Thank you to everyone who made it to RKTB's Kickoff to Summer Happy Hour last night! Great to see so many familiar faces as well as a few new ones. Kudos to those of you who stayed for that fantastic Knicks game afterwards. We look forward to seeing you at our next event!

RKTB was recognized in GPMG's Global 100 for 2026. We're proud to be recognized among our peers in the Best Architecture & Planning Business of the Year - 2026 - United States category. Read

Just announced: RKTB is unveiling several new housing and mixed-use building projects commissioned by communities of faith in the metro New York area. Read more about RKTB's expanding faith-based building projects via New York Real Estate Journal. Read

We're proud to share that RKTB and Lance Jay Brown, FAIA's project, Congregation Shaare Zedek, was an honoree at last night's NYCxDESIGN Awards by Interior Design Magazine. View all of the winners and honorees here: Read

Two of RKTB's latest projects, Congregation Shaare Zedek in Manhattan  and the Riverdale Men's Shelter  were featured in Commercial Construction & Renovation Magazine's 2026 Project Profile Awards. Learn more about our projects and see other awardees.

RKTB is proud to announce the promotion of our very own Giuseppe Spiotta, AIA, to Associate. Spiotta joined our team in 2014 and works directly under our principal, Alex Brito, AIA, on a wide range of projects, including renovation work for shelters managed by New York’s Department of Homeless Services, affordable housing development, and school facilities for the New York City School Construction Authority. Read

RKTB is proud to have earned a 2026 Empire Building Award from the New York State Builders Association (NYSBA) for Affordable Housing Excellence with our project, One Sullivan Place in Brooklyn, NY.

From NYSBA, "The awards celebrate the builders, designers, and industry leaders who are shaping the future of residential communities across the Empire State." View the full list of award recipients: Read 

RKTB Architects have been honored with the prestigious Empire Award for their exceptional work in affordable housing. Their remarkable project, One Sullivan Place, boasts strikingly cantilevered upper levels that extend beyond its narrow lot, hovering gracefully over neighboring rooftops. This distinctive 60,000-square-foot mixed-income residence provides 52 apartments—senior, affordable, and market-rate—many of which offer stunning views of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the iconic Manhattan skyline. Read

We're excited to announce that RKTB's latest project, PS 730K, has been selected to be featured at the 2026 Best of Brooklyn Real Estate Showcase hosted by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce! It’s an honor to have our work standing alongside the most innovative builds in the borough.

Our very own Grace Lawal was recently featured in the New York Real Estate Journal's Women in Construction Spotlight! Read all about Grace and the exciting work she's doing as a Project Manager here at RKTB. Read

Great article for the Times by Ian Volner with discussion of why architects and developers are increasingly exploring dramatic and daring cantilevers as a solution for capitalizing on airspace over low- and mid-rise buildings. Our design for One Sullivan Place in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood gets a mention. Recommended reading! 

Bowling and billiards? A great opportunity for our team to step away from their desks and enjoy a fun night out of the office!

RKTB had the opportunity to contribute to Building Design+Construction Media's Multifamily Annual Report, a comprehensive report on emerging trends, innovations, opportunities, and obstacles in the multifamily construction market.

For the report, our principal, Peter Bafitis, AIA, discussed trends in affordable housing, including supply and demand, affordable vs. market rate, and more. You can download the report here: https://www.bdcnetwork.com/building-sector-reports/multifamily-housing/news/55332756/download-the-2025-multifamily-annual-report

"School buildings are the heart of the communities they serve, often used not only for instruction but for other community uses as well, so the aesthetics and interplay with neighboring properties matters a lot," said Albert Aronov, AIA, principal at RKTB and head of the firm’s academic studio. Read more about P.S. 87 Addition, our latest project https://schoolconstructionnews.com/2026/02/25/facility-of-the-month-a-contemporary-addition-reimagines-new-yorks-p-s-87/.

For Oculus magazine, AIA New York | Center for Architecture’s quarterly print publication, our principal, Peter Bafitis, wrote an Op-Ed titled "Advocating for Communities Through Housing Design."

RKTB's mission is for our designs and projects to benefit everyone they may impact, leaving those places and the surrounding communities better than we first found them. The question then becomes: Who decides what is better? For the answer, we defer, in each instance, to the communities themselves.

Op-Ed: Advocating for Communities Through Housing Design

December 23, 2025

For New York Real Estate Journal's year-in-review, our principal, Peter Bafitis, was asked about the firm's accomplishments in 2025, emerging trends or shifts he sees in 2026, and New York CRE key moments this year. Read his answers to these questions and more.

2025 Year in Review: Peter Bafitis, AIA, RKTB Architects

RKTB's project manager, Grace Lawal, had the opportunity to discuss AI use in AEC along with a panel of architects via Commercial Property Executive. What happens when AI joins the Design Team?

Architect Roundtable: When AI Joins the Design Team

Read about RKTB's latest project for the New York City School Construction Authority (SCA), Public School 87 Addition in the Bronx, via New York Real Estate Journal. The 58,000 s/f expansion adds 17 new preK-5 classrooms, as well as new spaces for art and music, and new offices for administrative, guidance, medical uses, and more.

RKTB Architects with NYC School Construction Authority deliver school expansion with design innovation

We are proud to share that RKTB & Lance Jay Brown, FAIA's latest project, Congregation Shaare Zedek, received an award for Rehabilitation / Commercial Buildings & Excellence in Craftsmanship from The Queens & Bronx Building Association (QBBA) at their annual building awards. Thank you to the QBBA, Bronx Borough President, Hon. Vanessa L. Gibson, MPA, and Queens Borough President, Donovan Richards.

RKTB & Lance Jay Brown, FAIA's latest project, Congregation Shaare Zedek, receives award from QBBA

U.S. cities and states are making it easier to build on irregular and long-overlooked lots. RKTB's Peter Bafitis talks with The New York Times about how the City of Yes zoning reform passed last year has encouraged more projects on odd-shaped, leftover lots.

Triangles, Crescents, Slivers: Can Odd-Shaped Lots Help Ease the Housing Crisis?

After eight years of planning, design and construction work, RKTB Architects has announced the completion of a new house of worship for Shaare Zedek, a historic Jewish congregation on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Occupying the cellar, first and second floors of a new condominium tower erected on the site where Shaare Zedek’s original synagogue stood since 1923, the design represents a collaboration between RKTB’s design team and architect Lance Jay Brown, FAIA, in partnership with congregation president Michael Firestone and ODA Architecture, the firm responsible for the residential tower design.

Also featured in Building Enclosure and AIA New York.

RKTB and its experts in design for K-12 schools are expanding their reach and vision beyond the New York metro area, aspiring to bring best practices to communities across the northeastern United States.

RKTB is proud to announce that Tara Toro, the firm’s operations manager, was recently selected to serve as Vice Chairwoman for the Women’s Committee of The Queens & Bronx Building Association (QBBA). The organization represents the residential and commercial construction industry across Queens, the Bronx, and the greater New York Metro Region..

Two of RKTB's projects, P.S. 87X and One Sullivan Place, have earned Project Profile Awards in the latest issue of Commercial Construction & Renovation Magazine.

RKTB is proud to share that Alex Brito, AIA, one of our principals, has been invited to join the Board of Directors of the nonprofit Citizens Housing & Planning Council (CHPC). CHPC focuses on housing and planning policy in NYC. Brito's upbringing in West Harlem and his extensive experience with large housing projects across various NYC neighborhoods, including from his own neighborhood to the Bronx to Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and Astoria, Queens, will greatly benefit CHPC.

RKTB's latest project, One Sullivan Place, received the residential (one, two, three family & apartment buildings) building award at The Queens & Bronx Building Association's Annual Holiday & Building Awards Gala. Congratulations to all the winners, and a big thank you to the QBBA for hosting and putting together another successful event.

RKTB began its long-term relationship with City Center Theater on West 55th Street in 1982, when the firm embarked on the extensive renovation and adaptation of the main house. RKTB's efforts successfully converted the theater, originally built in 1924 as a Shriners Auditorium, into a 2,750-seat theater specifically for the performance of dance. Eventually the firm renovated the entire theater including offices and rehearsal spaces, created a V.I.P. space and a new side wing section which was incorporated into the space in an adjacent building. Thank you to Robert Foreman for featuring this project in his Vintage Theatre Catalogs!

The fall issue of Oculus, AIA New York | Center for Architecture's quarterly magazine, looks at how architects and planners are finding unique ways to improve urban livability, from adding community areas to projects, enhancing accessibility, and, for example, RKTB's One Sullivan Place, a new residential building with affordable apartments that cantilevers over neighboring buildings.

RKTB is excited to announce the winner of the drawing we held at the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) Convention in New York City. Congratulations to the Fallsburg Central School District, the recipient of a $1,000 donation toward a program of their choice. Fallsburg has chosen to allocate the funds to support Food Security. Thank you to everyone who participated, and congratulations once again to Fallsburg. Go Fallsburg Comets!

With a new award from the American Institute of Architects for housing leadership, RKTB Architects is spreading a national message of rising to meet the current U.S. need for 6 million units of housing, the projected shortfall now causing record homelessness and barriers to affordability and homeownership.

We're incredibly proud to see One Sullivan Place, our latest project, being featured on Dezeen! Read how our team was able to maximize the buildable floor area of the vacant, small corner site by capitalizing on the air rights of the neighboring building. "The team ultimately arrived at the cantilever strategy that would theoretically allow them to build literally over and above the neighboring building, but the narrow building frontage posed a significant challenge," said Peter Bafitis, AIA.

In celebration of Women's History Month, we would like to acknowledge our own Stephanie Oestreich, featured in a Building Enclosure Magazine International Women's Day spotlight.