Stephen Alexander Lesser (born July 15, 1944) is an American architect, in practice in East Hampton,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, specializing in modern residential and commercial buildings in the school of

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...

. He is perhaps best known for his work on

Faneuil Hall Marketplace Faneuil Hall ( or ; previously ) is a marketplace and meeting hall located near the waterfront and today's Government Center, in Boston, Massachusetts. Opened in 1742, it was the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams, James Otis, and othe ...

project in downtown

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

, MA.

Biography

Education

Lesser was born in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which ...

, the son of Virginia Hirst Lesser, a painter and teacher of art and piano, and Dr. Alexander Lesser, a

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of N ...

professor of

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

. He was raised in

Manhasset, New York Manhasset is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York. It is considered the anchor community of the Greater Manhasset area. The population was 8,176 at the 2020 United States ce ...

and graduated from

Manhasset High School Manhasset Secondary School, also referred to as Manhasset Junior/Senior High School or simply Manhasset High School, is a six-year comprehensive public middle and high school in Manhasset, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. The 7–1 ...

, where he was editor-in-chief of the literary magazine and a member of the

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic ach ...

. He graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

in 1966 with a

B.A Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...

in Social Sciences. He received a

Master of Architecture The “Master of Architecture”(M.Arch or MArch) or a “Bachelor of Architecture” is a professional degree in architecture, qualifying the graduate to move through the various stages of professional accreditation (internship, exams) that resu ...

from the

Graduate School of Design The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is the graduate school of design at Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers master's and doctoral programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urba ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1972.

Career

Beginning in 1971, Lesser worked at several

firms, including

The Architects Collaborative The Architects Collaborative (TAC) was an American architectural firm formed by eight architects that operated between 1945 to 1995 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The founding members were Norman C. Fletcher (1917-2007), Jean B. Fletcher (1915-196 ...

(TAC), and ''Perry Dean and Partners'' before joining Benjamin C. Thompson and Associates. There, he worked for two years on the Faneuil Hall Marketplace project. In 1975, Lesser moved his practice to New York. He joined

Richard Meier Richard Meier (born October 12, 1934) is an American abstract artist and architect, whose geometric designs make prominent use of the color white. A winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1984, Meier has designed several iconic buildings ...

Associates where he honed his Corbusian style in residential and commercial buildings. He later joined ''Rivkin/Weisman, PC'' where he worked his way up to director. In 1986, he formed ''Nagel and Lesser, Architects'' moving to East Hampton. The practice included a broad range of residential, commercial, and industrial projects. Since 1994, he has been a sole practitioner.

Teaching

Appointments: Columbia, guest lecturer in Architecture and Planning (1992–94)

New York Institute of Technology The New York Institute of Technology (NYIT or New York Tech) is a private research university founded in 1955. It has two main campuses in New York—one in Old Westbury, on Long Island, and one in Manhattan. Additionally, it has a cyberse ...

(1994-2004) Guest Critic:

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, Harvard,

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...

, NYIT, Columbia,

Roger Williams University Roger Williams University (RWU) is a private university in Bristol, Rhode Island. Founded in 1956, it was named for theologian and Rhode Island cofounder Roger Williams. The school enrolls over 5,000 students and employs over 480 academic sta ...

Licenses

Certified: National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, 1975 Registered: Massachusetts (1975), New York, (1981), and New Jersey (1993) Member: AIA/National, State and AIA Peconic Chapter

Publications

Architectural Review ''The Architectural Review'' is a monthly international architectural magazine. It has been published in London since 1896. Its articles cover the built environment – which includes landscape, building design, interior design and urbanism ...

"Credit DuNord Offices" November 1982, pp 46–7 Yale Perspecta

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 ...

"The Dubai Bank" January 1983, pp 85–91

Progressive Architecture The Progressive Architecture Awards (P/A Awards) annually recognise risk-taking practitioners and seek to promote progress in the field of architecture. History The editors of ''Progressive Architecture'' magazine hosted the first Progressive Arch ...

"Bavarian Emissary" September 1984, 100-105

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 ...

"From Blueprint to Imprint" November 21, 1993

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and ...

"A Carriage Trade" October 16, 1994, pp 26–27

Awards

''American Institute of Architecture/Long Island Chapter'': Residential,(Shyer House 1993) Institutional (Camp Blue Bay 1986) and Young Firm (1993) ''Architectural Record'': Record House and Record Interiors ''Beauxarch IV'': Commercial Project (Viking Lines, 1986)

Personal

Lesser lives in East Hampton with his wife, Celia, who is an attorney. They have three children: Jonathan (born '95), Emma (born '93), and Alexandra (born '88). Jon attends the Ross School in East Hampton along with his sister Emma. Alexandra graduated

Hampshire College Hampshire College is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges in the Pioneer Valley: Amherst College, Smith College, Mo ...

in 2010.

References

External links

Stephen Alexander Lesser, ArchitectFanueil Hall MarketplaceBenjamin ThompsonHarvard Graduate School of DesignLe Corbusier
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lesser, Stephen 1944 births 20th-century American architects Columbia College (New York) alumni Living people People from Bethesda, Maryland Architects from Maryland People from Manhasset, New York Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni People from East Hampton (town), New York Manhasset High School alumni 21st-century American architects