About Us
Anthony J. Piermarini, AIA
Anthony Piermarini received his first professional Bachelors of Architecture degree at Cornell University (1997) and post-professional Masters of Architecture II degree at the Harvard Design School (1999). Anthony is a Massachusetts Registered Architect and a recipient of the 2010 National AIA Young Architects Award.
Committed to design excellence, service, quality and delivery of every project, Anthony works closely with clients, guiding through the design process to help realize each project’s goals. Anthony’s approach emerges from a design philosophy that is sensitive to the specific culture and climate in which architecture operates. He seeks to strengthen the interrelationships between design, technology and the environment in which we build.
Anthony also contributes to expanding the understanding of architecture through talks within the local municipalities, professional organizations and academic communities. He is an advocate for making design accessible and potent, as demonstrated in his firm’s participation in the 1% ProBono program. Anthony is also a Co-Founder of BR-A-CE: Building Research–Architecture–Community Exchange, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by artists and designers to create new community spaces that engage social, economic, and cultural issues facing communities around the world.
In addition to his professional experience, Anthony is currently Lecturer at Northeastern University, a Critic at the Rhode Island School of Design, and Lead Faculty in Representation at Harvard University Career Discovery program. He has also taught and lectured at various universities including Cornell University, MIT, Yale, and University of Buffalo, among others.
Studio Luz Architects
Luz: \lüz\ looz
Spanish meaning light.
A bone located where the mind connects to the body;
a kernel around which to build.
We welcome this opportunity to introduce Studio Luz Architects, an agile, forward thinking practice that strives to link social responsibility, sustainable construction practices with built material expression. Through our work, we seek to redefine traditional uses of space, materials, and technology to better serve the exceptional aspects that each project and client possess. Our work and client base is diverse, ranging from residential, commercial, institutional to cultural projects. We understand that the creation of architecture is a collective enterprise and as such, we organize strategic collaborations between our clients, fabricators, engineers, and building contractors to achieve the project goals. With an expanding field of influence, we invest in innovative concepts, find inspiration in popular culture, promote local craft, and think through abstraction to create something unexpected and refreshing. We embrace a strong team approach and through this are able to tap into the full richness of architectural practice, nurturing innovative ideas into constructed reality.
Founded by principal partners Hansy L. Better Barraza, AIA, LEED AP and Anthony J. Piermarini, AIA in 2002, the work of Studio Luz Architects has been widely recognized receiving international honors including the Architectural Record Design Vanguard Award, a Progressive Architectural Award, three AIA Design Excellence Awards and the prestigious Architectural League of New York’s Young Architect’s Award. Studio Luz Architects is NCARB certified, and licensed to practice in the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York. Hansy and Anthony are active members of the Boston Society of Architects, the United States Green Building Council, the American Institute of Architects and participate in the 1% Pro Bono Design Public Architecture Program. In addition, Hansy and Anthony are Co-Founders of BR-A-CE: Building Research–Architecture–Community Exchange, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by artists and designers to create new community spaces that engage social, economic, and cultural issues facing communities around the world.
Hansy L. Better Barraza, AIA LEED AP
Born in Barranquilla, Colombia, Hansy L. Better Barraza, received her first professional Bachelors of Architecture degree from Cornell University (1997) and a Masters of Architecture in Urban Design from the Harvard Design School (2000). Hansy is a LEED Accredited Professional and a Registered Architect in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York. She is NCARB certified to allow for reciprocity in other states.
As an Associate Professor of Architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design and as well as a practitioner, Hansy offers an intense focus on design methods that embrace social responsibility as she works with clients to reach their goals for every project. Hansy’s work fuses handcraft and digital fabrication techniques to bridge the advancement of the means and methods of construction with an awareness to the working of materials that ties it to a specific culture, environment, or manufacturing process.
Hansy is currently serving on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAM) Designer Selection Board Panel. She also serves on the Board of Directors as Secretary for the Boston Society of Architects and is on the editorial board for the Critical Productive Journal examining the intersection of architecture, culture and theory. Past appointments include Trustee for the Boston Architectural College, Commissioner of Education and Research for the Boston Society of Architects and member of the Roslindale Village Main Streets (RVMS) Design Committee. She is a recipient of a grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts in support of her forthcoming book, “Where are the Utopian Visionaries? Architecture of Social Exchange” being published by Periscope Ltd. and distributed worldwide by Prestel Press. In addition, Hansy served as a Visiting Critic at Cornell University, Lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Northeastern University. She has been a guest speaker at Columbia University, Harvard University, Yale and many other institutions around the country.
Most recently, the Boston Business Journal and El Planeta highlighted Hansy as one of 20 Hispanic executives making a difference in Boston.
