As a Founding Partner, Mary Burnham brings decades of recognized excellence and expertise in the design of cultural, educational, and residential projects. Her humanist approach, rooted in optimism and empathy, channels the power of design to improve people’s lives.
Her strategic understanding of the cultural components of design has fueled the firm’s work with institutions including New York University’s Abu Dhabi Institute, Princeton University Art Museum, the Latse Contemporary Tibetan Library, New York State Parks, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, and the HF Guggenheim Foundation. She has led complex, multi-phased planning and design projects for Park Avenue Synagogue, St. Hilda’s and St. Hugh’s School, Convent of the Sacred Heart school, and many others.
A native New Yorker, she works to improve the urban realm through the design of welcoming public buildings and cultural institutions. Her discerning command of light, space, color, and material enables her to create meaningful environments that enrich people’s lives and shape a sustainable future.
Mary serves on the Board of the Architectural League of New York, the Board of the American Academy in Rome, the Dean’s Council of the Yale School of Architecture, and the Fellows Committee of the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter. She is also the founding Board Chair for Lighthouse Works, a not-for-profit arts organization.
She earned a Master of Architecture from Yale University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied the History of Architecture and Fine Arts. She has served as a guest design critic at Pratt Institute, Yale University, and Parsons The New School for Design. In 2018 she was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects.
Publications
- Faith & Form | Volume 52; Issue 2The Spiritual Union of Architecture and Art
