James Biber is an architect and partner in the firm Biber Architects, based in New York.

Early life and education

Biber was born in New Rochelle, New York He attended

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

, studying Biology before receiving his professional degree in Architecture in 1976. Upon graduation James received the Matthew DelGaudio Award in total design and the Shreve Fund Award, as well as the James Eidlitz Traveling Fellowship, on which he traveled in Europe for 6 months.

Career

Biber spent his early career at Paul Segal Associates, becoming the Senior Associate and leaving in 1984 to establish James Biber Architect.AIGANY/Small Talk No. 5: James Biber
Biber's firm practiced in a studio that included

Carin Goldberg Carin Goldberg (June 12, 1953 – January 19, 2023) was an American graphic designer A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to cre ...

, a graphic designer whom he married in 1987, and the illustrator/designer

Gene Greif Gene Greif (September 11, 1954 – November 27, 2004) was a graphic designer who specialized in creating album cover art. Greif attended LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and the Cooper Union where he first majored in architecture before g ...

who died in 2004. In 1991, the design firm Pentagram Design invited Biber to join as a partner in the New York office as the first architect in that office. Biber left Pentagram in October 2010 to establish his own New York-based studio, Biber Architects. He has described his work as the "Architecture of Identity."Biber Architects: About

Notable buildings and projects

Biber's most recent project is the USA Pavilion for Expo Milano 2015. Biber's career has also included the design of the

Harley-Davidson Museum The Harley-Davidson Museum is an American museum located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin celebrating the more than 100-year history of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The three-building complex on along the Menomonee River bank contains more than 450 Har ...

in Milwaukee, 2008; oceanfront houses in Montauk, NY; a restoration of the 1934 Sten-Frenke house in Santa Monica, by Richard Neutra; along with projects at Celebration, Florida; store, suites and lounges in the Arizona Cardinals Football Stadium (by Peter Eisenman) in Phoenix, Arizona; Headquarters for the

Muzak Muzak is an American brand of background music played in retail stores and other public establishments. The name has been in use since 1934, and has been owned by a division or subsidiary of one or another company ever since. In 1981, Westingho ...

corporation in Fort Mill, SC. He designed the iconic Needle and Button kiosk for the Fashion Center BID in New York's fashion district; a pop-up restaurant for the James Beard Foundation, JBF LTD; the Public Gallery at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research; the Visitor's Center for Philip Johnson's Glass House in New Canaan, CT; sets for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart; the Macaulay Honors College at CUNY; and the JEHT Foundation headquarters.

Publications

Biber's work has appeared in numerous books and articles including ''Houses of the Hamptons'', by

Paul Goldberger Paul Goldberger (born in 1950) is an American author, architecture critic and lecturer. He is known for his "Sky Line" column in ''The New Yorker''. Biography Shortly after starting as a reporter at ''The New York Times'' in 1972, he was assign ...

, "Restaurants that Work," by Martin Dorf, Articles in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

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The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. ...

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New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...

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Architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

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Architectural Record ''Architectural Record'' is a US-based monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design. "The Record," as it is sometimes colloquially referred to, is widely-recognized as an important historical record of the unfolding debates in a ...

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Blueprint A blueprint is a reproduction of a technical drawing or engineering drawing using a contact print process on light-sensitive sheets. Introduced by Sir John Herschel in 1842, the process allowed rapid and accurate production of an unlimited number ...

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Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big ci ...

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Metropolitan Home ''Metropolitan Home'' is an interior design magazine published by Hearst Magazines. The magazine focuses on "high-end modern design and interiors, blended with intelligent reporting, to connect with a progressive reader mindset." History and pro ...

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Interiors ''Interiors'' is a 1978 American drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. It stars Kristin Griffith, Mary Beth Hurt, Richard Jordan, Diane Keaton, E. G. Marshall, Geraldine Page, Maureen Stapleton, and Sam Waterston. Allen's first ful ...

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Interior Design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordi ...

'', '' I.D.'', ''

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes six print issues per year. History ''Fast Company'' was launched in November 1995 by Alan Web ...

'', '' Business Week'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

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Wallpaper Wallpaper is a material used in interior decoration to decorate the interior walls of domestic and public buildings. It is usually sold in rolls and is applied onto a wall using wallpaper paste. Wallpapers can come plain as "lining paper" (so ...

Montauk Residence in Wallpaper
and dozens of other international publications. His work is featured in 3 of the books on Pentagram Design, "Pentagram: the Compendium", "Pentagram Book Five" and "Profile: Pentagram Design" as well as in "Pentagram Paper 38: The Russian Garbo".Pentagram Papers 38:The Russian Garbo
Biber is currently working on a book of Ideas for New York.100 Ideas for New York

Awards and recognitions

James Biber was elected to the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

College of Fellows in 2004. A member of the AIA, NCARB, US Green Building Council, The Architectural League, The Storefront for Art and Architecture and other professional design organizations. He has received awards recognizing his projects from the AIA, SEGD, AIGA, Business Week

IDEA Awards The International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) is an award program previously co-sponsored by ''BusinessWeek'' magazine, and in 2010 ''Fast Company'' magazine and the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA). According to the IDSA, IDEA "i ...

among others. James Biber is a LEED accredited professional (LEED AP).

References

New York Times, A Feast of Architectural Styles for Expo Milano 2015

External links

Biber Architects official website

at Inc.com
James Biber designs hometheater
at coolhunter.co.uk

on BusinessWeek.com
Reprint of Pentagram Paper #38, The Russian Garbo
on blog/Pentagram.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Biber, James Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning alumni 20th-century American architects Artists from New Rochelle, New York 21st-century American architects Pentagram partners (past and present)