About — Gowanus by Design

The Project

Gowanus by Design is a non-profit urban design advocacy co-founded by David Briggs, Principal of Loci Architecture and neighbor of Gowanus. As a reaction to significant community concerns with the city planning process in the Brooklyn neighborhoods around the Gowanus Canal and the impending cleanup of the heavily contaminated EPA Superfund site, we organize design competitions and propose solutions as part of a grassroots initiative to support community-based urban planning. We are researching new urban strategies for the development of the Gowanus area, showcasing different options for the canal and including the many voices of canal stakeholders. Our projects speculate upon the potential for what the neighborhood can be and we track the coordination of the canal's clean-up and private development by the many city, state, and federal agencies whose decisions impact those who live and work near the canal. Our aspiration with Gowanus by Design is to bring to bear the same analytical and research tools that we use for our professional clients, and to use them to the benefit of our community and our neighbors.

The Inspiration

The idea for Gowanus by Design has its roots in the Van Alen Institute's 2001 exhibition, "Public by Design." Curator Raymond Gastil, then director of the Institute and author of "Beyond the Edge: New York's New Waterfront," saw the post-industrial waterfront not only as a transition from private to public ownership, but as one from the industries of shipping and manufacturing to those of recreation and tourism. In this regard Gastil saw the reclamation and remediation of waterfront space as a necessary partnership between government, private enterprise, and the adjacent communities.

Mission Statement

Our goal is to shape a design for the Gowanus community that is guided by principles of sustainability, dynamism, diversity, and inclusion. In integrating new development with a post-industrial landscape, the Gowanus can serve as a model for other transitioning urban communities reconciling growth with environmental remediation.

The Team

David Briggs AIA LEED AP
Executive Director

Dave is the Founder and Principal of Loci Architecture, a Soho office with expertise in the academic, residential, restoration, and community project sectors. After graduating from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1985, Dave worked in upstate New York and for William McDonough in New York City. He founded Loci in 1998 and began working on projects that addressed sustainable design issues with a strong commitment to local, regional, and global environmental issues that are affected by design strategies. In 1997 Dave was awarded the AIA New York City Chapter Stewardson Keefe LeBrun Travel Grant. He has also served as a Visiting Critic for the Weimar Bauhaus-Universitat "Summer Academy in Rome" as well as the University of Pennsylvania and taught as an adjunct professor at Philadelphia University. He is a LEED Accredited Professional and is licensed to practice architecture in New York, New Jersey, and Louisiana. Dave lives two blocks away from the canal in Brooklyn with his wife and two sons.

Paul Coughlin RA
Asst. Executive Director

Paul earned a Bachelor of Architecture from Philadelphia University and a M.S. in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University, GSAPP. Paul has taught at The University of Pennsylvania School of Design and Philadelphia University School of Architecture. He has been an invited guest critic at Philadelphia University, Barnard College, Pratt Institute, Parsons New School for Design, University of Pennsylvania School of Design, Columbia University, GSAPP and The University of Michigan. Paul is a registered architect in New York and Pennsylvania and practices out of his Red Hook office. Paul also teaches a studio at The City University of New York, School of Technology in Brooklyn.

Jennifer Leone RA

Jennifer Leone is a principal at Leone Design Studio, a design-build studio in Gowanus (now Matter of Architecture/ Matter of Building), whose work has been featured in Dwell, New York Magazine, Design Brooklyn, and a number of other publications. Her work at Leone Design Studio includes various outreach and educational projects for local non-profits and schools. She holds a Master of Architecture from Yale University, a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Design from the University of Pennsylvania, and is currently wrapping up a Master of Science in Sustainability at the City College of New York with a focus on urban environmental issues and sustainable infrastructure. She is licensed in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Michael King

Michael King, dba TrafficCalmer, works with progressive cities, campuses, and NGOs to invert the dominant auto-centric paradigm and advance a green mobility ethos. Michael has worked at the intersection of transportation and urban design for 25 years. His travels have taken him to such locales as Galveston, Germany, Guadalajara, and Guangzhou. He was the first director of traffic calming for New York City (all those speed humps you see are his fault), he helped birth the first Safe Routes to School program in the USA (in the Bronx), and he designed the nation's 2nd “shared street” in Santa Monica. He authored the Complete Streets Chicago for the Chicago Department of Transportation, co-authored the Urban Street Design Guide for the National Association of City Transportation Officials, and co-authored Flexible Design of New Jersey's Main Streets for the New Jersey Department of Transportation. Michael was appointed to serve on the US Safe Routes to School Task Force and recently served as the Vice President of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals. He received a Masters of Architecture from Columbia University. And he plays rugby.

Kenneth Miraski RA, LEED GA

Ken is an Architect with several years of experience working on residential, hospitality, and historic preservation projects in the city. He is a graduate of Philadelphia University and moved to New York to continue his pursuit of design and architecture within the urban environment. He is very active in community organizing and advocacy for transportation and street safety efforts. You may find him biking around the neighborhood or championing for redesigns of area streets and plazas.

Brian Thomas

Brian received his Bachelor of Architecture from Philadelphia University in 2002 and his Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University, GSAPP in 2011. Brian had designed in various scales professionally and in academia, leveraging his background in graphic design, web design, and architecture. Brian also has a strong focus on sustainable architecture and as a project architect recently shepherded one of the first prefabricated homes in New York State through the LEED for Home program. Brian is a designer in New York City and practices as kokoro-a.com.

deborah rojas

Deborah is the Founder and Principal of Rojas AP. With over fifteen years of work experience, Deborah has amassed an enviable catalog of clients and projects in her mission to improve the quality of life in New York City. Her passion for urban planning presented itself early in her career; she completed her Masters in Urban Planning at Hunter College in 2014 and established her firm in 2015. Her work explores the intersection between architecture and transportation planning in order to create functional spaces for community living. Her vigilance and forward-thinking mindset matched with her ability to consistently meet her client’s needs is unmatched in the industry. Her desire to serve her community led to her involvement in research projects sponsored by the Federal Transit Authority for improvement to public participation in transportation planning. In 2010 her valiant work was recognized by the Transportation Excellence Awards when a project she was part of received an honorable mention. She is a member of the Young Transportation Professionals New York Chapter and part of the American Institute of Certified Planners.

Board of Trustees

Susan Frostén RA LEED AP

Susan is the Associate Provost at Philadelphia University and is a central participant in major academic planning efforts at the University, including the Academic Growth Plan, new program development, online initiatives and serving as liaison with the deans, faculty, and faculty governance bodies to support and advance academic planning efforts. Susan oversees Honors, the Writing Program and The Academic Survey Culture. Susan is a lauded and sought-after instructor. She was the recipient of the 2013 Lindback Teaching Award. Susan is also an accomplished practitioner and researcher, having worked at some of the nation’s most recognized architecture firms. Susan’s research is focused on sustainable technologies, digital techniques, responsive architectural textiles and shape memory alloys, as well as integrative learning and open source information literacy. Susan earned a B.A. from Barnard College of Columbia University and a M.Arch from Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.

Matthew Frank AIA

Matthew is the Managing Partner of MDF Development Group LLC, a full service real estate development company focused on mixed-use and residential development throughout the New York Tri-state area. The company looks to acquire sites with excellent access to transit options and/or in emerging neighborhoods to build ground-up projects as well as renovations and conversions. Prior, Matt served as the Executive Vice President of Development for the New York Tri-State Region for The Richman Group Development Corp. and as Executive Vice President of Development and Design of RXR Realty (f/k/a Reckson Associates Realty Corp., NYSE: RA).

Prior to joining Reckson, Matt was a founding partner in The Forge Company, an architectural research and design firm specializing in innovative building systems. The company’s high-energy efficient, quick-erect panelized steel frame system has been used for numerous social housing projects throughout the UK.

Matt holds a Masters Degree in Architecture from the Tulane University School of Architecture and is a registered architect in the State of New York. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute and serves on the Board of Vision Long Island, the areas premiere smart growth planning advocacy organization. Matt lives in New York City with his wife and two children.

Lior Evan

Lior is a partner in Parallel Capital LLC, a private commercial real estate investment and advisory firm. Parallel invests in urban and suburban infill locations primarily in the southeast U.S. with a focus on retail, industrial and office properties. Prior to joining Parallel, Lior was a senior banker at Babcock & Brown, an Australian listed investment bank, where he was a lead banker in the structured finance and specialty finance groups. Before joining Babcock & Brown, Lior was an Executive Director in the tax department of Morgan Stanley for 8 years, the last 4 as head of European tax in London. Prior to Morgan Stanley, Lior was an associate at the NY law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore. Lior graduated from the Wharton School and the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Pennsylvania and received a JD and MBA from Columbia University. Lior is Chair and Treasurer of New Visions Charter Schools, a not-for-profit charter management organization with four schools in Brooklyn and Queens.

Nalina Moses RA

Nalina is an architect and interior designer in New York City. She is a registered, LEED-certified architect in the State of New York and has over fifteen years experience in the design and construction industries. She has completed projects in New York City, New England, Asia, the Middle East, and the Caribbean.