Heritage reimagined. Joy reborn.
We are a boutique firm working on singular residential and specialty projects devoted to restoring our cultural heritage. We believe beauty in architecture is not accidental. Since the Ancient Greeks, the human figure has been embedded in its proportions and forms — a reflection, of something deeper than design. Seeking beauty, permanence, and joy is therefore not aesthetic preference. It is intention.
Mergal Architecture & Design is, at its heart, a personal practice. When you work with us, you work with me, not a project manager or a junior associate. Each project begins with a conversation, not a floor plan. We listen for what you sometimes cannot articulate — the quality of morning light, the silence you need, the way a room should feel on a winter evening.
Our clients tend to be people with a strong sense of how they want to live — and the patience to do it right. They are not looking for the fastest build or the most competitive bid. They are looking for a partner who will be as invested in the outcome as they are. For over three decades we have been trusted with some of New York City's landmarked townhouses and apartments. Beyond the city, our work extends to Southampton, East Hampton, the Bahamas, and La Romana. The results have been architecture that is entirely specific to its owners — not trend-driven, not generic.
We accept a limited number of commissions each year. This is not scarcity by design; it is the only way we know how to work well.
Why hire us?
This is what our clients have said:
"You understood very well what we (and our decorator) wanted and needed in terms of function and feel. This is hard to carry off, and you did it very well". - John C.
"You respect the character of the building and its aesthetics and do that while making the building functional". - John C.
"You were genuinely interested in understanding the why behind what we wanted...". - Jackie T.
"You knew what questions to ask that sometimes did not even occur to us". - Jackie T.
"You think at the scale of the human being who is going to use the place and you think of the details that make a difference". - Mary E.
"You can design a place that facilitates being together as a family and where things work well and last long". - Mary E.
How do we do it?
We follow a well-defined five step process :
1: “discovery ” to ascertain any legal, zoning, covenant restrictions, landmark, or building code issues which may affect the design. During this time, you will share your ideas or images which you want us to consider. We will prepare sketches and schematic drawings to illustrate your design options.
2: "refinement" - During this step, we bring the design to its resolution, developing the exterior and interior details and orchestrating them with the work of the engineers and specialty consultants with precision. We also conduct the essential dialog with the Landmark (if required) and/or Building agencies to ensure that your project is approvable at every level. It is here, too, that we make the considered selection of materials- chosen for their beauty and integrity.
3: "builder instructions"- This is where we draw the construction documents. These are the drawn and written instructions to the builder. These documents can be used to procure bids, and to obtain a building permit from the Department of Buildings.
4: "builder selection", we help you select an experienced and honest builder to bid the project. Having said that, we do recommend doing preliminary "order of magnitude" estimates before the bid phase (either at the end of step one or step two or both) to develop a realistic project budget.
5: "observation", we observe the progress of construction at pre-determined intervals to ascertain that the project is being built in accordance with the design which you approved and obtained pricing for.
What services do we provide?
Basic services - follow the process outlined above to design new or renovate: single-family houses, townhouses, apartments, churches, and adaptive reuse projects.
Specialty services - we are happy to assist you before you buy the land, apartment or building you are planning to renovate or build new. Such specialty services include planning, site selection, programming, space utilization, and feasibility studies.
Your next step:
Call us at 917-292-2131. You may also email us at: manuel@mergalarchitecture.com, with your inquiries.
About Me
I grew up in San Juan, a traditional city in Puerto Rico. Its narrow streets protect from the intense sun, change occurs slowly and always refers to the local building tradition. Buildings are built for the ages, of durable and functional materials that perform well in the local climate. One can reach virtually any destination on foot. Today, we call this sustainability, but in San Juan this way of building and living has been around for over four centuries.
Prior to establishing my office, I worked for 14 years with Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer, designing many building types such as: restaurants (the Rainbow Room and Windows on the World - both in New York City), and theaters (The Wilma in Philadelphia and The Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts in Harrisburg). I honed my skills in Classical Architecture working 4 years with Ferguson Shamamian, and 10 years with Cooper Robertson & Partners (7 as a partner) on various houses and small traditional buildings. My projects have been published in Architectural Record, Period Homes and Traditional Building. I have contributed articles for various publications including: The Classicist, Stone World, and Construction News.
"I have had many great mentors during my development as an architect. If I had to choose only 2,
I would have to mention Hugh Hardy and Jaque Robertson. Hugh’s joy was contagious and he always inspired us to celebrate the clients’ wishes by designing buildings and interiors with exuberant joy and an expressive use of materials and forms. Jaque approached any commission, whether large or small, by lovingly focusing on every detail from the point of view of the end user and never his own ego".
I have taught in the Interior Design Department at FIT and been a guest critic at CUNY's Architecture School and a guest lecturer at NYU's Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. I also lectured at several Traditional Building Conferences and taught a professional seminar at the Institute for Classical Architecture & Art. I am the recipient of the first prize for the first Hispanic Architectural Talent Search Competition. I am also on the Smithsonian Institution's Latino, Hispanic, and Latin American Art Collection and a member of the American Institute of Architects, the Congress for New Urbanism and a Fellow Emeritus of the Institute for Classical Architecture & Art. I am licensed in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut and a member of the NCARB. I graduated with a first Master's in Architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a second Master's in Urban Design from Columbia University.