Marc Kushner

Marc Charles Kushner was born on September 27, 1977. He is an American architect, entrepreneur, and author. Kushner was a partner at the architecture firm Hollwich Kushner, based in New York City, until he left the firm in 2019. He is also a co-founder of Architizer.

Early life and education

Kushner is the son of Lee Kushner and the stepson of Murray Kushner, a real estate developer. He was raised in Livingston, New Jersey, in a Modern Orthodox Jewish household. Kushner completed his high school education at The Frisch School. He then attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. His undergraduate studies included majors in Political Science and Contemporary Vernacular Architecture as Cultural Artifact. Subsequently, Kushner enrolled at Harvard Graduate School of Design, from which he obtained a Master of Architecture degree.

Career

Architecture

Kushner gained experience working at several architecture firms, including those led by Steven Holl, Jürgen Mayer H., and Lewis Tsurumaki Lewis. In 2007, he co-founded the architecture firm Hollwich Kushner with Matthias Hollwich, whom he met in Jürgen Mayer's Berlin office five years earlier.

In 2012, Kushner and Hollwich won the MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program with their project titled "Wendy." Following this achievement, the firm received multiple commissions such as the Fire Island Pines Pavilion in 2013, the University of Pennsylvania's LEED Gold Pennovation Center in 2016, Journal Squared in 2017, and the speculative innovation campus at 25 Kent in 2018. In 2017, Hollwich Kushner was recognized by Fast Company as one of the World's Most Innovative Companies. Kushner has spoken publicly on architectural topics at events including TED and PSFK.

In 2019, Kushner left Hollwich Kushner to pursue other projects.

Architizer

During the 2008 financial crisis, Kushner and Hollwich developed a digital platform designed to help architects promote their work. The platform, Architizer, grew rapidly to become the largest online platform dedicated to architecture. In 2013, Kushner initiated the A+ Awards, a global architecture awards program that has become the largest of its kind.

The Future of Architecture in 100 Buildings

In 2014, Kushner was an invited speaker at TED's 30th anniversary conference in Vancouver. His presentation reviewed the past 30 years of architectural history and discussed the impact of social media on architecture. Following this, in 2015, Kushner published his first book, titled "The Future of Architecture in 100 Buildings," released by Simon & Schuster and TED Books.

Personal life

Kushner married Christopher Barley, also an architect, on March 31, 2012, in a Jewish wedding. He is openly gay. His step-brother is Jon Kushner, a real estate developer and president of the Kushner Real Estate Group, a family-owned organization. He is also a first cousin of Jared Kushner, who served as a senior advisor to former U.S. President Donald Trump, and Joshua Kushner, the managing partner of Thrive Capital, a private equity firm based in New York.

Kushner serves as the president of the Board of Friends of Plus Pool, a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing a water-filtering, floating swimming pool intended to clean urban rivers.

External links

- Marc Kushner at TED