture in 1976. Upon graduation James received the Matthew DelGaudio Award in total design and the Shreve Fund Award, as well as the James Eidlitz Traveling Fellowship, on which he traveled in Europe for 6 months.
, Parsons The New School for Design
and has lectured at a number of other colleges of design and architecture. He has described Pentagram as his “post-graduate education”.
and Bobby Flay
. Biber’s firm practiced in a studio that included Carin Goldberg, a renowned graphic designer whom he married in 1987, and the illustrator/designer Gene Greif who died in 2004.
, "Restaurants that Work", by Martin Dorf, Articles in The New York Times
, The New York Times Magazine
, New York Magazine, Architect, Architectural Record
, Blueprint
, Metropolis, Metropolitan Home
, Interiors, Interior Design
, I.D.
, Fast Company
, Business Week, The Wall Street Journal
, Wallpaper and dozens of other international publications.
His work is featured in 3 of the books on Pentagram Design, "Pentagram: the Compendium", "Pentagram Book Five" and "Profile: Pentagram Design" and in "Pentagram Paper 38: The Russian Garbo".
Biber is currently working on a book of Ideas for New York.
and Michael Bierut
shortly after they became partners, along with established partners Woody Pirtle, Peter Harrison and founder Colin Forbes. Other partners in New York office of Pentagram included Luke Hayman, Michael Gericke, Abbott Miller and Lisa Strausfeld
.
Biber left Pentagram in October 2010 to establish his own New York-based studio, Biber Architects.
in Milwaukee, 2008; oceanfront houses in Montauk, NY; a restoration of the 1934 Sten-Frenke house in Santa Monica, by Richard Neutra
; along with projects at Celebration, Florida
; store, suites and lounges in the Arizona Cardinals
Football Stadium (by Peter Eisenman) in Phoenix, Arizona; Headquarters for the Muzak
corporation in Fort Mill, SC.
He designed the iconic Needle and Button kiosk for the Fashion Center BID in New York's fashion district; a pop-up restaurant for the James Beard Foundation, JBF LTD; the Public Gallery at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research; the Visitor's Center for Philip Johnson's Glass House in New Canaan, CT; sets for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart; the Macaulay Honors College at CUNY; the JEHT Foundation and a variety of other significant projects.
He has described his work as the "Architecture of Identity".
College of Fellows in 2004. A member of the AIA, NCARB, US Green Building Council, The Architectural League, The Storefront for Art and Architecture and other professional design organizations. He has received awards recognizing his projects from the AIA, SEGD, AIGA, Business Week IDEA Awards among others. James Biber is a LEED accredited professional (LEED AP).
Education
Biber was educated at Cornell UniversityCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, studying Biology before receiving his profession degree in Architecture in 1976. Upon graduation James received the Matthew DelGaudio Award in total design and the Shreve Fund Award, as well as the James Eidlitz Traveling Fellowship, on which he traveled in Europe for 6 months.
Teaching
Biber has been a visiting architecture critic at Cornell University College of Architecture, Art and Planning, Syracuse UniversitySyracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
, Parsons The New School for Design
Parsons The New School for Design
Parsons The New School For Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is the art and design college of The New School university. It is located in New York City's Greenwich Village, and has produced artists and designers such as Marc Jacobs, Dean and Dan Caten, Norman Rockwell, Donna Karan, Jane...
and has lectured at a number of other colleges of design and architecture. He has described Pentagram as his “post-graduate education”.
Early Professional Career
James spent his early career at Paul Segal Associates, becoming the Senior Associate and leaving in 1984 to establish James Biber Architect. Notable projects include the Gotham Bar and Grill (designed while at Paul Segal Associates), Mesa Grill, Bolo Bar and Restaurant, restaurants that helped launch the careers of Alfred PortaleAlfred Portale
Alfred Portale is an American chef, author and restaurateur known as a pioneer in the New American cuisine movement.-Restaurants:...
and Bobby Flay
Bobby Flay
Robert William "Bobby" Flay is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur and reality television personality. He is the owner and executive chef of 12 restaurants: Mesa Grill in Las Vegas, New York City, and the Bahamas ; Bar Americain in New York City and Uncasville, Connecticut; Bobby Flay Steak...
. Biber’s firm practiced in a studio that included Carin Goldberg, a renowned graphic designer whom he married in 1987, and the illustrator/designer Gene Greif who died in 2004.
Publications
Biber’s work has appeared in numerous books and articles including “Houses of the Hamptons”, by Paul GoldbergerPaul Goldberger
Paul Goldberger is the Architecture Critic for The New Yorker, where since 1997 he has written the magazine's celebrated "Sky Line" column. He also holds the Joseph Urban Chair in Design and Architecture at The New School in New York City...
, "Restaurants that Work", by Martin Dorf, Articles in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine is a Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It is host to feature articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors...
, New York Magazine, Architect, Architectural Record
Architectural Record
Architectural Record is an American monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design, published by McGraw-Hill Construction in New York City. It is over 110 years old...
, Blueprint
Blueprint (architecture magazine)
Blueprint is an architecture and design magazine that has been published in the UK on a monthly basis since 1983.It offers a mix of criticism, news and feature writing on design and architecture, directed at professionals and non-professionals alike....
, Metropolis, Metropolitan Home
Metropolitan Home
Metropolitan Home was a magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. The magazine focused on "high-end modern design and interiors, blended with intelligent reporting, to connect with a progressive reader mindset." It was originally published from 1974 through 1981 as Apartment Life,...
, Interiors, Interior Design
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
, I.D.
I.D. (magazine)
I.D. was a magazine covering the art, business and culture of design. It was published eight times a year by F+W Media....
, Fast Company
Fast Company (magazine)
Fast Company is a full-color business magazine that releases 10 issues per year and reports on topics including innovation, digital media, technology, change management, leadership, design, and social responsibility...
, Business Week, The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, Wallpaper and dozens of other international publications.
His work is featured in 3 of the books on Pentagram Design, "Pentagram: the Compendium", "Pentagram Book Five" and "Profile: Pentagram Design" and in "Pentagram Paper 38: The Russian Garbo".
Biber is currently working on a book of Ideas for New York.
Pentagram
In 1991 the international design firm Pentagram Design invited Biber to join as a partner in the New York office as the first architect in that office. He joined graphic designers Paula ScherPaula Scher
Paula Scher, born October 6, 1948, in Washington, DC., is an American graphic designer, illustrator, painter and art educator in design, and the first female principal at Pentagram, which she joined in 1991...
and Michael Bierut
Michael Bierut
Michael Bierut is a graphic designer, design critic and educator.Bierut was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He studied graphic design at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning....
shortly after they became partners, along with established partners Woody Pirtle, Peter Harrison and founder Colin Forbes. Other partners in New York office of Pentagram included Luke Hayman, Michael Gericke, Abbott Miller and Lisa Strausfeld
Lisa Strausfeld
Lisa Strausfeld is an American design professional. She is a leading Information architect.-Early life:Lisa Strausfeld born in central New Jersey, one of a set of twin daughters of an ob-gyn and an urban planner...
.
Biber left Pentagram in October 2010 to establish his own New York-based studio, Biber Architects.
Buildings and Projects
Biber’s career has included the design of the Harley-Davidson MuseumHarley-Davidson Museum
The Harley-Davidson Museum is a North American museum near downtown, Milwaukee, Wisconsin celebrating the more than 100 year history of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The three building complex on along the Menomonee River bank contains more than 450 Harley-Davidson motorcycles and hundreds of...
in Milwaukee, 2008; oceanfront houses in Montauk, NY; a restoration of the 1934 Sten-Frenke house in Santa Monica, by Richard Neutra
Richard Neutra
Richard Joseph Neutra is considered one of modernism's most important architects.- Biography :Neutra was born in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Vienna, Austria Hungary, on April 8, 1892. He was born into both-Jewish wealthy family...
; along with projects at Celebration, Florida
Celebration, Florida
Celebration is a census-designated place and a master-planned community in Osceola County, Florida, United States, located near Walt Disney World Resort and originally developed by The Walt Disney Company...
; store, suites and lounges in the Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
Football Stadium (by Peter Eisenman) in Phoenix, Arizona; Headquarters for the Muzak
Muzak
Muzak Holdings LLC is a company based in metro Fort Mill, South Carolina, United States, just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in 1934, Muzak Holdings is best known for distribution of background music to retail stores and other companies....
corporation in Fort Mill, SC.
He designed the iconic Needle and Button kiosk for the Fashion Center BID in New York's fashion district; a pop-up restaurant for the James Beard Foundation, JBF LTD; the Public Gallery at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research; the Visitor's Center for Philip Johnson's Glass House in New Canaan, CT; sets for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart; the Macaulay Honors College at CUNY; the JEHT Foundation and a variety of other significant projects.
He has described his work as the "Architecture of Identity".
Professional Recognition
James Biber was elected to the American Institute of ArchitectsAmerican Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
College of Fellows in 2004. A member of the AIA, NCARB, US Green Building Council, The Architectural League, The Storefront for Art and Architecture and other professional design organizations. He has received awards recognizing his projects from the AIA, SEGD, AIGA, Business Week IDEA Awards among others. James Biber is a LEED accredited professional (LEED AP).