Tsao & McKown Architects

Profile

Calvin Tsao and Zack McKown are the co-founders of Tsao & McKown Architects in New York City. Recipients of numerous distinctions, including the Smithsonian - Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, Calvin and Zack have built their practice on a distinctive way of thinking rather than a trademark style and have approached every project as an occasion to investigate specific cultures and contexts. Their projects range from urban designs for cities in Europe and Asia to high-rise apartment buildings, hotels, private residences, and pioneering public-private urban oases, to the design of furniture and products - such as lipstick cases for Shu Uemura.

Experiences gleaned from each unique project have informed their next, building a knowledge base that has helped to free them from conventional understandings. The firm's current work includes the master planning of a wellness-oriented hotel and residential retreat on a lake near Shanghai. In addition, Tsao and McKown continue to undertake private residences and multiple-family dwellings, along with urban master-plans, furniture, exhibition, hotel, and product design, as they find that the exploration of domesticity at a range of scales best reveals the finer nuances of human needs and desires.


Biography

Calvin Tsao, FAIA
Principal, Tsao & McKown Architects

Calvin Tsao is a recognized and leading voice in contemporary architecture whose work draws from a lively engagement with a variety of art forms. He serves on the Board of The American Academy in Rome, and is an active board member and President Emeritus of The Architectural League of New York. He is also former Vice President for Design Excellence of the AIA New York chapter, and served as member of the Visiting Committee to Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.

In 2012 Tsao received a Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Legacy Award and in 2009 the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian National Design Award for Interior Design, along with his partner Zack McKown. A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, he has taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the Cooper Union, Syracuse University, and Parsons The New School for Design, and has also served as guest critic and lectured at universities internationally.

Education
Harvard University / Master of Architecture
University of California, Berkeley / Bachelor of Architecture


Zack McKown, FAIA
Principal, Tsao & McKown Architects

Zack McKown has been recognized for his contributions across the fields of urban design, architecture, interior design, as well as furniture and product design. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Design Trust for Public Space, a nonprofit dedicated to improving public space in New York City, and on the board of Scenic Hudson, a nonprofit instrumental in preserving and restoring the Hudson River and its Valley.

McKown is also a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. In 2009 McKown received the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian National Design Award for Interior Design, along with his partner Calvin Tsao. He has served as guest critic and lectured widely, and has been honored, along with Tsao, by retrospective exhibits at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, Syracuse University, and Parsons The New School for Design.

Education
Harvard University / Master of Architecture
University of South Carolina, Honors College / Bachelor of General Studies