We are a group of thinkers who build, utopian pragmatists whose dreams of impactful design have been forged in the white heat of hard-fought experience.

With over thirty years of experience investigating, designing, and implementing urban architecture, Vishaan Chakrabarti is a registered architect and the Founder and Creative Director of Practice for Architecture and Urbanism | PAU , where he leads the firm’s growing global portfolio of cultural, institutional, and public projects and also serves as the Thomas J. Baird Visiting Critic, Architecture at Cornell AAP. Chakrabarti’s past roles—including Principal at architecture firms SHoP Architects and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, President of the Moynihan Station Venture at the Related Companies, Director of the Manhattan Office for the New York Department of City Planning in the Bloomberg administration, and the William W. Wurster Dean of the College of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley—have given him a uniquely well-rounded perspective on how cities and their architecture function and what they need to flourish. 

While serving under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Chakrabarti successfully collaborated on the now-realized efforts to save the High Line, extend the #7 subway line, rebuild the East River Waterfront, expand the Columbia University campus, and reincorporate the street grid at the World Trade Center site after the events of 9/11. This deep-seated experience of implementing landmark urban designs under bureaucratic confines drives PAU’s innovative yet practical approach to creating vibrant, resilient, and cross-cultural urban environments that uplift the experience of everyday people. 

PAU’s process begins with a search for emotional, social, and cultural connection, which inspires bespoke design solutions that deploy material, tectonics, light, and space to foster a sense of serendipity and community. Integral to PAU’s philosophy is developing a robust understanding of the daily lives of a diverse spectrum of urban dwellers, allowing the team to create multi-functional spaces that stimulate civic delight, promote environmental justice and cross-cultural pollination, and improve how people interact with the city and with each other. Current projects of note include the expansion of the I.M. Pei-designed Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, the planning and redevelopment of downtown Niagara Falls, and the conversion of the historic Domino Sugar Factory on Brooklyn’s waterfront into a contemporary office complex, to open this summer. 

Chakrabarti is the author of the highly acclaimed book, A Country of Cities: A Manifesto for an Urban America (Metropolis Books, 2013), and The Architecture of Urbanity: Designing for Nature, Culture, and Joy (2024, Princeton University Press). He taught at Columbia for more than a decade and serves on the boards of the Architectural League of New York, the Regional Planning Association, the Norman Foster Foundation, The World Around and Prometheus Materials. Chakrabarti has degrees in architecture, urban planning, art history, and engineering. He was named the 2025 Edmund N. Bacon honoree for his visionary contributions to urban design and education. 

With a background spanning industrial design, economics, and journalism, Principal and registered architect Ruchika Modi brings a multifaceted understanding of the ways in which cities function to her architectural practice. Modi’s experiences living and working in Mumbai (then Bombay), New Delhi, and San Francisco have also influenced her nuanced view of urban planning and design, inspiring her passion to find architectural solutions to a range of relevant issues, from sustainability to inequality. At PAU, Modi sets the firm’s vision in partnership with Creative Director Vishaan Chakrabarti, including shaping the firm’s diverse portfolio of projects, and overseeing all aspects of the design process. 

Currently, Modi is leading the design team for the FAA’s new sustainable airport traffic control tower prototype, which will be adapted to replace over 100 aging towers in regional and municipal airports across the nation. She is also project lead for Princeton University’s newest residential college, Hobson College, as well as for the master plan and design of forty-one buildings as part of a new mixed-use development in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. She spearheaded the design of the iconic Domino Sugar Refinery in Brooklyn, an adaptive reuse project transforming the historic nineteenth-century factory into offices with a mixed-use ground level, opening in the fall of 2023. 

Prior to joining PAU, Modi was a Senior Associate at Standard Architects and a founding partner of Studio r&star, both in New York City. She has also worked at Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects. She holds a Master of Architecture degree from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University, where she was awarded the Charles McKim Prize for Excellence in Design / Saul Kaplan Traveling Fellowship, the William Kinne Fellows Prize for Study and Travel Abroad, and the Lucille Smyser Lowenfish Memorial Prize. Modi received her BA in economics from the University of Delhi and a BA with distinction in interior architecture from the California College of Arts, San Francisco. Her work has been exhibited at the Center for Architecture in New York, the International Architecture Biennale in Rotterdam, and the China International Architectural Biennale in Beijing.

Mark Faulkner is a registered architect and an Associate Principal at PAU, where he is responsible for overseeing and coordinating design and documentation. Before joining PAU, Mark accumulated over twelve years of professional experience as a studio leader at Standard Architects, where he was responsible for all phases from concept design through construction administration, with extensive experience on site. He has worked on a diverse range of project and building types, including mixed use, residential, workplace, hospitality, spiritual, adaptive reuse, landscape, and public space. Mark earned a post-professional Master of Architecture II degree from the Cooper Union, where he was awarded a full scholarship, and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Tyler School of Art, Temple University. He has presented his work at the annual ACADIA conference, contributed to Archinect’s blog series, exhibited at the Storefront for Art and Architecture, and been featured in publications including Plat and Ktisma. In 2021 he completed the Yale School of Management Executive Education Program, Business Perspectives for Creative Leaders.

Julia Lewis is an Associate Principal and the Chief Financial Officer at PAU. A member of the senior leadership team, she is responsible for financial controls, business development oversight, and management of large-scale, public-sector projects. She utilizes her background in architecture, real estate development, and historic preservation and experience with city-scale planning to approach challenges and propose solutions within the built environment in a comprehensive manner.

Before joining PAU, Julia was part of the Cities team at BuroHappold Engineering, where she worked on a variety of projects ranging from building- to city-scale for public, private, and non-profit clients. Julia earned a Master of Real Estate Development and a Master of Historic Preservation from Columbia University and a BA in architecture with a minor in business administration from Clemson University. At Columbia she was awarded the William Kinne Fellows Prize for Study and Travel Abroad and the M.S. RED Program Service Award for Outstanding Service to the School. Julia serves on the executive board of MSRED Alumni Inc.

Mateo Fernández-Muro is a Senior Associate at PAU. He has collaborated with the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program and worked with WE ACT for Environmental Justice to develop a community plan for climate resilience in northern Manhattan, as well as with the offices of Álvaro Siza and Rubio & Álvarez-Sala on the development of significant urban design projects. Mateo holds a Master of Science in design and urban ecologies from the Parsons School of Design and a Master in Advanced Architectural Projects, with honors, from ETSA Madrid. His award-winning research was exhibited in the Spanish pavilion of the XVI Venice Biennale of Architecture.

Kutay Biberoglu is a Senior Associate at PAU. He earned a Master of Architecture degree from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University, where he was awarded the Honor Award for Excellence in Design, as well as the William Kinne Fellows Prize for Study and Travel Abroad. His graduate thesis portfolio focused on the political, scalar, environmental, and social implications of built infrastructure in cities. Kutay also holds a Bachelor in Architecture with honors from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey.

Junxi Wu is a Senior Associate at PAU. He received his Master of Urban Design degree from Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan. His thesis focused on reclaiming the public realm in the largely privatized urban core of Detroit. He earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree, with a concentration in urban design, from South China University of Technology.

Maria Lucia Morelli is a Senior Associate at PAU. She joined PAU after working as an architect in Peru for four years. She holds a Master of City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was awarded the Priscilla King Gray and Social Impact fellowships. While at MIT she worked as a teacher’s assistant under renowned Urban Planning professors Gary Hack and Mary Anne Ocampo. Her thesis focused on how women’s mobility behavior is affected by fear of street harassment in Mexico City and how to plan for safer spaces for women to navigate risk. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru, where she focused her research on the relationship between architecture and landscape.

Maria Alataris is the Administrative Director at PAU. She has over twenty years of global experience in the field. A registered architect, she has worked on a wide range of architecture and design projects for Richard Meier & Partners; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Ehrenkrantz, Eckstut and Kuhn; and Asahi Juken. Maria graduated from Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Architecture degree and received the Juris Janson Memorial Prize for Excellence in Design.

Bryan Dorsey is the Director of Operations at PAU. He brings a wide array of architecture and design administrative experience to PAU from previous positions at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; DIFFA; Peter Marino Architect; and SHoP Architects. He served in Senior Operations Support and Business Development at Société Générale de Surveillance, where he assisted in the development of new contract standards and firm-wide office protocols at offices in New York City, Houston, and Antwerp, Belgium. Bryan holds a BA from the University of Nebraska.

Manuela Quintero Fehr is the Public Interface Manager at PAU. She holds an MA in Arts Management from George Mason University and a BFA in Dance from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Before joining PAU, Manuela was the Digital Media and Outreach Manager at ArtsFairfax, the local arts agency of Fairfax County, Virginia, where she led the organization’s digital presence. A key project during her time at ArtsFairfax was designing and executing the “Stay Curious. Stay Local” campaign, which featured billboards and public art installations seen by over 20 million visitors.

Manuela’s professional experience spans retail businesses as well as arts organizations such as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, BalletX, Q’Manualidades, and others. Her work reflects a strong commitment to storytelling, audience engagement, and community-driven communication.