The office of Elena Kalman Architect has offered a broad range of architectural services to private clients, developers, various institutions and non-for-profit organizations since 1988.
We take each project from the planning phase through design, approvals, and observation of construction process to its successful completion. We work with our clients to assure the best quality of design, the most cost efficient construction methods, and the integration of our projects into existing urban communities.
In our major projects we often coordinate our efforts with local committees, city agencies, and neighborhood groups to create the structures that enhance existing urban environments while also satisfying our client’s requirements. Several of our projects included historic preservation components, while others required extensive work with zoning boards in Connecticut and Board of Standards and Appeals in New York City.
Our firm specializes in high quality design that is often recognized by the American Institute of Architects and is regularly featured in their annual traveling exhibitions. The recent exhibit of our experimental constructions in metal at Stamford Museum has received several favorable reviews.
Since beginning of twenty first century our firm is heavily involved in designing multi-family residential buildings in New York City where we are responsible for many projects with over a thousand of new dwelling units. Some of these projects are renovations of former manufacturing buildings, such as: Newswalk and Riverfront Lofts, both in Brooklyn, NY; others are new construction: Park West in Manhattan, NY and The Wave in Brooklyn, NY. We continue being trend setters in innovative housing concepts and high standards of design.
Our residential projects are featured in several issues of the bi-annual publication The Visual Architecture Journal. We are frequent contributors to House Beautiful magazine and Before and After, a television program on Home and Garden Channel. Our other publications include feature articles with photographs of our projects and interviews of the project team in such publications as The New York Times, The Boston Magazine, The Fairfield Press, The Stamford Advocate and others.
Some of our institutional/educational buildings, such as: Unitarian Universalist Society, Metcalf House Residence, Jewish Center and Temple Sinai School in Stamford, Connecticut; Oholei Tora Yeshiva renovations in Brooklyn, New York; and, most recently, New Chabad Lubavich Educational Center in Stamford required working with building committees. We believe that our ability to listen to our clients to integrate different points of view into the final design make our buildings stronger and better.
We structure our project management in accordance with practice guidelines and documents issued by the American Institute of Architects. We uses state of art computer technology to produce all of our construction documents and most are three dimensional renderings.
SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE FIRM:
Architecture:
Site evaluation;
Zoning and code analysis, programming;
Design and Construction Documents;
Coordination with engineers and other consultants;
Exterior and interior material selections, specifications;
Bidding negotiation, construction observation, assistance in obtaining of permits, etc.
Planning/Urban Design:
Analysis of city districts and historic evaluations of existing urban fabric;
Development of guidelines for new developments;
Master planning;
Land use and functional analyses.
Historic Preservation:
Building evaluation and preparation of documents for historic status nomination;
Development of design in accordance with Federal Preservation Guidelines;
Recommendations of proper preservation materials and methods of construction.
Interior Design
Building space evaluation;
Programming;
Space planning;
Material selections, architectural detailing, signage;
Custom furniture and lighting design.
PUBLIC ART:
Installations of indoor and outdoor public art by Elena Kalman are an integral part of many projects done by the firm.
Recent public art projects in Museums and other public venues include:
• Thanatopolis-2010 Memorial Structure: at I-Park Art Center, East Haddam, CT
• Succah City-2012: Temporary structure competition, New York, NY
• The Wave: Interactive public art installations in collaboration with Susan Hoffman Fishman: Peabody Museum in Essex, MA – August 2011; Greenway in Boston September 2011; Community Quilt at Bushnell Park, Hartford August 2012; Baltimore National Aquarium September 2013; Connecticut Public Libraries Consortium – 4 installations in public libraries in March-July 2014, The Brooklyn Wave, Brooklyn New York at the Wave building lobby: December 2115.