Dearborn

The Studio

Jonathan Levi Architects (JLA) uses the influence of design to create places that enrich ideation, collaboration and the well-being of its users in all spheres of daily life. Collectively, with our visionary clients, we are dedicated to creativity and innovation at every scale, looking at common problems in new ways, producing extraordinary and thought provoking spaces.

We are futurists and creative thinkers. We understand the need to anticipate the shape of the future, from improved quality of construction and detail to new modes of use and patterns of organization. Truly an important goal of architecture today and our utmost responsibility as architects and designers. Because of this commitment and understanding, environments designed by JLA are positioned to endure and serve future generations.

Ultimately, the uniqueness of our firm lies in our unparalleled dedication, partnering with visionary client leadership, to achieving world-class results within the bounds of demanding public/institutional processes and finite resources. It is architecture whose purpose is to produce unexpected benefits and cherished long-term value for our patron organizations and every inhabitant – creating stimulating and inspirational places for the mind.

Jonathan Levi Architects

Boston
266 Beacon Street
Boston, MA 02116
T 617 437 9458

Providence
225 Dyer Street
Providence, RI  02903
T 401 320 5815

Service

Jonathan Levi Architects (JLA) is a firm practicing architecture focused on the co-creation of places which enrich ideation, collaboration and well-being in all spheres of daily life. Our consistent dedication to creativity and innovation at every scale, looking at seemingly ordinary problems in new ways, is a response to the forward looking spirit which we find in our clients and which our clients aim to engender in the end users of their projects.+

We are futurists in the same way that our clients are futurists. We understand that reaching to anticipate the shape of the future – from improved quality of construction and detail, to new modes of use and patterns of organization - is an essential goal of architecture today and our utmost responsibility. Because of this commitment, buildings and environments by JLA are positioned to endure to serve future generations, both in their materiality and in their forward-looking, flexibly efficient functionality.

In the end, the uniqueness of our firm lies in our unparalleled dedication, partnering with visionary client leadership, to achieving world-class results within the bounds of demanding public/institutional processes and finite resources. It is architecture whose purpose is to produce unexpected benefits and cherished long-term value for our patron organizations and for every inhabitant - creating stimulating and inspirational places for the mind.

Studio

JLA was founded in 1985. Since its reorganization in 1995, our three studios have been housed in a landmark limestone townhouse overlooking the Charles River Esplanade in Boston’s Back Bay. The practice consists of a closely knit team of architects and staff working collaboratively on a variety of project types ranging in size and type from residences to government buildings to plans for townships.+

We are led by Jonathan Levi FAIA who directs design for all projects and participates in all phases of execution. Mr. Levi is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and National Peer for the Office of the Chief Architect of the United States. He is former Adj Full Professor of Architectural Design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design where, for 28 years, he taught studios, lectured and led curriculum as a core faculty member in design, construction technology and practice.

Key staff includes Philip Gray AIA and Mark Warner AIA, each with over 30 years of experience, spearheading organization, management and technological excellence for a wide spectrum of nationally significant cultural and institutional projects. Associate Principal, Elizabeth Bugbee AIA, ensures that our building information modeling technology (adopted in 2005) and integrated design cultures remain at the leading edge of international practice standards. Nationally awarded visioning leader, Sunkyu Koh, Associate provides inspirational delineations and illustrations to support project audience understanding and momentum building.

Co-creation

JLA’s proven long term success derives from our expert focus on mediation-based consensus building. Through our extensive capacity for design flexibility and improvisation, we are able to both shorten and strengthen the cycle of listening, research, design and response in order to rapidly achieve an identity of purpose with our clients and their constituencies.+

In practice, we do this by mining the self-knowledge expertise of our clients; eliciting and methodically assimilating responses to numerous carefully-crafted and strategically-arrayed design alternatives. We believe that the comprehensiveness of our alternatives for client deliberation exceeds the industry standard - leaving no stone unturned. Public and committee presentations delivered by Jonathan Levi FAIA, a professional lecturer and expert public speaker, lucidly sort out and unlock complex design constraints and solutions in order to reinforce confident decision-making.

In employing the necessary rigor that comes from precisely laying out and clarifying alternatives, our internal creative process is enriched. In this way, the growth of a project’s creative principles and objectives is bound to the growth of our client collaborator’s productive understanding and genuine participation; making for a product which is truly co-created. Co-created architecture is architecture that is understood and embraced by the community as their own – which, we believe, is the ultimate measurement of value.

Fulfillment

The highest aspirations of any building project are dependent on successful management of schedule and budget. With a deep history of repeat clients, JLA’s stalwart performance in project delivery is an unambiguous record of exceeding expectations. Projects ranging from $23M to $110M, delivered under exhaustive public scrutiny and with unalterable completion dates, have consistently been bid on budget and executed on time with minimal change orders. Whether working with Design/Bid/Build or Construction Management methods, a key ingredient of this consistency has been our success in fostering positive, productive collaborations with project delivery team members and organizations.+

Buildings and environments designed by JLA are renowned for the extensive consideration given to the details of construction and the human scale design of inhabited spaces. It is a level of consideration stemming from Mr. Levi’s decades-long technical research and teaching; and which is pursued through an indefatigable level of personal involvement; from client meetings to autograph drawings of technical details to direct site observation.

The result is buildings that are distinguished by a consistently high level of intention throughout - generating superb functional and experiential resolution in every space and at every surface. They are buildings intended to respect the reality of how they influence the everyday moments of experience and which reflect the detailed needs and purposes of their inhabitants as much as they uplift the public realm. So that, in other words, a classroom interior is as important as a ceremonial stair; and a window jamb as important as an urban axis.

Awards +

  • 2023 Future House International Residential Award, Global Design News, River House
  • 2023 International Architecture Award, The Chicago Athenaeum, River House
  • 2023 International Architecture Award, Honorable Mention, The Chicago Athenaeum; Fuller Middle School
  • 2023 AIA Central Massachusetts Honor Award; Fuller Middle School
  • 2022 The American Architecture Award Winner, The Chicago Athenaeum; River House
  • Global Architecture & Design Awards 2022, Rethinking The Future Second Award; River House
  • 2022 American Architecture Award, The Chicago Athenaeum; Dearborn STEM Middle/High School
  • 2022 American Architecture Award, Honorable Mention; The Chicago Athenaeum, Fuller Middle School
  • Global Architecture & Design Awards 2022 Rethinking The Future Second Award; Fuller Middle School
  • Brick In Architecture Award 2021, Gold Fuller Middle School
  • 2020 Award of Honor, American Institute of Architects/Boston Society for Architecture; Dearborn STEM Middle/High School, Boston, MA
  • 2020 Harleston-Parker Medal, American Institute of Architects/Boston Society for Architecture & City of Boston; Dearborn STEM Middle/High School, Boston, MA
  • 2019 Award for Design Excellence, American Institute of Architects/Boston Society for Architecture; Dearborn STEM Middle/High School, Boston, MA
  • 2018 Award for Design Excellence - Citation, American Institute of Architects/New England; The Field School, Weston, MA
  • Finalist 2017 & 2015 Harleston-Parker Medal, American Institute of Architects/Boston Society for Architecture & City of Boston; The Field School, Weston, MA
  • 2016 International Architecture Award, Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre; The Field School, Weston, MA
  • 2015 Building of the Year: East, Runner-up, The Architect’s Newspaper; The Field School, Weston, MA
  • 2015 Award for Design Excellence, AIA/Boston Society for Architecture; The Field School, Weston, MA
  • 2015 Honor Award for Design Excellence, AIA/New England; Roger Wellington School, Belmont, MA
  • 2015 American Architecture Award, The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Center; The Field School, Weston, MA
  • 2015 American Architecture Award, The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre; Roger Wellington School, Belmont, MA
  • 2014 Honorable Mention for Excellence in Architecture, AIA/ New England; GSA Federal Office Building, Andover, MA
  • 2014 Biennial Design Award – Citation, U.S. General Services Administration Public Building Service, GSA Federal Office Building, Andover, MA
  • 2013 Harleston-Parker Medal, AIA/Boston Society for Architecture & City of Boston; Dearborn STEM Middle/High School, Boston, MA
  • 2013 Harleston-Parker Medal, AIA/Boston Society for Architecture & City of Boston; Roger Wellington School, Belmont, MA
  • 2013 Award for Design Excellence – Honor Award, AIA/Boston Society for Architecture; Roger Wellington School, Belmont, MA
  • 2013 Award for Design Excellence – Citation, AIA/Boston Society for Architecture; GSA Federal Office Building, Andover, MA
  • 2013 Education Facilities Award – Honor Award, AIA/Boston Society for Architecture & AIA New York; Roger Wellington School, Belmont, MA
  • 2008 Award for Design Excellence – Honor Award, AIA/Boston Society for Architecture; Harvard University Graduate Student Housing, Cambridge, MA
  • 2008 Award for Design Excellence – Honor Award, AIA/Boston Society for Architecture; Michael Driscoll School, Brookline, MA
  • 2008 Award for Design Excellence – Citation, AIA/Boston Society for Architecture; Harvard University Landscape Institute of the Arnold Arboretum, Cambridge, MA
  • 2008 Honor Award for Campus Planning, AIA/Boston Society for Architecture; aXon Academic Housing Campus at Education City, Doha Qatar
  • 2008 Honor Award for Design Excellence in Housing, AIA/Boston Society for Architecture and AIA New York Chapter; Harvard University Graduate Student Housing, Cambridge, MA
  • 2007 Award for Design Excellence – Special Citation, AIA/Boston Society for Architecture; Coolidge Corner Public Library, Brookline, MA
  • 2007 Grand Prize Design Award, 21st Century Project Design Competition, Association of College and University Housing Officers (ACUHO-I); flexDorm Student Housing
  • 2007 Honor Award, American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA); with Richard Burck Associates, Harvard University Graduate Student Housing, Cambridge, MA Finalist
  • 2006 Harleston-Parker Medal, AIA/Boston Society for Architecture; Brookline Residence, Brookline, MA
  • 2006 Merit Award for Sustainable Design, Boston Society of Landscape Architects/ASLA; Harvard University Graduate Student Housing, Cambridge, MA
  • 2006 Small Projects Design Award, AIA/Boston Society for Architecture; Exhibition Gallery and Retail Space, North Bennet Street School, Boston, MA
  • 2005 Award for Excellence in Architecture, AIA/New England; Harvard University Graduate Student Housing, Cambridge, MA Finalist
  • 2004 Harleston-Parker Medal Finalist, AIA/Boston Society for Architecture; Brookline Residence, Brookline, MA

Publications +

  • Distinctive Homes, Winter 2023
  • Holocaust Memorial in Charleston: “Memorial Adds New Feature”, L Stiefel, Charleston Jewish Voice, April 2015
  • Holocaust Memorial in Charleston: “Details added to Charleston Holocaust Memorial as hundreds attend rededication”, M Boughton, The Post and Courier, April 2015
  • Federal Office Building in Andover: GSA Design Awards 2014 Book, U.S. General Services Administration Public Building Service, April 2014, pp40-41
  • Roger Wellington School: “A Beauty Basks in Sunlight”, R. Campbell, Boston Globe, March 30, 2014, pN7
  • flexDorm Design Concept: The 21st Century Project Design Showcase: The Home, James Baumann, 2007, pp14-23
  • flexDorm Design Concept: Architectural Record, “Competition Rethinks Student Housing for the Echo-Boom Generation”, Alan Brake, April 2007, p40
  • flexDorm Design Concept: “College Dorms Get High-Tech Treatment”, Peter Schworm, The Boston Globe, September 2, 2007, ppB2, B7
  • May Residence: The Sourcebook of Contemporary Architecture, Àlex Sánchez Vidiella, Collins Design and Loft Publications, Spain, 2007, pp494-501
  • flexDorm Design Concept: The Chronicle of Higher Education, “The Dorm Room of the Future”, Lawrence Biemiller, February 23 2007, ppB12-B13
  • Harvard Graduate Student Housing: “Jonathan Levi FAIA Conversations on Architecture”, Rachel Levitt, ArchitectureBoston, March/April 2005, pp9-10
  • Brookline Residence: New Houses, Llorenç Bonet, Harper Design and Loft Publications, 2005, pp124-131
  • May Residence: Houses-Casas-Häuser, eds. Hugo Kliczkowski and Alejandro Bahamón, HK-Onlybook (Madrid)/Loft Publications (Barcelona), Spain, 2005, pp92-99
  • Harvard Graduate Student Housing: Architectural Record, Nancy Levinson, December 2004, pp177, pp186-191
  • Patent Windows: Façade Construction Manual, Thomas Herzog et al, Birkhauser, Basel, Switzerland, 2004, p131
  • Brookline and May Residences: The Distinctive Home: A Vision of Timeless Design, Jeremiah Eck, The Taunton Press, 2003, pp66, 157
  • Holocaust Memorial in Charleston: “Millennium Awards Issue”, Faith and Form, Vol. 34, no. 1/2001, p27
  • John D. Runkle School: Harvard Design Magazine, Winter/ Spring 2001, p106
  • The Belmont Hill Club, The John D. Runkle School & The May Residence: “The Year in Review Issue”, ArchitectureBoston, vol. 3, no.5, 2000, pp 42, 49 & 58
  • Holocaust Memorial in Charleston: Harvard Design Magazine, Winter 2000, p105
  • Holocaust Memorial in Charleston: “The Holocaust: A Reconciliation of Two Portraits”, cover feature, B. Meyer/J. Levi, Faith and Form, Vol. 32, no. 3/1999, pp8-9
  • Holocaust Memorial in Charleston: “Holocaust Memorial, Charleston, SC”, World Magazine – Journal of the UnitarianUniversalist Society, December 1999, p48
  • Holocaust Memorial in Charleston: “Architect/Sculptor’s Statement”, J. Levi, Dedication Catalog, p2
  • Holocaust Memorial in Charleston: “Remembering”, R. Behre, Charleston Sunday Post and Courier, Jun 6, 1999, p1
  • Belmont Hill Club: Harvard Design Magazine, Fall 1999, p98. May Residence: “A Modern Treehouse”, R. Campbell, Boston Globe, Jul 8, 1999, ppF1,8
  • May Residence: Harvard Design Magazine, Fall 1998, p98. Chestnut Hill Residence: “Dettaglio E Totalita”, Mario Biagi, Ville Giardini, March 1997, pp18-25
  • Brookline Residence: Wohnungen in Hozbauweise, Dieter Gutekunst, Karl Kramer Verlag, 1997, pp196-203
  • Holocaust Memorial in Charleston: “The Power of Memory”, M.S. Grossman, Charleston Magazine, July/August 1997, pp 20-26
  • Chestnut Hill Residence: “Brookline House Gives Form to Family’s Life”, David Eisen, Boston Herald, February 2, 1997, sect Features, p45
  • Chestnut Hill Residence: Harvard Design Magazine, Summer 1997, p83
  • Auburn Court/Chestnut Hill Residence: House Design: Art and Practice, Alfred Devido, John Wiley & Sons, 1996, pp76-77, 104-105
  • Brookline Residence: “Tall Order”, R. Campbell, The Boston Globe, May 18, 1995, ppA1,4,5
  • Brookline Residence: The New American House, O.R. Ojeda, Whitney Library of Design, 1995, pp196-203
  • Brookline Residence: “Bauen und Wohnen”, Feidler/Berg, Stern, Nov. 12, 1995, pp118, 130
  • Brookline Residence: Casas Internacional 30, March 1994, pp62-67
  • Portfolio; Brookline Residence/Chestnut Hill Residence: “Jonathan Levi’s Wood Detailing - Rethinking the Wood House”, M.A. Branch, Progressive Architecture, May 1994, pp70-75
  • The Southgate Building: “The End of Dumb Walls”, J. S. Russell, Architectural Record, October 1993, pp109, 114-115
  • “Notes on Eric Owen Moss”: (criticism), GSD News, Spring/ Summer 1993
  • Portfolio; Auburn Court/Low-Cost Rural Housing: “Emerging Talent: Jonathan Levi”, M.A. Branch, Progressive Architecture, March 1992, pp74-79
  • Residence in Boylston: Architecture in Perspective IV, Art Institute of Chicago, Catalog, cover
  • Auburn Court: “Affordable Housing”, R. Campbell, Boston Globe, Oct. 1, 1989, pp10-18,82-83
  • Residence in Boylston: “Art by Design”, P. Gapp, Chicago Tribune, Oct. 15, 1989, sect 13-pp16
  • Bruzelius Residence: Home, November 1988, pp. 74-75
  • Shutack Residence: Abitare, July/August 1987, pp192-3 ^
  • Van Dyke Residence: Architecture, July 1987, pp. 40-43 ^
  • NSCI Sacred Objects, Hinsdale Residence Addition, Shutack Residence: Architecture and Urbanism, May 1987, pp. 42-43, 57-64 ^
  • Van Dyke and Shutack Residences: Chicago Architecture Annual, 1986, pp84-87 ^
  • Shutack Residence: Builder, November 1986 ^
  • Van Dyke Residence: House and Garden, May 1986 ^
  • Van Dyke and Shutack Residences: Global Architecture no.19, Feb. 1986 ^
  • Shutack Residence: Inland Architect, Nov. 1985 ^
  • Van Dyke Residence: Exhibition Catalogue: Art Institute of Chicago, Jan.- Feb. 1985 ^
  • NSCI Sacred Objects: Architectural Record, June 1983, pp.112- 13 ^
  • NSCI Sacred Objects: AIA Journal: Awards Issue, Spring 1983 ^
  • Shutack Residence: Threshold Journal, Fall 1983 ^
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  • Jonathan Levi, Project Designer for Hammond Beeby and Babka, Inc. Chicago, IL