Karen Fairbanks
Department
Architecture Department, Design Center
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Karen Fairbanks, Claire Tow Professor of Professional Practice in Architecture and Chair of the Department of Architecture, joined the faculty of Barnard in 1996 where she teaches design studios and courses that highlight the relationships between architecture, the environment, and community. As Department Chair, she oversaw the merger of the Barnard and Columbia Architecture programs and has developed the current department curriculum. In addition to her roles in the Department of Architecture, she is the Faculty Director of the Barnard Design Center since it was founded in 2018, the founder and Faculty Director of the Barnard Architecture + Design Summer Institute, and a member of the Advisory Committee for Barnard's Urban Studies Program.
Karen Fairbanks was elevated to Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) in 2021, the highest honor of the AIA awarded to approximately 3% of its members in recognition of significant contributions to the profession and society, and who demonstrate architectural excellence. She was honored with the Oculus Award for leadership in teaching and research by the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation in 2018 and the 2015 Educator of the Year Award by New York State’s American Institute of Architects (AIA) Annual Honor Awards. The Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan honored her with the Distinguished Alumna Award in 2013.
Professor Fairbanks is a partner in the independent architecture, design, and research practice, Marble Fairbanks Architects. Their most recent work focuses on cultural and institutional projects for public and private clients including U.S. General Services Administration, The National Park Service, Brooklyn Public Library, New York Public Library, Queens Library, The State University of New York, Brown University, Hunter College, Haverford College, Columbia University, The Museum of Modern Art, The New School, Princeton University and New York University. The research-based practice is at the forefront of discussions concerning digital technology, integrated design processes, and education. Notable projects include public libraries such as the Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center and the Center for Brooklyn History, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Glen Oaks Branch Library in Queens, the Toni Stabile Student Center for the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, and the interdisciplinary study to propose affordable housing on library sites, Re-envisioning Branch Libraries. Marble Fairbanks Architects has worked with numerous non-profit institutions and experimental schools that support youth, education, and the arts such as Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center, Urban Dove Team Charter Schools, FC Harlem, Girl Be Heard, and Our Children’s Foundation. Marble Fairbanks, with collaborators at MASS Design, were recently selected for participation in in the NYC Mass Timber Studio for the New Lots Library, Brooklyn Public Library, a current project in development.
Marble Fairbanks was commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art to design Flatform, a speculative architectural wall system for the exhibit Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling and drawings by Marble Fairbanks for the Nara Convention Hall Design Competition are in the permanent collection of MoMA. They were selected for the Northwest Arkansas Design Excellence Program, the General Service Administration’s (GSA) IDIQ for workplace design, and the NYC Department of Design and Construction’s Design Excellence Program and have been recognized with numerous international design awards including multiple AIA Design Awards and American Architecture Awards, the Building of the Year by American-Architects, Nomination for the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize, Emerging Architect Award, and a Progressive Architecture Award.
- BS, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- MArch., Columbia University
- Architectural design for cultural and institutional projects
- Design of teaching/learning environments
- Library Design
Marble Fairbanks: Bootstrapping, edited by Luke Bulman, Michigan Architecture Publications #12, published by The University of Michigan, 2005
The Women Who Changed Architecture, edited Jan Cigliano Hartman, published by Princeton Architectural Press, 2022
Women in Design, edited by Interior Design Magazine, “Karen Fairbanks, Founding Partner, Marble Fairbanks Architects,” featuring Glen Oaks Branch Library, p.118-119, 2020 published in print and online https://issuu.com/interiordesignmagazine/docs/id_2020_sept_women_in_design2020
Thirty Years of Emerging Voices, edited by The Architectural League of New York, featuring Glen Oaks, the Toni Stabile Student Center, Tenrikyo Mission New York Center, Slide Library, Nara Convention Center, and Chelsea Loft, published by the Princeton Architectural Press, July 2015
Masterpieces: Library Architecture + Design, by Manuela Roth Glen Oaks Branch Library, published by Braun, 2014
Guide to Contemporary New York City Architecture, by John Hill, featuring the Toni Stabile Student Center, p. 153, Tenrikyo Mission New York City, p. 250, and Glen Oaks Branch Library, p. 280; published by W.W. Norton and Company, 2012
Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling, by Barry Bergdoll and Peter Christensen, pp.24, 185, Flatform, published by the Museum of Modern Art, 2008
Architecture for Education, New School Designs from the Chicago Competition, “Marble Fairbanks Architects”, by Business and Professional People for the Public Interest, 2002
Schools for Cities, Urban Strategies, “Lessons from the Chicago Public Schools Design Competition”, by Cindy Moelis with Beth Valukas, Editer, Sharon Harr, published by the National Endowment for the Arts, 2002
40 Under 40, Vitae Publishing Inc., 40 Designers & Architects under 40, by Beverly Russell, 1996
AIA New York “NYC Mass Timber Studio Presents Inaugural Cohort” by AIANY
<https://calendar.aiany.org/2024/04/29/nyc-mass-timber-studio-presents-inaugural-cohort/> April 16, 2024
Brown Daily Herald “Brown dedicates new Churchill House at Black Alumni Reunion” by Neil Mehta
<https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2023/10/brown-dedicates-new-churchill-house-at-black-alumni-reunion> October 30, 2023
Architecture Today “Still standing: The Schomburg Center, Harlem, New York, 1980” by Ian Volner
<https://architecturetoday.co.uk/still-standing-the-schomburg-center-harlem-new-york-1980/ October 6, 2023>
CBS New York “Looking back 45 years after the discovery of the Greenpoint Oil Spill, one of the largest ever recorded in our country's history” by Hannah Kliger <https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/greenpoint-oil-spill-45-years-later/> September 21, 2023
The New York Times “A New Home for Brooklyn History: ‘Everybody’s Story Is Here’” by Jennifer Schuessler
Brooklyn Daily Eagle “Center for Brooklyn History opens with Gala ribbon-cutting, reception,” by Mary Frost
<https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2023/09/15/center-for-brooklyn-history-opens-with-gala-ribbon-cutting-reception/> September 21, 2023
Brooklyn Daily Eagle “An eco haven at BK’s northern tip: The Greenpoint Library,” by Tom Story
<https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2023/08/01/an-eco-haven-at-bks-northern-tip-the-greenpoint-library-and-its-environmental-education-center/> August 1, 2023
New York Times “Why Libraries May Never Stop Being People Places” by Karrie Jacobs, mentions Greenpoint Library <https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/21/style/libraries-outdoor-public-space.html?auth=login-google> April 21, 2022
World-Architects “US Building of the Week Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center” featuring Greenpoint Library <https://www.world-architects.com/en/architecture-news/reviews/greenpoint-library-and-environmental-education-center> March 21, 2022.
Fast Company, “Brooklyn's Greenpoint library and environmental education center point,” by Lilly Smith, featuring Greenpoint Library <https://www.fastcompany.com/90567017/why-this-brooklyn-library-is-betting-on-a-future-thats-bigger-than-books> October 23, 2021
Urban Omnibus, “Learning Environment,” by Jason Roberts and Acacia Thompson, featuring Greenpoint Library <https://urbanomnibus.net/2021/10/learning-environment/> October 6, 2021
New York Daily News, “Long live all our public libraries,” by Shannon Mattern, featuring Greenpoint Library <https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-long-live-the-public-library-20210801-pv2ewgmpoveuxo2ilfif33afpi-story.html> August 1, 2021
Architectural Record Magazine, “Turning a Page: Marble Fairbanks’ Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education center in Brooklyn aims to engage a community stung by industrial neglect” by Linda Lentz, featuring BPL; Print: March 2021, and “Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center by Marble Fairbanks,” by Linda C. Lentz, < https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/15015-greenpoint-library-and-environmental-education-center-by-marble-fairbanks>, March 3, 2021
New York Magazine, “Greenpoint’s New Public Library ‘Makes you Want to Move In’” by Justin Davidson, featuring BPL < https://www.curbed.com/2020/10/greenpoints-new-public-library-makes-you-want-to-move-in.html> October 28, 2020 and in print November 9, 2020
Time Out New York, “Brooklyn’s newest eco-friendly library has a ton of fascinating hidden secrets” by Will Gleason, featuring BPL <https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/brooklyns-newest-eco-friendly-library-has-a-ton-of-fascinating-hidden-secrets-102120> October 21, 2020
The New York Times, “And finally: A green library in Greenpoint” by Melissa Guerrero, featuring BPL Greenpoint Library
<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/20/nyregion/what-to-know-new-york-state-ban-plastic-bags.html> October 20, 2020
The Architect’s Newspaper, “Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center opens in Brooklyn” by Matt Hickman, featuring BPL <https://www.archpaper.com/2020/10/greenpoint-library-and-environmental-education-center-opens-in-brooklyn/> October 20, 2020
The New York Times, “Building Public Places for a Covid World” by James S. Russell, featuring an interview with Karen Fairbanks and the Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center
<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/11/arts/design/architecture-urban-planning-coronavirus.html> September 11, 2020 and in print on September 12, 2020 Section C, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: “Designs That Heal Ruptures in Spaces We Share.”
The Architect’s Newspaper, “2018 Best of Design Awards Winners for Public Space” , featuring The Schomburg Center, <https://archpaper.com/2018/12/2018-best-of-design-awards-winners-for-public-space/#gallery-0-slide-0>, December 5, 2018
The New York Times, “Libraries Can Be More Than Just Books” by Matt A.V. Chaban, featuring Re-Envisioning Branch Libraries study, <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/18/opinion/libraries-affordable-housing.html?_r=0>, September 18, 2017
Barnard College, “Team Led by Professor Karen Fairbanks develops tool to re-envision libraries in NYC”, http://barnard.edu/news/team-led-prof-karen-fairbanks-develops-tool-re-envision-libraries-nyc#.VNvecvsl67k.facebook, February 5, 2015
New York Times, “Evolution for Libraries in Brooklyn,” by Michael Kimmelman, p.C1, January 26, 2015
Center for an Urban Future, “Re-envisioning New York’s Branch Libraries” Video Presentation and Documentation, https://nycfuture.org/events/event/video-re-envisioning-new-yorks-branch-libraries-event, December 2014
The Architectural League of New York, “Re-envisioning Branch Libraries” and “Proposal | Marble Fairbanks, James Lima Planning + Development, Leah Meisterlin”, http://archleague.org/2014/07/re-envisioning-branch-libraries/ and http://archleague.org/2015/01/marble-fairbanks-branch-libraries-proposal/, originally published July 14 with updates, 2014
ARCHITECT Magazine, "Written In Lights" by Logan Ward, <http://www.architectmagazine.com/daylighting/a-supergraphic-made-with-daylight_o.aspx>, May 1, 2014
New York Magazine, "This Is a Housing Project" by Justin Davidson, <http://nym.ag/1t1Gx0m>, April 10, 2014
Architectural Record, "Seeing the Light" by Sheila Kim, <http://archrecord.construction.com/products/ProductFocus/2014/1403-Seeing-The-Light.asp>, March 2014
New York Magazine, “Stealth by Design,” by Justin Davidson, pp. 68-69, featuring Glen Oaks Branch Library, November 1, 2009
Closing the Gap: Information Models in Contemporary Design Practice, edited by Helen Castle and Richard Garber, “Toni Stabile Student Center, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism”, by Scott Marble and Karen Fairbanks, pp.106-109, published by AD Architectural Design, Volume 79, Number 2, March/April 2009
The Architect’s Newspaper, “The A-List,” by Aaron Seward, pp. 3-4, March 18, 2009
Architecture, "Marble Fairbanks Architects / Chicago Public Schools ", January 2002
Architecture Magazine, 49th Annual P/A Awards, “Marble Fairbanks Architects Chicago Public School”, January 2002.
The Architectural Review, "Emerging Architecture" and "Just the Ticket" by Peter Davey, December 1999
Interior Design, "Scott Marble & Karen Fairbanks"; Fifth Ave. Loft, June, 1996
World Architecture, "Take Four; Alternative Designs for the Cardiff Bay Opera House", January 1996
AA File #29, "Cardiff Bay Opera House Competition; The Young Americans," by Ben van Berkel & Caroline Bos, Summer 1995
Interiors, "Forty under Forty", September 1995
Architecture, "Japanese Competition Schemes Exhibited in New York," by Andrea E. Monfried, January 1993
The New York Times, "At the Modern, a Showcase of Designs for a New Japan," by Herbert Muschamp, December 18, 1992
The Japan Architect, "The Nara Convention Hall International Design Competition", Issue 7, Summer 1992-93
Nikkei Architecture, Special issue on the Nara Convention Hall International Design Competition, June 1992
Center for Brooklyn History, Brooklyn Public Library; Brooklyn, NY; Programming and Planning for the reopening and long-term development of a 40,000sf historic, landmarked structure housing the preeminent research and archives on Brooklyn History. Completed 2023.
Brown University, Department of Africana Studies and the Rites and Reason Theatre, Providence RI; 21,500sf renovation with new addition; Completed 2023
Museum Recommendation Report, General Services Administration and National Parks Interior Region 1, National Parks of Boston; Comprehensive report surveying 70+ parks and 170+ collection storage facilities for 37 million museum objects with recommendations for regional strategies for collections storage, preservation, and access; Completed 2021
Urban Dove Team Charter School, Brooklyn, NY; 35,000 sf renovation of existing building for a new Brooklyn branch of Urban Dove, a unique school providing a new model of sports and team-based education and an alternate to transfer schools for under-credited NYC youth; Completed 2021
Greenpoint Library & Environmental Education Center, Brooklyn, NY; 15,000sf, new building for Brooklyn Public Library; completed 2020
Middlebury College Library Master Plan, Middlebury, VT; A new master plan for 160,000 existing square feet of space in the Davis Family Library and Armstrong Science Library on Middlebury College's campus; completed May 2019
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York, NY; 1,000sf gift shop addition, 138,000sf renovation of existing complex containing historic New York Public Library collection, rare books and manuscripts archive, reading room, auditorium, offices, and NYC landmark building; completed 2017
Hunter College Cooperman Library, New York, NY; 33,000sf renovation of two floors, 140,000sf planning study; completed 2017
Lawrence University Colman Hall, Appleton, WI; 25,500sf renovation of residence hall and common spaces; completed 2016
The Women’s Building, New York, NY, 120,000sf renovation and addition, invited Design Competition, completed 2016
Re-envisioning New York’s Branch Libraries, New York, NY; design study of all three library systems in New York City, zoning analysis of neighborhoods, and design proposal for co-development opportunities at Brighton Beach Library, completed 2015
Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center, New York, NY; 12,800sf renovation of existing building for afterschool and community programs, completed 2014
Glen Oaks Branch Library, Queens, NY; new 18,000sf branch library for Queens Borough Library System, part of the DDC Design Excellence Program, expected completion 2010; NYC AIA Design Merit Award; Art Commission Design Award for Excellence in Design; Society of Registered Architects Design Award of Honor, New York Council, completed 2013
New York University English Department Building, New York, NY; 16,000sf renovation for NYU’s English Department offices, meeting, and gallery spaces; completed 2013
Parsons The New School for Design, New York, NY; 350,000sf planning study for all Parsons schools, completed 2013
Flatform, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; commissioned project for exhibition titled Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling, completed 2008
Toni Stabile Student Center, Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University, New York, NY; 72,000 planning study and 10,000sf student center, completed 2008; AIA Design Citation, New York State Chapter, American Institute of Architects, AIA Design Honor Award, New York Chapter, American Institute of Architects, Annual Design Awards, Best in Category Award for Educational Projects by Architect Magazine
Tenrikyo Mission New York Center, Queens, NY; 8,000sf church in Flushing, Queens, completed 2008
Slide Library and Strategic Plan, Department of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University, New York, NY; 40,000sf strategic plan and 1,000sf library, completed 2005; NYC AIA Design Honor Award, I.D. Design Award of Distinction, American Architecture Award, Architect R+D Award
Arverne: Housing on the Edge, New York, NY; design proposal for high density housing at Far Rockaway, 2001
Chicago Public Schools Design Competition, Chicago, Illinois; Winner of two stage international design competition for 110,000sf Pre-K through 8 public school, 2001; Progressive Architecture Award, NYC AIA Design Award
Tenri Cultural Institute II, New York, NY; 5,000sf Japanese Cultural Institute with classrooms, office space, and performance/gallery space, completed 2000; American Architecture Award
Nara Convention Hall Design Competition, Nara, Japan; Winner of first stage - one of five teams selected in open international design competition to compete in the second stage limited competition, 1992
In The News
Through this inaugural collaboration with Design Summer Institute, the College empowers and equips young women to pursue careers in architecture and design.
From anthropology to neuroscience, Barnard professors were recognized by the American Institute of Architects, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and more.
We spoke to the director and chairs of each department, who shared what makes the end-of-year shows and performances by students in art, music, and theatre special.
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture—an institution integral to Barnard’s Harlem Semester—has been newly renovated thanks to the architecture firm led by Claire Tow Professor of Professional Practice and Department of Architecture Chair Karen Fairbanks.