Archinect
Andrew Kao

Andrew Kao

New York, NY, US

 

About 

Andrew has been with Sage and Coombe since 2011. The scope of his experience has been broad both geographically and typologically. His academic work at UCLA has been presented at Postopolis! Los Angeles in 2009, the 2008 Venice Biennale, and the 2009 IAES conference. He has also taught undergraduate architecture studios at UCLA.

While a designer with Moore Ruble Yudell in Santa Monica, Andrew was the initial designer in the design of MIT’s new Sloan School of Management, completed in 2010. He also was the lead designer for the masterplan of the 400 acre Camana Bay development in Grand Cayman. After receiving his Masters of Architecture at UCLA, he worked on several single-family residences across the United States from New York to California. He also has been a part of Atelier Hitoshi Abe and Johnston Marklee.

With Sage and Coombe, Andrew has been designing the Rockaway Institute for a Sustainable Environment, a non-profit environmental education facility in the Rockaways. He also has designed a new pavilion for the United States Tennis Association in Flushing, and more recently has been managing construction for the Midland Beach recreation facility for the NYC Parks Department in Staten Island.

His diverse background in architecture has been at the service of furthering his understanding of architecture in order to be able to fully realize work that is formally and programmatically challenging from concept to construction. More specifically he is interested in generating layered experiences of conceptual understanding in the expression of form.

Employment 

Sage and Coombe Architects, New York, Project Manager

Dec 2011 - current
 

Aleck Wilson Architects, San Francisco, CA, US, Designer

Jan 2011 - May 2011
 

Della Valle + Bernheimer, Brooklyn, NY, US, Designer

Feb 2010 - Jan 2011
 

Atelier Hitoshi Abe, Los Angeles, CA, US, Contract Designer

Jul 2009 - Sep 2009
 

Johnston Marklee, Los Angeles, CA, US, Intern Designer

Jun 2008 - Sep 2008
 

Griffin Enright Architects, Los Angeles, CA, US, Intern Designer

Jun 2007 - Sep 2007
 

Moore Ruble Yudell Architects & Planners, Santa Monica, CA, US, Designer

Designed sustainable projects from single family residential to 200,000 sf institutional buildings,
and 400 acre developments

Jul 2004 - Sep 2006
 

Education 

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), MArch, M Arch I

Noted Critics:
Greg Lynn
Hitoshi Abe
Yoshiharu Tsukamoto
Mark Lee
Sylvia Lavin
Mark Mack

Sep 2006 - Jun 2009
 

Williams College, Bachelors, Art History & Art Studio

Major in Art History and art Studio
Extensive background in art and architectural critique and theory. Studio art covering variety of media including video/film, photography, sculpture, and design.

Sep 2000 - Jun 2004
 

Awards 

City of New York, Public Design Comission 2012 Award for Excellence in Design, Award

Design of the Heineken Red Star Café, Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens

2013
 

City of New York, Public Design Comission 2012 Award for Green Infrastructure, 1st Place

Award for the restoration of beachfront access projects in the Rockaways.

2013
 

2013 SEGD Global Design Awards, Award

The Edgeless School: Design for Learning, 2200 SF exhibition design for the Center of Architecture in New York City.

2013
 

City of New York Reinvent Payphones Design Challenge, Award

Sage and Coombe, NYFi - Finalist and winner of Popular Choice and Most Connectivity awards. The design was developed in response to a competition sponsored by New York City’s Department of Information Technology and Communications. The design, making use of existing payphone infrastructure, created a sleek interactive portal to public information, goods, and services, a hub for free wireless internet access, and an open infrastructure for future applications.

2013
 

LA Business Council - Under Construction Award, Award

With Griffin Enright Architects for St. Thomas the Apostle School

2010
 

International Architectural Education Summit, Other

Exhibition Selection

2009
 

NAIOP Southern California Case Competition Winner, 1st Place

Annual Real Estate Case Competition. Design of mixed-use masterplan won 1st place in a head to head competition.

2008
 

AIA Firm Award, Award

AIA National Firm award to Moore Ruble Yudell

2006
 

AIA Urban Design Honor Award, Award

National AIA Urban Design Honor Award for Urban Design of college campus center with Moore Ruble Yudell at the University of British Columbia

2006
 

UBC - University Boulevard Competition, 1st Place

Moore Ruble Yudell Competition entry won first place for the redesign of the college campus core of UBC.

2005
 

Areas of Specialization 

Skills