Principals

Gene Dyer, AIA

Gene Dyer joined the practice in 1981, and became a Principal in 1990. He has served as senior design architect and project director for many architectural and urban design projects. Since 2007, he has been in the firm’s Singapore office, managing the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort project. In recent years, he was also project designer for the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms headquarters in Washington, DC, and for the Khalsa Heritage Centre in Punjab, India.

Isaac Franco, AIA

Isaac Franco has worked at Safdie Architects since the firm was formed in 1964, and has been a principal since 1980. In recent years, he has been the project manager for the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City and for the Free Library of Philadelphia. He also served as project manager for the Salt Lake City Library; the Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia; the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts; and the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. He is currently working on the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, and the Parkside Residential Development in Toronto.

Rainer Goeller, OAA

Rainer Goeller began his career with the firm in 1983, as resident architect for the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. He was also resident architect for the Ottawa City Hall Complex; Exploration Place Science Center and Children’s Museum in Wichita, Kansas; and Lester B. Pearson International Airport in Toronto. In recent years, he has served as a senior technical adviser to the practice, and was involved in the Khalsa Heritage Centre project in Punjab, India.

Paul Gross, AIA

Paul Gross joined Safdie Architects in 1996, and became a Principal in 2005. He served as project manager for the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, and as project architect for the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, and for Ahmanson Hall at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. He was also a project architect for Exploration Place Science Center and Children’s Museum in Wichita, Kansas. He relocated to the firm’s Jerusalem office as resident architect for the Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum. He is currently working on the Free Library of Philadelphia restoration and addition.

Michael Guran

Michael Guran first joined the firm in 1964, to work on Habitat ’67. He rejoined in 1979, and become a Principal in 1999. He has served as senior designer on such projects as the United States Federal Courthouse in Springfield, Massachusetts; the Yitzhak Rabin Center in Tel Aviv; the Lester B. Pearson International Airport in Toronto; the Mamilla District in Jerusalem; and the Asian University for Women, for which the firm also provided master planning. He is the recipient of the Rome Prize for Architecture and a National Endowment for the Arts Individual Award.

Jaron Lubin

Jaron Lubin joined Safdie Architects in 2004, and became a Principal in 2011. He is currently serving as project designer for a new condominium complex in Bishan, Singapore. He has directed numerous competitions undertaken by Safdie Architects in recent years, including the Xiqu Center in Hong Kong, the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, and the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem, and is presently leading competition teams for projects in Singapore and China. Previously, he was integral to the competition-winning design effort for the Marina Bay Sands project, and then relocated to Singapore to oversee the work there, most notably as resident design architect for the SkyPark.

Warren Mathison, AIA

Warren Mathison joined Safdie Architects in 1998. As Managing Principal, he is responsible for the overall management of the firm, and participates in all projects of the firm through the project team leaders. As the firm’s liaison with each client, he ensures that all services are accomplished by qualified professional team members. He has also served as project manager on selected projects, most recently for the United States Federal Courthouse in Springfield, Massachusetts, and the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives headquarters in Washington, DC. Prior to joining Safdie Architects, he was a partner at Skidmore Owings and Merrill in New York.

Christopher Mulvey

Christopher Mulvey joined the firm in 1998 and became a Principal in 2006. His recent work includes the Center for Human Rights Education in Philadelphia and master plans for both the Asian University for Women in Bangladesh and Los Morros in Cartagena, Colombia. He has led numerous projects, including the competition-winning designs for the United States Institute of Peace and the expansion of the Philadelphia Free Library. In 2011, he relocated to Shanghai to establish a branch office to oversee the firm’s work in the region, and he continues to help coordinate the firm's communications, marketing, and publications initiatives.

Hugh Phillips, RA

Hugh Phillips joined the firm in 1986, and became a Principal in 2001. Since 2004, he has been the principal-in-charge on the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. Previously, he was principally involved in the Esplanade Condominiums and Harvard University Rosovsky Hall in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Morgan Hall and the Class of 1959 Chapel at Harvard Business School, in Boston; the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts; Exploration Place Science Center and Children’s Museum in Wichita, Kansas; the Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia; the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv; the Mamilla Hotel and Mamilla Condominium Housing in Jerusalem; and Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum in Jerusalem. He is the technical adviser for research, review, coordination, and implementation on all projects in the office.

Greg Reaves, AIA, LEED AP

Greg Reaves joined Safdie Architects as a Principal in 2010. He is currently principal-in–charge for residential projects in Mumbai and Bangalore in India, and in Singapore. He is also involved in mixed-use developments in China and Singapore. Before joining the firm, Reaves was a partner at Thomas Phifer and Partners in New York, where he was responsible for more than 15 notable projects and four National AIA Honor Award recipient designs, including the North Carolina Museum of Art expansion. Earlier, while at the offices of Richard Meier and Partners, Reaves served as a senior project designer on several projects, including the Getty Center in Los Angeles and the City Hall and Central Library in The Hague, Netherlands. He also worked at Skidmore Owings and Merrill in Chicago.

Sean Scensor

Sean Scensor joined the practice in 1998, and became a Principal in 2010. He is currently the principal-in-charge of several projects including the Habitat residential development in Qinhuangdao, China; the Chaotianmen residential towers in Chongqing, China; and the Los Morros urban design master plan and Serena del Mar hospital in Cartagena, Colombia. He has led numerous design competitions and project teams including the Salt Lake City Main Public Library; the Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia; the United States Federal Courthouse in Mobile, Alabama; and most recently the Khalsa Heritage Centre in Punjab, India.

Carrie Yoon

Carrie Yoon joined the practice in 1998, and became a Principal in 2006. Currently responsible for the management of the Free Library of Philadelphia expansion project and the Keppel Island Housing project, she has also held project management duties for the Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia; the Salt Lake City Public Library; and the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, and the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and SkyPark in Singapore. As a lead designer she has executed several major competitions, including the University of Baltimore Law School, the National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, DC, the Capitol Theatre in Singapore, and the Chongqing Towers in China.

Associate Principals

Charu Kokate

Charu Kokate joined Safdie Architects in 2007 and was named Associate Principal in 2011. She was Project Architect on the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort project as a member of the design team in Boston and overseeing construction in Singapore. She heads the firm’s office in Singapore, where she is working on a new 69-story residential tower in Sri Lanka and two residential developments in Singapore. Prior to joining Safdie Architects, she was a Project Architect at Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott in Boston, where she worked for healthcare and higher education clients across the US.

Associates

Jeffrey G. Huggins, LEED AP

Jeff Huggins joined Safdie architects in 2006, and became an Associate in 2011. He currently serves as project architect for the Commercial Towers component of the Chongqing Chaotianmen project. His previous work includes the Colombo Residential Towers in Colombo Sri Lanka, Chongqing Eling Residences in Chongqing, China, and the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort, in Singapore. Following the design development of Marina Bay Sands in Boston, he relocated to the firm’s Singapore office for three years as resident design architect for the hotel towers, where he also served as a special design consultant for Las Vegas Sands.

Tunch Gungor

Tunch Gungor joined Safdie Architects in 2001, and became an associate in 2007. He has participated in numerous projects including the Salt Lake City Public Library in Utah; the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts; the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas; and the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort, in Singapore. Following the design development of Marina Bay Sands in Boston, he relocated to the firm’s Singapore office serving as one of the resident design architects for the project, working closely with partners, contractors and regional government authorities.

David Brooks

David Brooks joined Safdie Architects in 2007, and was named an Associate in 2011. He is currently serving as the podium team leader for the Chongqing Chaotianmen Development in Chongqing, China. He has participated in a wide variety of projects including the Keppel Island Residential Development and Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort, both in Singapore; the Colombo Residential Development in Sri Lanka; the Golden Dream Bay development in Qinhuangdao, China; The Luwan Mixed-Use Development in Shanghai, China; the Holocaust Education Center in Philadelphia, and the New Town of Modi’in Master Plan in Israel, as well as numerous competitions including the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.

Howard Bloom

Howard Bloom joined Safdie Architects in 1997, and became an Associate in 2005. The projects he has worked on include the Pearson International Airport in Toronto; the Salt Lake City Public Library; Hebrew College in Newton, Massachusetts; the United States Federal Courthouse in Springfield, Massachusetts; the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City; and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Sarah Lindenfeld, AIA

Sarah Lindenfeld joined Safdie Architects in 1996, and was named an Associate in 2005. She recently was project manager for the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City and for the National Campus for Archeology of Israel in Jerusalem, Israel, and she has also served as project architect for the Free Library of Philadelphia. She is currently working on the Los Morros-El Gran Canal project, a mixed-use development planned for outside of Cartagena, Colombia.

Matthew Longo, AIA

Matthew A. Longo AIA joined Safdie Architects in 1998, and became an Associate in 2000. He has participated in numerous projects including the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas; Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles; the Courror Estate in Scotland; the United States Federal Courthouse in Mobile, Alabama; and the United States Federal Courthouse in Springfield, Massachusetts. He was the project architect for the Skirball Phase III expansion, and for Eleanor Roosevelt College at the University of California, San Diego. Most recently, he served as project manager for the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas and senior project manager for the Skirball Phase IV expansion. He is currently serving as project manager for Bangalore and Mulund residential developments in India.

David Orens, AIA

David Orens joined Safdie Architects in 2000, and became an Associate in 2006. He currently serves as the project manager for the Campus Centre building at the Asian University for Women in Chittagong, Bangladesh, and as project architect for Golden Dream Bay, a high-density residential beachfront community in Qinhuangdao, China. He previously served as project manager for the United States Federal Courthouse in Springfield, Massachusetts, and as a senior architect for the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. In his role as a senior technical architect, he has been responsible for the research, design, and implementation of complex construction systems and for coordination of the construction documents on numerous projects.

Belinda Valenti, AIA

Belinda Valenti joined Safdie Architects in 2003, and became an Associate in 2007. She has worked on many projects, including the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas; Hebrew College in Newton, Massachusetts; Modi’in Town Center, in Israel; the United States Federal Courthouse in Mobile, Alabama; and the United States Federal Courthouse in Springfield, Massachusetts. She was the project architect for the Renaissance Square Master Plan and the Crystal Bridges urban design concept. She currently serves as project manager for the North Building Complex of the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

Juan M. Villafañe, RA, LEED AP

Juan Villafañe joined Safdie Architects in 2005, and became an Associate in 2009. He has worked on a range of projects, including the United States Institute of Peace Headquarters in Washington, DC, and the SkyPark at the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort in Singapore. He has served as project architect on large-scale master-planning projects and competitions including the International Criminal Court Competition in the Hague and the Dream Island Integrated Resort in Budapest, Hungary. Currently he is project architect for the Parkside Residential Development in Toronto. Before joining the firm, he was an architect at Samuel Anderson Architects in New York City, and a project manager for a design-build studio specializing in high-end architectural fabrication.