Who We Are

Belzberg Architects was founded in 1997 by Hagy Belzberg who had a clear-sighted ambition…establish a niche firm that was relatable and fearlessly creative. Our small yet spirited group of architects and designers quickly became a recognized practice because of this vision rooted in creating beautiful, thoughtful architecture and interiors. Over the years, we continuously nurtured a collective curiosity and eagerness to explore design beyond the conventional, ever mindful that the best ideas emerge through collaboration.

As we grew, leadership expanded with the addition of firm partners Cory Taylor, Daniel Rentsch, Brock DeSmit, and Jennifer Wu. We found it easier and apropos to simply refer to ourselves as BA, a multidisciplinary studio with a collective voice that reflects the diversity of our group. This in turn brought us to renaming the practice in 2022 to BA Collective, coinciding with the company’s 25th anniversary.

BA Collective has been located in the City of Santa Monica since its inception in 1997. The firm has earned over 48 national and local design awards including over 20 from the American Institute of Architects. Their work has been featured in over 200 publications throughout more than 25 countries including frequent features in notable periodicals such as Architectural Record, Interior Design, and The New York Times.

BA Collective has been honored with the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Committee Design Honor Award and the Urban Land Institute recognized their design work and their contribution to excellence in urban planning. The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture recognized several of their projects with multiple notable American Architecture Awards.

In 2007, the Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture, Canada featured their work at the Expanding Bodies Conference which focused on “digital sensing and interactive and responsive systems.” Subsequent international exhibitions included “Material Skills: The Future of Intelligent Materials” and “Transforming the Built Environment”, both of which “explored how digital fabrication can be integrated with existing design practices to improve the productivity and efficiency of construction and manufacturing.” As a result, their research and built work was featured in and on the cover of the book Innovation in Building Design + Manufacturing for “spanning the historical gap between thought and hand, between idea and materiality.”

In the past 25 years, BA Collective has grown into a multi-faceted, professional design studio capable of producing large, and diverse sustainable building solutions and project types while maintaining a personal and intensive involvement with each project.