Eran Chen AIA[1] (born 22 August 1970 in Be'er Sheva, Israel[2]) is an American architect, founder and executive director of ODA Architecture, a New York-based firm specialized in building construction and design.
Eran Chen | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 22, 1970 |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Practice | Perkins Eastman (1999-2007) Office of Architecture and Design (ODA) (2007-now) |
Biography
editEran Chen grew up in Israel. His grandparents were Holocaust survivors. His father was an Air Force engineer. Chen did a 4-year service for the Israeli army (Special Forces unit), and then studied at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem. While studying, he worked two years at David Guggenheim's architecture firm in Jerusalem. He was then hired by a local franchisee of McDonald's and designed 55 of its locations. He graduated in 1999 cum laude and moved to New York.[3][2]
From 1999 to 2007, Chen worked for the architecture firm Perkins Eastman. He first joined the team working on the Beilinson Hospital in Israel, and then was assigned to competitions for new projects. In 2004, he was made a principal partner, and created a 30-employee studio within the firm.[3][4]
He founded the architecture firm Office for Design and Architecture (ODA) in 2007.[4] Early work included the renovation of 15 Union Square West,[5][6] and the interior design of a Trump World Tower penthouse for financier Chinh Chu. He then won the commissions for Eliot Spitzer's 420 Kent and Larry Silverstein's Innovation QNS in Queens.[2] In 2014, the firm won the competition for the large-scale housing development of Hunters Point in Long Island City.[4] In 2024, his firm unveiled the design for 740 Eighth Avenue (The Torch) in New York, a skyscraper crowned with a spiraling ribbon.[7][8]
Work
edit
Eran Chen's signature designs are facades of blocks making a solid foundation and elevating into a destructured block assemblage ("Jenga-style buildings"[2]), often creating cascading balconies, interconnected courtyards, or oversize terraces. He conceives porous buildings with a vertical village approach, where the breathing spaces between the elements are seized to create new interactive opportunities.[8][9] His work on historic buildings (Post Rotterdam,[10] Book Tower[11]) is a mix of preservation and upbeat modernism.[4]
Select projects
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- Trump World Tower penthouse for financier Chinh Chu (interior design), New York, NY, USA[2]
- 15 Union Square West (old Tiffany's location), New York, NY, USA[5][6]
- 15 Renwick, New York, NY, USA[2]
- 740 Eighth Avenue (The Torch), New York, NY, USA[7]
- Denizen, 123 Melrose Street, Brooklyn, New York, USA (interconnected rooftop courtyards)[12]
- Hunters Point South, Long Island City, NY, USA[4]
- 420 Kent, Brooklyn (most dwelling units are corner apartments), New York, NY, USA[2]
- Post Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (mixed-use restoration of former Central Postkantoor)[10]
- Book Tower, Detroit, USA (restoration of historic office building)[11]
- Tribeca Loft, 39 Lispenard Street (interior design), New York, NY, USA[13][14]
Other roles
edit- Adjunct professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation[15]
Awards
edit- 2019: AIA Housing Design Awards (for The Rheingold)[16]
- 2026: AIA NY Design Award (for Book Tower)[17]
Bibliography
edit- Unboxing New York. Actar. 2018. ISBN 978-1945150777.
- ODA: Office of Design and Architecture. Rizzoli. 2024. ISBN 978-0847899531.
Private life
editReferences
edit- ↑ "Member Directory". AIA New York. Retrieved 2026-05-26.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Larsen, Keith. "The Closing: Eran Chen". The Real Deal. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
- 1 2 Gantz, Nesanel (2023-06-14). "Eran Chen // ODA Architecture | Ami Magazine". Retrieved 2026-04-05.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "10 Questions With... Eran Chen". Interior Design. 18 February 2014. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
- 1 2 Slesin, Suzanne (2008-04-27). "Two That Stand Out From the Crowd". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-04-05.
- 1 2 Davidson, Justin (2008-09-05). "The Glass Stampede". New York Magazine. Retrieved 2026-04-05.
- 1 2 Dreith, Ben (2025-06-05). "The Torch supertall skyscraper to include thrill ride above Manhattan". Dezeen. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
- 1 2 Sculco, Steven (2025-10-31). "AN speaks with Eran Chen of ODA about making cities beautiful". The Architect’s Newspaper. Retrieved 2026-02-27.
- ↑ Belogolovsky, Vladimir (2019-07-17). ""We Can Find Ways for Buildings to Talk to Each Other": In Conversation with Eran Chen". ArchDaily. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
- 1 2 Bergamini, Alessandra (2019-02-14). "POST Rotterdam". IFDM. Retrieved 2026-05-26.
- 1 2 "How Detroit Reclaimed a Towering Relic From the Roaring '20s". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 2025-08-25. Retrieved 2026-05-26.
- ↑ Dorris, Jesse (27 November 2019). "ODA Transforms an Old New York Brewery into Denizen Bushwick". Interior Design. Retrieved 2026-05-26.
- 1 2 Bernstein, Fred A. (2024-03-07). "This Architect Could've Lived 'High Above the Clouds.' Instead He Chose Community". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
- 1 2 Clarke, Katherine (2018-11-07). "A Hamlet Hideaway for Wealthy New Yorkers". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
- ↑ "Eran Chen". Columbia GSAPP. Retrieved 2026-05-26.
- ↑ "2019 Housing Design Awards". AIA New York. Retrieved 2026-05-26.
- ↑ "AIANY 2026 Design Awards winners announced". The Architect’s Newspaper. 2026-01-13. Retrieved 2026-05-26.