Karl Lehrke AIA, LEED AP
Karl Lehrke AIA is a registered architect with over 30 years of experience. He graduated with Distinction from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1985. In 1993, under the Mehlorn and Bockius Scholarships, he received his Master of Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Fine Arts.
Karl has worked with several prominent architecture firms including: Bentz Thompson Rietow, Weiss/Manfredi, Kliment Halsband Architects and Beyer Blinder Belle. He was Design Principal and Vice President at Helpern Architects prior to joining Richard McElhiney Architects LLC in 2021.
Through his professional career, for many public institutions and private clients, Karl has designed new and rehabilitated buildings and master plans of all project types through all project phases. His work has won dozens of awards for its design and historic preservation. His selected notable projects include: Carnegie Hall Master Plan, Dan M. Russell Jr. US Courthouse, Conrad B. Duberstein US Courthouse, John Jay College Natatorium Renovation, AC Hotel Times Square, Princeton University Athletic ECAP Complex and Con Edison Sherman Creek Service Center.
Karl is LEED-accredited by the US Green Building Council. He has served on several national American Institute of Architects (AIA) design awards juries, taught design at the University of Cincinnati School of Architecture, and is a frequent invited guest design critic at many prominent architecture programs across the country. He is a long-time member of the AIA and has served on several AIANY Program Committees. Additionally, Karl supports the New York community through his strategic initiatives leadership at his local church.
Karl prides himself on delivering intelligent, critical and creative solutions for a wide range of architectural challenges. He works collegially with a vision for design excellence. Projects are developed in collaboration with clients, staff, engineers and stakeholders by listening carefully, advancing options, considering alternate points of view and building consensus. He demands high standards at all project scales at every phase. And Karl strives for creative solutions which are evocative, champion an economy of means and are intimately tied to their function and performance.
