Think/Make: Della Valle Bernheimer (New Voices in Architecture)

Architecture, the saying goes, is a verb. It’s an ongoing process of creating. For Brooklyn-based architects Jared Della Valle and Andrew Bernheimer it is, more accurately, two verbs: think and make. Two words that, when fused in the work of Della Valle Bernheimer, energize and transform each otherarchitectural process as a feedback loop. Just a decade into their practice, Della Valle Bernheimer has assembled an impressive body of completed projects. Coveted commissions in New York City include two high-profile condo towers in Chelsea and the renovation of architect Paul Rudolph’s landmark modernist apartment at 23 Beekman Place. Think/Make documents twelve of the firm’s most innovative projects, ranging from residences to public commissions such as Federal Plazain San Francisco; affordable housing units in the Bronx, New York; a public swimming center in Aalborg, Denmark; and a proposal for the reuse of New York City’s Hudson Yards.

Each project in Think/Make covers both aspects of their creative process, often demonstrating that they think both with their minds and their hands; the process is cerebral as well as physical. Thinking about the larger contexts of site and program, as well as about historical precedents, linguistics, and correlations to natural forms and phenomena, Della Valle Bernheimer creates thoughtful, structurally innovative architecture. For the Artreehouse in New Fairfield, Connecticutdesigned in collaboration with structural engineer Guy Nordensonthey observed patterns of light filtered through canopies of native tree species and scoured the history of building techniques in the region to design a 5,400-square-foot, locally inspired house. This unique monograph illustrates how personal, associative, and often highly poetic thoughts are made legible in architecture.

About the Author

Andrew Bernheimer is director of the Master of Architecture program and an assistant professor at Parsons The New School for Design. He is the principal of Bernheimer Architecture, based in Brooklyn. Bernheimer was a founding partner of the award-winning firm Della Valle Bernheimer, subject of the monograph Think/Make. He has lectured at major universities and institutions, and his work has been featured in numerous articles and publications.