JAMES McCULLAR, FAIA
Mr. McCullar is the founding principal of James McCullar & Associates, which was recently changed to James McCullar Architecture, PC. The studio has focused on affordable housing and community design, and has provided architectural services for both the private and public sectors for new construction, adaptive reuse and alterations. The studio’s work has been recognized by numerous awards, including the AIA Honor Award for Urban Design for the Jamaica Market in Queens, NY. In 1999, Mr. McCullar was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in recognition of his significant contributions to the profession for urban housing and community design, and was recognized by the 2006 Pioneer in Housing Awardfrom the AIA New York Chapter.
Mr. McCullar began his career with I.M. Pei & Partners, James Stewart Polshek, Johansen Bhavnani, and HAUS International. Extensive experience was gained in housing and satellite school design, where he was responsible for Rivercross Cooperative at Roosevelt Island, NY; and a $200 million new town development in Iran. As a visiting critic at Kansas State University, he taught architecture and urban design studios; and later served on the faculty at the New Jersey Institute of Technology School of Architecture.
Mr. McCullar has been an active leader in the community, where as 2008 President of AIA New York, he organized numerous public programs such as the UN Forum on Sustainable Urbanization in support of Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC2030 initiatives. As Housing Chair he organized popular programs that showcased housing design at the Center for Architecture; and was a founding Chair of the Chapter's internationally recognized Design Awards program. He is founding member of the Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization which promotes international exchanges of best practices in community and urban design through conferences sponsored with the United Nations.
Mr. McCullar holds professional degrees from Rice University and Columbia University, where his thesis was on the New York region. He studied urban design in Paris as a Fulbright scholar, and attended the Ecole Beaux Arts in Fontainebleau, France, where is currently serves on the U.S. Board of Trustees.
