Born in Puerto Rico, Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz spent his childhood between the capital's suburban area of

Guaynabo Guaynabo (, ) is a city, suburb of San Juan and municipality in the northern part of Puerto Rico, located in the northern coast of the island, north of Aguas Buenas, south of Cataño, east of Bayamón, and west of San Juan. Guaynabo is spr ...

and

Luquillo Beach Luquillo () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the northeast coast, northwest of Fajardo; and east of Rio Grande. Luquillo is spread over 5 barrios and Luquillo Pueblo (the downtown area and the administrative center of the c ...

, where his parents had an apartment. After attending Margarita Janer High School in Guaynabo, he studied in the School of Architecture at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

Career

Noriega-Ortiz completed his first master's degree in Architecture at the University of Puerto Rico in 1982. He moved to New York, where he earned a second master's degree in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University. Noriega-Ortiz started his career at the interior and product design studio of John F. Saladino, Inc. where he spent nine years, including six as head interior designer. He established his own firm, Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz, LLC in 1992. Benjamin was named one of New York Spaces' top 50 designers. He was also named one of the top 10 designers by ''House Beautiful''. He is ranked by ''Mate'' in its 2012 list of 500 Power Gays in the world. Benjamin published two books: Emotional Rooms, The Sensual Interiors of Benjamin Noriega Ortiz and Suspended Reality, Interiors by Benjamin Noriega Ortiz. He has notably been featured in Elle Decor, New York Times, Departures, Vogue, Architectural Digest, and Condé Nast Traveler. Benjamin's clients have included Cartier, Diptique, Morgan Hotel Group, Renaissance Times Square, and NH Collection. As well as celebrity clients consisting of Lenny Kravitz, Laura Esquivel, Mark Seliger, Russell Simmons, Patricia Fields, and Sean Comb.“Residential & Commercial Interior Design.” BNO Design, www.bnodesign.com/. Accessed 9 June 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noriega-Ortiz, Benjamin 1956 births Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation alumni Puerto Rican architects People from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico Living people 20th-century Puerto Rican LGBT people University of Puerto Rico alumni Urban designers 21st-century Puerto Rican LGBT people