Barry Yanku (MArch '80, BPS '75) | Vice President/Aviation Studio Design Director

Monday, February 6, 12:00 PM 
Hayes Hall 217 (virtual participation via Zoom also available)

Initially pursuing a career in the performing arts, Barry Yanku turned his love for dance into a 40+ year career in architecture design. Driven by his passion for designing dynamic spaces with the latest technologies, dance movement influences his approach to design, in which he “choreographs the built environment to create beautiful, memorable spaces working in concert with the operational demands of a building and the people who move through it.” Throughout his career, he has led the design and construction of virtually every building type to enhance the user experience, including complex residential, institutional, and commercial projects. A Design Director since 2019, Barry leads his team from conceptual ideas to the final product, developing, maintaining, and coordinating with consultants and clients. Yanku's design approach uses modeling software and digital tools to investigate ideas. “With the enhancement of digital modeling, I liken architectural design to that of a choreographer; using tools we have today, we can create and explore solutions with a varied and rich spectrum of ideas.”  

Yanku's experience with major projects in New York City includes 432 Park Avenue, NYC's first "Supertall" residential high-rise, which he directed as Lead Senior Design Architect for Rafael Vinoly. This 1,400-foot-tall tower used cutting edge technology to build on a footprint less than 100’ square. Developed as part of his studies at UB, the principles of ‘Choreographing Space’ are from first years in New York City, where Yanku studied modern dance. Presently at Corgan, the $4 billion infrastructure project at JFK Terminal 6, adjacent to Saarinen’s TWA landmarked terminal, is under construction which employs ‘tensegrity’ by using a cable stay structure.