Richard McElhiney AIA has practiced architecture for forty years. He attended Yale College and received his BA cum laude with Distinction in Architecture in 1975. He received his Master of Architecture from the Yale School of Architecture in 1979.
He worked for nineteen years at Kliment Halsband Architects. He became an Associate Partner in 1992 and a Partner 1997. The firm received the National AIA Architecture Firm Award in 1997 and the NYC AIA Medal of Honor in 1998. He holds an NCARB certificate and is a registered Architect in New York and New Jersey.
In 2002, he founded Richard McElhiney Architects LLC to provide the highest level of architectural services available.
His practice has focused on civic and institutional buildings & renovations. He has also completed the design of multiple workplaces and residences. Richard has been partner-in-charge or project architect for sixty-five educational building projects or studies and thirty-four civic projects. Thirty of his projects have included the renovation or restoration of historic structures.
Projects on which Richard has worked have received over thirty awards for design.
Richard has been a visiting critic at Columbia School of Architecture and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He has lectured on academic and civic building issues, and he co-authored the National AIA’s publication, The Architect’s Handbook of Professional Practice (13th edition).
Natalia Valencia has over 16 years’ experience with the design of commercial, institutional, recreational, and residential buildings.
She is currently working on three projects for Cornell University.
She has worked with Cesar Pelli and with Pritzker Prize Laureate Kevin Roche. She has worked on such projects as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Natural History, the UNICEF tower, the Yale Hockey Rink, the Santander Bank Headquarters in Madrid, and the Dublin Conference Center. She also spent three years at Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), where she was involved in designing office and hotel projects. Natalia has also worked as a Project Architect at Perkins Eastman. She currently serves as the President of the New York City Architecture Biennial.
Natalia Valencia’s career is a testament to her skill, adaptability, and commitment to architectural excellence. Her work with eminent architects, her ability to blend creative design with practical functionality, her leadership roles and commitment to sustainable practices, make her a notable figure in the architecture community.