Serda Urganciyan, AIA, Joins Studio 88 Architecture as Partner and CEO
The full-service architecture and design firm serves commercial, public and private clients throughout the Northeast
Oyster Bay, NY–Serda Urganciyan, AIA, has joined Studio 88 Architecture as Partner and CEO. Urganciyan has more than 25 years of experience in the architecture and construction industries. Prior to joining Studio 88, she has held senior design and management positions at leading national and regional real estate and construction management firms in the Northeast.
According to Studio 88 Partner and Design Director Argiris Giorgou, AIA, NCARB, DBIA, “Studio 88 is a full-service architecture, design, owner’s representation and real estate consulting firm serving clients throughout the Northeastern United States. Our studio provides architectural design as well as code, zoning, regulatory review and technical consulting in the public, municipal, commercial, multifamily, retail, healthcare, life science, education, workplace, hospitality, transportation, and single-family residential markets as well as façade restoration and Local Law 97 compliance design.”
“Serda’s design and construction expertise and experience as a senior executive will be a valuable asset to Studio 88 and our clients. She will lead our firm’s on-going expansion into large-scale commercial and multifamily projects as well as federal, state and municipal markets,” said Studio 88 Managing Partner Joseph Grant, AIA, NCARB, DBIA.
Prior to joining Studio 88, Urganciyan served as Vice President of Design and Construction at a major New York City-based REIT with a portfolio of over 30,000 residential units and as project executive and project manager at The Lemle & Wolff Companies, CNY Group, Turner and Bovis Lend Lease. She has managed design, development and construction work totaling in excess of $15 billion in value.
“Studio88 offers an incredible depth of architectural and project management expertise across multiple market sectors, while maintaining competitive pricing and principal involvement on all projects. I look forward to expanding the firm’s work throughout the greater New York area and across the Northeast,” added Urganciyan.
Throughout her career, Urganciyan has overseen numerous prominent, large-scale projects in New York City, including the $160 million condominium conversion of the iconic Woolworth Building and the $700 million NYU Langone Health Kimmel Pavilion expansion. Her experience spans a variety of market sectors and project types, including academic, healthcare, hospitality, workplace, multi-family and governmental as well as landmark restoration and adaptive reuse.
Urganciyan’s portfolio of completed projects also includes design and/or construction management of the $10 billion New York City residential asset portfolio comprised of Stuyvesant Town, Peter Cooper Village, Kips Bay, Spruce Street and Parker Towers; multiple affordable residential developments located throughout Harlem, Inwood and The Bronx; the 585,000-square foot, 30-story mixed-use Crossing at Jamaica Station development in Jamaica, Queens; pre-construction for the fit-out of the historic Battery Maritime Building into the Casa Cipriani restaurant and hotel; the $85 million NYU’s School of Nursing, Dentistry and Bioengineering Institute; the $20 million fast-track laboratory and research center fit-out for NYU at East River Science Park; the $580 million National September 11 Memorial & Museum and visitors’ pavilion; as well as various DCAS projects in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Urganciyan received her Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Business Administration degrees from New York Institute of Technology. She serves as a 2024 New York Build Women in Construction Ambassador and is a member of Women in Construction. Serda is also an active member of the Armenian community on Long Island and continuously volunteers at an Armenian language school and several churches.
Studio 88’s current work includes the Northport VA Medical Center ADA upgrades in Northport, NY; Westchester County Stokes-Green Park restoration in Cortland, NY; Seal Master office and warehouse in Islip, NY and code compliance consulting for MTA’s Design-Build Rockaway Line Rehabilitation & Resiliency Project. Studio 88 also served as the executive architect for various NYC Build It Back residential repair and resiliency projects.
Studio 88’s partners’ portfolios span multiple markets and feature some of the most prominent projects in the region and nationally. In New York City, their experience includes the EMS station in Staten Island, NYPD 110th Precinct ADA upgrades and Special Victims Unit office, Columbia University Manhattanville Development Phase I, Rossville combined firehouse, NYCHA Coney Island Houses and Inwood Garden Apartments community centers, historic restorations of The Brevoort East at 20 East 9th Street and 164 West 79th Street, interior renovations of the Fairfield Inn Hotel, Mia’s Brooklyn Bakery Times Square, Chillbox Frozen Yogurt Times Square, Liquid Knits showroom and Kalamaki restaurant.
In other markets, Studio 88’s partners’ experience includes the Westchester County Temporary COVID Hospital and Infirmary/Protective Watch Unit, both in White Plains, NY; code reviews for the Long Island University Post College of Veterinary Medicine Learning Center Nassau for the Village of Brookville, NY; Community College Student Center in Garden City, NY; Smithsonian African American Museum in Washington, D.C.; Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Snug Harbor, NY; My Knobs office and warehouse in Hicksville, NY; Fiber Corporation office and warehouse of in Medford, NY;.
