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.
She has led transformative design projects for St. Hilda’s and St. Hugh’s School, Park Avenue Synagogue, the Bayard Cutting Arboretum, and many other institutions. Her understanding of the cultural impact of design has fueled her firm’s work with New York University’s Abu Dhabi Institute, Princeton University Art Museum, Williams College, the Latse Contemporary Tibetan Library, and the Martha Graham Dance Company.
Centering the needs of diverse clients and communities, her award-winning work often comprises strategic interventions in urban and campus settings. Her discerning command of light, space, materials, and color enable her to layer architecture with landscape and interiors.
A native New Yorker, Burnham is a graduate of the Yale University School of Architecture and the University of Pennsylvania. She serves on the Board of the Architectural League of New York, the Board of the American Academy in Rome, and the Dean’s Council of the Yale School of Architecture. She is the founding Board Chair for Lighthouse Works, a not-for-profit arts organization. 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
Awards
- 2025Society of American Registered Architects NY, Design Award of Merit, NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
- 2024American Institute of Architects New York Design Awards, Honor Award, Trinity Church NYC
- 2022NYCxDESIGN Honoree, Park Avenue Synagogue
- 2022American Institute of Architects New York State, Firm of the Year
- 2022New York Landmarks Conservancy, Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award, Trinity Church NYC
- 2021Society of American Registered Architects, National Award Honoree, Park Avenue Synagogue
- 2020SARA NY Design Award of Merit, Grace Church School
- 2020SARA National Design Award of Honor, Grace Church School
- 2019Architects Newspaper Best of Design Award, Gordon Chapel, St. Hilda's & St. Hugh's School
