KUSHNER studios is a New York City based architectural firm known for its forward thinking and creative residential, commercial, and hospitality projects. Founded by Adam Kushner in 1994, the firm seeks to redefine the nature and place of the practice of architecture to be inclusive of traditionally independent disciplines of construction & development. We are also leaders in the field of 3D Printing on the Architectural Scale through our allied company Madco3D LLC. As well as founding our General Contracting Firm, In House Group.
Mission Statement
Adam Kushner, founding principal, believes strongly that design enlightens and enriches its users; to that end, he continually strives to foster opportunities for growth both for himself and those around him. Above all the firm believes that design begins before the client arrives, and doesn't end until after the owner takes the keys.
KUSHNER Studios seeks to redefine the nature and place of the practice of architecture to be all-inclusive of construction and its related endeavors.
KUSHNER Studios approaches each project with an efficient team of credentialed and skilled architects, designers, and allied consultants. With our broad design and engineering backgrounds, we have been able to develop for our clients a sophisticated angle of products and services, from traditional architectural services to presentations and graphic packages as well as modeling, expediting, space planning, and furniture and industrial design among others. The staff's experience in graphic and architectural design makes such innovative packages accessible to a broad spectrum of clients
HISTORY
KUSHNER Studios was born on Long Island during the summer of 1994 from the cellar of Mr. Kushner’s suburban home in Old Bethpage, Long Island about 35 miles from New York. As his practice slowly grew, he transitioned into a shared office in the storied Cable Building, located at 611 Broadway in Lower Manhattan. Kushner Studios took on its first employee a year later in 1995. His friend and fellow graduate student would eventually be joined by other employees in the ensuing years.
By 1997, KUSHNER studios had outgrown its Broadway space and relocated to a former industrial loft at 245 Canal Street. That followed his landlords were a sect of Buddhist Monks who lived and practiced in the same building. Mr. Kushner considered this a particularly auspicious beginning. Continuing to grow steadily, by 2005 the firm had 30 employees and again needed to seek out a new home in a commercial loft space at 390 Broadway a few blocks away. KUSHNER studios continued to work out of this space until 2019, when faced with a tremendous rent increase decided to transition & combine all of its operations to its current office. We can be found at the historic Liberty Tower Building at 55 Liberty Street which happened to be the former bank office of Franklin D. Roosevelt, now located on the second floor of the building, at the top of a classic double set of marble stairs leading from the building's main entrance. Since 2021, KUSHNER studios share space with Mr. Kushner’s other companies - his construction practice In House Group Inc., Madco3D, and his recently formed development firm: In House Development Group.
A piece of stationary from Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Image credits: Joseph Pell Lombardi, Entrance view of 55 Liberty 2nd Floor during early 20th C.
Adam Kushner
Early Background
Mr. Kushner was born in Washington Heights, New York City in 1963, a child raised during the heady era of the Space Race and Woodstock. Having a father who worked on the Apollo LEM (Lunar Excursion Module) project for Grumman Aerospace cultivated Mr. Kushner’s interest in crafting and building things. His interest was fueled by his dad’s encouragement and the Revel models he would bring home for him. The smell of testors glue & paints still remain with him. Mr. Kushner soon graduated from Revel models to Erector Sets, a popular building toy from the late 1960s, as well as balsa wood airplanes (some with the particularly dangerous Cox single-piston gas engines).
As the years passed, he never strayed far from this fondness for physical fabrication. During a notable high school summer, he relished the work he did for a Long Island sole practitioner who was an architect/contractor that allowed him to draft in the morning and frame residential additions in the afternoon. During his college and post graduate years, he developed a passion for welding, a skill that remains a hobby of his to this day. The concept of beginning with nothing and ending with a tangible manifestation of an original idea held a powerful place in his life and career development.
Credits: A Kushner Model/Photo
Credits: A Kushner Drawing & Photo
Education
Personal Life
Born in Manhattan, Mr. Kushner attended grade school at a City Public School before moving to Co-op City in the Bronx. In 1975, Mr. Kushner and his family moved to Old Bethpage, Long Island, where he graduated from the Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School in 1981. He went on to obtain his B.A. in Architecture in 1986 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, (AKA Renssleaer) after which he worked for several small firms as well as the Manhattan satellite office for the well-known Boston based firm ‘The Architectural Team’, where he was part of many successful and award winning large scale residential developments. Following these endeavors, Mr. Kushner was hired to be the sole architectural designer for the Manhattan based architect/developer Henry George Green Architects in 1989. His primary task for over two years was to design a 28-acre waterfront residential/commercial development in Hastings-On-Hudson, a riverfront town located about 20 miles north of New York City. Part urban planning, part building design, this project proved to be an all-encompassing design effort which Mr. Kushner eagerly tackled, until the project was brought to a sudden halt by conflicts within the town’s leadership.
After this setback, in November of 1991, Mr. Kushner embarked on an 11-month around-the-world backpacking journey to reconsider his future. Upon his return, from this adventure, he wasn’t quite ready to return to a 9-5 job. Instead, he was accepted into Cornell’s Graduate School of Architecture Program in 1992. Mr. Kushner had many academic opportunities and awards during his master’s degree studies. He was selected to represent Cornell University during a Multi-University Design Charette at Wassaic, New York in October of 1993, and receiving teaching fellowships in 1993 and1994 as well as being selected to represent Cornell University in their International Internet Design Studio under a summer research fellowship in the Summer of 1994. He was awarded the James Eidlitz Traveling Fellowship from Cornell University that Summer as well. After his graduation from Cornell, Mr. Kushner returned to New York and immediately launched his architectural firm in June of 1994.Since he also went to teach at Pratt Institute’s Graduate School of Architecture, NJITSchool of Architecture, NYIT, Rutgers University’s Arts Department, and beyond his being a Studio Instructor while attending Cornell University. Most recently he was invited to teach one of the first courses in America on 3D printing in Architecture at the City College Bernard Spitzer School of Architecture. (Spring 2022). He is often invited to give lectures & attend reviews at many Universities & Colleges both locally and abroad.
Mr. Kushner married Dr. Louise Chuu, an obstetrician-gynecologist soon after they met and both graduated at Cornell University, having met each other 2 days after landing in Itaca, N.Y. They currently have twins whom they just have sent off into the world to attend college. Mr. Kushner, having an incurable case of wanderlust, has been on many global adventures, including an around the world eleven-month backpacking voyage throughout Asia, China, and the Indian subcontinent. He considers himself an avid New Yorker, having been born and raised here and enjoys the nuances and richness of human experience that all urban spaces offer but specially this one. He is an avid runner having completed his 34th NYC Marathon in 2023 (& 2nd Marathon Di Roma) and a vintage scooter collector of which he owns 7.
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NOTABLE PROJECTS
This new, 7-story residential building features ground-floor retail space and 23 high-end condominium apartments including 2 penthouse units and an incorporated duplex townhouse with a private entrance and elevator. The development boasts NYC's first fully automated parking system (and only the second in the United States), as well as a private gym, public common space, and private individual rooftop spaces. Mr. Kushner’s construction company acted as general contractors for this project, making it the first substantial design-build endeavor for KUSHNER studios & one of the more ambitious design/building projects of this scale in New York City.
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16 Minetta Lane is a significant project for KUSHNER Studios as it fulfills a completely integrated design/build/development paradigm. The purchase of this townhome was publicly chronicled in season two of Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing New York” (2013 Episodes 1&2). It was also featured in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Gothamist in addition to many other media outlets, and has become a top visited site at the Annual OHNY Open House Tour Event since 2011.
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A recently completed project, 136 Summit Avenue is located in Jersey City, New Jersey’s epicenter, the Journal Square area. These 99 units, 148,000 sq foot residential development is the company’s largest new residential building to date. It boasts a series of ground floor retail spaces, an expansive lobby space, a 75-unit parking garage, a full-service gym and a series of large public outdoor spaces.
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This duplex apartment sited on the top floor of a West Village former industrial loft building features high-end interior and exterior finishes, private outdoor spaces, two bedrooms, and two bathrooms. It combined two existing top floor studios with an added mezzanine and some created outdoor spaces. Its design incorporates various New York City iconography such as subway train doors & subway tiles as well as other Manhattan-centric ephemera. This project, lovingly referred to as the Subway House, continues to garner critical acclaim; from international press and local media alike.
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The building will be a mixed-use building with 81 units of residential units [1, 2 and 3 bedrooms] of which 21 will be considered affordable all units will have some balcony space. In addition, there will be ground floor retail, underground parking, tenant storage, and a rear landscaped yard. This 14-story building will notably feature a series of 3d printed elements, marking this project as the first such high-rise in America to claim such a title. Realized through a series of monumental two-story storefront entries/second floor balconies, these pieces will set the rhythm for both the Third Avenue and Degraw Street sides, strongly marking the corner.
The greater governing design system was an abstract reference to a tree (specifically a Mother Tree). A sly reference to the client’s country of origin.
Awards & Recognition:
KUSHNER Studios is an award-winning firm, and prides itself on the public recognition of its excellence in design and innovation. Kushner Studios has been a finalist for the 17th International Hospitality Design Awards for their project in 2020. In both April 2017 and 2016, Kushner Studios was awarded the Architizer A+ Award for the Gardiner Pool house design in Gardiner, New York, given for its innovation in the adoption of 3D-printing technology into their work. Kushner Studios was awarded the Fine Dining Award for Hotel and Hospitality Design for the design of En Restaurant in 2005. Partners Mr. Kushner & Mr. Bedard are often asked to speak on a variety of topics to various groups & organizations.
MADCO3d
Full Scale Additive Manufacturing
Since 2012, Adam Kushner has focused on developing the nascent technology of full-scale 3D printing through his company, Madco3D, and bringing this emerging building methodology to the world at large. At the City College of New York, he has given regular 3D printing lectures for their means & methods of construction course (from 2017-present), and has recently taught 3D printing in architecture, at the Graduate & Undergraduate Level there (2021).
MADCO3d is a construction venture that uses large-scale 3D printing methods to produce architectural scaled structures. Located in Rochester, New Hampshire, and Manhattan, New York, MADCO3d is leading the industry in fabricating buildings using this developing methodology.
MADCO3d is a construction venture that uses large-scale 3D printing methods to produce architectural scaled structures. Located in Rochester, New Hampshire, and Manhattan, New York, MADCO3d is leading the industry in fabricating buildings using this developing methodology.
Currently, MADCO3d is led by Mr. Kushner and accompanied by Mr. Dan Bernard, Mr. Tim Lucido and other partners.
MADCO3d Projects
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This house was inspired by the contemporary Tiny House movement. However, whereas most of the houses in this genre trend towards the idea of substituting experience with technology - virtual space supplanting real space and/or mobility over fixed objects - this project, combining Madco3D’s hybrid printing processes, attempts to create small spaces that vacillate between moments of privacy and publicity. The project aims to be utilized as subsidized housing, working to help solve the overall national housing crisis. While still in the development phases, the company aims to have the design ready for production in the near future.
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This project holds a bit of an unexpected historical record, being the first permitted 3d printed structure in the United States. When Adam Kushner went to file it with the local building department, he only was given 3 boxes to check off. Stick Built, Modular Construction or Masonry Construction. He pondered that before drawing a 4th box on the Permit application and writing ‘3d Printed’, boldly checking it off. It was approved and plans for the project’s actualization have begun. Meant to showcase all of the possibilities of 3d printing, this project has been hampered over the last years by forces within the team’s control [their printer, which was not quite ready for such a production at the time] to those without their control: [75’ trees crashing on the site, minus ten-degree weather and bears!]. The permit continues to be renewed and Kushner and Madco3d vow to bring this building to fruition in the near future.
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A triptych of sculptures designed by Monad Studio and their founder Eric Goldenberg, Barboletta was realized using Madco3d’s sand deposition printing technologies. The pieces were exhibited for the Venice Biennial in 2021.
In-House Group Inc.
Founded in 2008 by Adam Kushner and Jason Prisco, In House Group is a general contracting firm that originally served as a hands-on fabrication and construction related arm of Kushner Studios’ architectural practice. The company has now morphed into a fully self-sufficient and successful firm, but is unique in having the knowledge and management systems initiated through its architect founders. This follows a relatively new trend in which architects become involved in the development and construction of the projects that they have designed. In addition to their construction services, In House Group has also ventured into development and real estate scenes under a sister company, In House Development.
KUSHNER + In-House Development Projects:
The Route 299 venture is one of the first times that KUSHNER Studios and their affiliates have decided to act as their own developers, using land that Mr. Kushner purchased a decade ago to build a single-family house. Wanting to produce something that departed from more traditional houses, the studio took a radical approach. Instead of beginning with a client and their personal ideas, the firm decided to present something unique to the market and allow the world to find them instead. In the design of this project, Mr. Kushner attempts to bring the entire geologic history of the Hudson Valley into one cogent design statement. For aside from the direct ‘quotes’ found in known landmarks around the area, [Lake Awosting is one as well as the well-known boulder called Spyglass at the foot of the Undercliff Road and the Stony Kill falls], the building’s massing recalls the large boulders that had fallen from the last glacier as it receded north up the Hudson Valley. This ‘statement piece’ is intended to be a thrilling and inspiring place to live. The design has recently been permitted and will be breaking ground shortly.
Other Works/Projects
M34 - Gorzow, Poland
A symbol of Kushner Studios’ international reach, the M34, named after the building’s location in Gorzów Wielkopolski Poland as well as a sly reference to a particularly troublesome crosstown bus stands 13-stories tall, is composed of a lower, 2-story shopping center, and an 11-story commercial tower. The 158,000 SF project was one of the first of many large strides that the firm would make to establish its presence in the international architecture world and it also happens to be the highest building elevation in this region of Western Poland. Mr. Kushner purchased the building along with a few partner/friends and after 20 plus years believes that they are finally on the verge of creating a viable profitable venture. (!)
Our Team
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PRESS CATALOG
●Architecture and Innovation - The Podfather podcast - August 2023
●16 Minetta - WSJ - 2022
●16 Minetta Lane - City Living - 2021
● 79 Barrow - Home Concepts - 2021
●NY Social Diary Interview - 2021
●16 Minetta Lane - Gymclimber - 2021
●16 Minetta - Open House NY - 2020
●On John Bedard - BeerAdvocate - 2018
●16 Minetta Lane - Gothamist - 2016
●176 N. Mountain Rd. - 3Dprint.com - 2016
●Alameda - TimeOut - 2016
●390 Broadway (Old Office) - 6SQFT - 2015
●Kings County Distillery - L magazine - 2015
●176 N Mountain - AD - 2015
●Butter & Scotch - TImeOut - 2015
●765 N Mountain - 6SQFT - 2014
●Donna - Brooklyn - 2014
●Bar - Television - 2014
●Tribes - Television - 2014
●M Wells Steakhouse - NY Daily News - 2014
●M Wells Steakhouse LIC - TimeOut - 2014
●Telepan - Eater NY - 2014
●Telepan - NY Village Voice - 2014
●M Wells - Gothamist - 2014
●Telepan - NYTimes - 2013
●M Wells - WSJ - 2013
●Telepan - TimeOut - 2013
●16 Minetta Lane (facade) - Curbed - 2013
●Kings County Distillery - Edible Brooklyn - 2013
●Kings Cty Distillery - Vogue - 2013
●Openhousenewyork - Interior Design - 2013
●10-year lease - Richmond Biz Sense - 2013
●Hakkasan - TimeOut - 2013
●MoMA PS1 - NY Magazine - 2013
●Torst - Television - 2013
●Torst - NY Magazine - 2013
●Minetta Lane house - The Real Deal - 2013
●Widow Jane Mine - The L Magazine - 2013
●Minetta Lane - Million Dollar Listing (Bravo) - 2013
●Alameda - the L magazine - 2013
●Torst - TimeOut - 2013
●Alameda - Eater NY - 2013
●Charlemagne - Eater NY - 2013
●BrisketTown - TimeOut - 2013
●M Wells Dinette - TimeOut - 2013
●Ovenly - TimeOut - 2013
●Torst - Gothamist - 2013
●16 Minetta Lane - Curbed - 2013 Other press:-RTF (Rethinking the Future) (tertiary source), etc.-“Sleek, Modern 136 Summit Avenue Project Breaks Ground in Bergen Hill” Jersey Digs (2016)