FIRM DESCRIPTION

Established in 1982, Karen Jacobson Architects Studio specializes in residential and medical work, often combing historic restorations with contemporary aesthetics. The studio's early projects were townhouse and apartment renovations and additions in New York City, many of which required restoration and landmark approvals. While the firm still does this work, its extensive project list now includes second homes in the Massachusetts Berkshires, Connecticut, Long Island, Texas, and the Virgin Islands. Many of these projects involved building near wetlands or the coast with the firm successfully negotiating the attendant issues that these types of projects can demand. The firm's residential work also includes new and renovated housing for the State of New York for the mentally handicapped, as well as restoration of a town hall into condominiums. In the last seven years the firm has proven its diversity by developing a niche in the renovation of medical offices, some with full operating facilities. Additionally, Principal Karen Jacobson's experience includes large-scale institutional conversions and new buildings. While the firm produces original and innovative designs, its forte is in understanding the clients' individual needs and getting their projects realized, built professionally with high quality, on time, and within budget.

KAREN L. JACOBSON

Karen L. Jacobson is an architect registered in New York and with the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. Earlier registrations include Massachusetts and the US Virgin Islands. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Middlebury College in 1974 and a Master of Architecture from Princeton University in 1977. Prior to establishing her own practice, Ms. Jacobson worked for a number of well-known architectural firms. At the Ehrenhrantz Group, she was project designer for several aspects of the American Stock Exchange renovation, and member of small teams of architects that produced three elderly housing projects for Forest City Dillon and documented the restoration of the Woolworth Building. She then joined Gwathmey Siegel, where she was project architect for the conversion of the Westover Girls School infirmary building into a science center, and the interiors of the corporate headquarters for Triangle Pacific in Addison, Texas. Ms. Jacobson also developed and renovated a residential building on Manhattan's upper West Side and several residential subdivisions in upstate New York.

PUBLICATIONS/EXHIBITIONS
“A Study in Simplicity”, Upstate House, 2006.
“Twice is Nice”, Metropolitan Home, 2005.
“Shared Bedrooms”, Kidspace, Taunton 2001.
“Kitchens”, House Beautiful, 2000.
“Family Style: Rooms of Their Own”, New York Times Sunday Magazine, 1998.
“Reaching for the Stars: Rooftop Penthouse”, Oculus, 1997.
“Seaside Harmonies for Jimmy Buffet”, Architectural Digest, 1996.
“Updated Farmstead”, Home Magazine, 1994.
“Penthouse Addition”, Rooftop Architecture, Henry Holt and Company, Inc., 1991.
“Cottage Classics”, Home Magazine, 1987.
“Houses With Sky Rights”, House Beautiful, 1985.
“Going Through the Roof”, Metropolis, 1984.
“80's Brownstoning: Divide and Conquer”, New York Times Home Section, 1982.
“Design from Contrasts”, Princeton Journal of Arts and Sciences, 1977.
Academic Building Design Project, “Princeton's Beaux Arts and Its New Academism,” a group exhibition at the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies, 1977.