KAREN FAIRBANKS

Karen Fairbanks is a founding partner of Marble Fairbanks Architects where she has focused on the design and planning for both public and private educational and cultural clients. Marble Fairbanks Architects is a design-driven, research-based practice located in New York City and recognized for their work with cultural and institutional clients. Recent projects include the Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center and The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Karen has been an active member of the AIA, most recently serving on the Board of Directors of the New York Chapter. Throughout the development of her practice, Karen has simultaneously built the architecture department at Barnard College, Columbia University, where she is the Claire Tow Chair Professor of Professional Practice and Chair of the Architecture Department. Karen received an M.Arch from Columbia University and a B.S. in Architecture from the University of Michigan where she was also honored as the 2013 Distinguished Alumna of Taubman College of Architecture. Karen was recognized with the Oculus Award by the Beverly Willis Foundation in 2018 and as the Educator of the Year by the AIA New York State in 2015. Marble Fairbanks is the recipient of over 50 local, national, and international design awards and their work is regularly published in books, journals, and magazines. Their work has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world including the Architectural Association in London, the Nara Prefectural Museum of Art in Japan, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York where their drawings are part of the museum’s permanent collection.