Archinect
Ralph Spencer Steenblik

Ralph Spencer Steenblik

Greater New York City

 

About 

Ralph Spencer Steenblik is a registered architect in New York. He has built, taught, published, exhibited, and curated globally. His work* negotiates vernacular and advanced digital processes through interdisciplinary, sustainable and natural inspiration, to create urban intricacy and inspiring, interactive spaces. He has spoken at universities around the world* such as MIT, Tongji University, Yonsei University and others. His work is published prolifically*.

Deeply engaged in developing the culture at the emerging School of Public Architecture at Kean / Wenzhou-Kean University*. Steenblik has taken on many roles in an effort to strengthen the program and has taught both undergraduate and graduate students. He has previously taught at Pratt Institute, NJIT, CUNY, presented workshops at Tongji University, Shanghai Institute of Art, and Haikou University of Economics, and has sat as critic on architectural juries globally*.

His practice, phi architecture φ (founded 2004), includes clients such as Google, Huayi Space, Venture Anyway, and the Fictionist band, focuses on designing across scales. His influence, also felt at design offices such as Asymptote Architecture; and a co-founder of an innovation platform called REACH at Pelli Clarke Pelli. He holds a masters from SCI-Arc (Southern California Institute of Architecture).

*exhibited: Art Basel, FutureLab(Shanghai), VERGE 19, Site Santa Fe’s Design Lab, and others.

*Tongji University, CAUP digitalFUTURES, CAADRIA, CAAD Futures(Korea), ACADIA(MIT), AIANY,  Università di Trento, Shanghai Institute of Visual Art (SIVA), as symposium keynote, Yonsei University, S. Korea, UNLV, Haikou University Of Economics & vocational schools in rural East Africa

*invited peer-reviewer for The International Journal of Architectural Computing(IJAC), CAADRIA. Editor of "A Manifesto for Xinwu Village" & contributing author to favelissues.com

*roles including: founding faculty advisor, first AIAS chapter in China, NCARB Licensing Advisor, and founding Assistant Director of the Public Architecture and Design Research Institute, he has also been instrumental in the 500sqm prototyping Space

*SCI-Arc, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Pratt, CUNY, FIT, Parsons, NJIT, NYIT, Wesleyan University, Kean University, University of Hartford, The University of Utah, and ISU, ID

*projects of note include The Hudson Yards Masterplan, The Ping An Finance Centre (2nd tallest building in China), The Beinecke Library renovation at Yale University, ASU Business School in Tempe, USA, and a renovation at the World Financial Center, NY.


Employment 

Kean University, Union, NJ/ Wenzhou, CN, Assist. Dir. Public Arch. & Design Research Inst. , & Lecturer

Sep 2018 - current
 

Pelli Clarke & Partners, New York, Founding member REACH (advanced computation group)

Jan 2017 - Jan 2019
 
Feb 2015 - Jan 2017
 

Asymptote Architecture, New York City, __

Jun 2013 - Jun 2014
 

phi architecture, Greater New York Area, Designer

Jan 2004 - Jun 2014
 

Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), Los Angeles, CA, US, Teaching Assistant

Jan 2010 - Sep 2011
 

Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF), New York, NY, US, Intern

May 2008 - Aug 2008
 

CannonDesign | OWP/P, Phoenix, AZ, US, Design Associate

Apr 2007 - Aug 2008
 

DMJM Design | AECOM, Phoenix, AZ, US, Intern

Jan 2005 - Aug 2005
 

Education 

Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), Los Angeles, CA, US, MArch, Architecture

Sep 2009 - Sep 2012
 
Sep 2011 - Jan 2012
 

Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, US, Bachelors, Design

Aug 2005 - May 2009
 

Areas of Specialization