Thank you for seeking out Helpern Architects’ website. You’ll find standard information, of course, but I’ve focused on what we’re doing to keep design-reliant organizations resilient and informed in an unsettled social, business, and political climate.
Helpern Architects has provided architecture, planning, and interior design services for a half-century. Getting something built as designed is equal parts art, diplomacy, optimism, and contact sport. Nonetheless, we’ve completed over 4,400 projects.
I’m a perennially optimistic architect and planner, and I’m still the sole owner of Helpern Architects. Sole ownership isn’t that unusual for mid-size design firms, but you rarely hear directly from that founder. I thought you’d appreciate my personally showing you what we’re doing, on the far side of the COVID pandemic. Find out more about me here.
Here’s the general layout: The Profile segment talks about who we are. Our Services offerings section starts with Architecture and Interior Design, and we include descriptions of Our Best Projects.
There are shortcuts and takeaways. If you’re in a hurry, go directly to Our Best Projects and scroll to its last offering, “Classic Helpern,” for the projects that have made our reputation. They range from very old to new buildings designed or re-designed with students, businesses, concertgoers, congregants, travelers, moguls, and 30 rare Lowland Gorillas in mind.
With more time to go through the site, you’ll find that Services sections are divided by interest, depending on the stage of your enterprise. The body of the site contains pertinent project descriptions, there’s an essential paragraph about Ethics, and I close by encouraging you to call or write to me if you didn’t get the answers you sought.
If you are thinking about a new project, go right to Development Analysis. From recent queries and assignments, I’ve observed that some organizations see post-pandemic opportunities and are emboldened, while others cautiously slow-walk investment. Services like project scoping, feasibility assessment, code interpretation, agency briefing, and concept design – normally in-demand requests for services – have now become crucial, so I created this focus to show how we work.
If you’re ready to initiate a project, I suggest you start with our Planning section. It’s essential to know from the start specifically what you’ll be doing, when, what could get in the way, and what to do about it. Planning could entail just one building, but nowadays it goes well beyond, including expansions, complexes, and districts. There are many examples of Planning throughout this website, but the main ones are gathered here.
You might find it useful to know that some of our planning assignments – along with my advocacy and advisory work with community groups and/or land-use lawyers – are meant to stop projects from happening. That is, we suggest an alternate plan and approach or disprove someone’s improper planning.
If the condition of a property is your responsibility, head to Technical Services. I have always been fierce about how buildings get put together and how well they perform. Helpern Architects’ initial focus was on institutions, and much of our work involved – still involves – existing buildings. In my office, knowledge of prior building codes, technologies, materials, and systems is as important as the latest information, materials, and trends.
Five years after our doors opened, I formalized Helpern Technical Services [HTS] and enabled it to carry out its own contracts. That capability has brought related assignments such as owner’s representative, executive architect, tenant reviewer, advisor on preventive maintenance, and expert witness. Representative projects are here.
If you’re surprised that this opening text doesn’t brag about specific clients and projects, our site has almost 100 case studies that you can access. Just link to Our Best Projects for the array, organized by project type.
If you are concerned that your Architect might hesitate to give you unpleasant news about your project, my statement about Ethics might be reassuring. In 1993, I became a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, honored for Design in addition to research and advocacy. This designation deeply binds me to the profession’s ethical standards of practice.
If you want to know more, I’m always available at 646.256.0001 or d.helpern@helpern.com. Call me with your comments or queries. My name is on the door, and it’s always exciting to hear from people looking for an experienced firm.
David Paul Helpern, FAIA
