About
Studio ST Architects is a full-service, award-winning, woman-owned, NYC architecture firm. We design residential, multifamily housing and institutional buildings including new synagogues and places of worship from the ground-up. As NYC architects, our renovations range in scale from community centers, schools and high-end apartments to affordable real-estate developments, including duplex renovations, duplex combinations as well as apartment combinations.
NYC architect Esther Sperber founded Studio ST Architects in 2003 to focus on sustainable, innovative and responsible design. We strive to combine leading technologies with evolving environmentally-friendly design and production methods, and apply these tools in creative ways. Our firm combines unique expertise in architecture and psychology to design inspiring buildings and renovate spaces that transform our client’s experiences, build deep and inclusive community connections, and create a sense of health and well-being. We pride ourselves on listening carefully to our clients and working collaboratively with them and our partners to create an enjoyable design and construction process. Studio ST Architects is a New York City certified Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE).
We completed a number of award-winning synagogue designs including Ansche Chesed on the Upper West Side in New York City and Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob in Skokie, IL. We love designing synagogues and places of worship and find this work to be deeply meaningful and inspiring. Studio ST Architects has completed many institutional buildings including the renovation of the 14th Street Y in 2010 and plans for the Hudson Yard Synagogue, an $8 million renovation project in Manhattan.
Our residential work spans from designing ground-up housing buildings to interior architecture for apartment renovations and combinations. Our boutique-style Jones Street multifamily apartment building in Jersey City finished construction in 2022. We also work extensively as a duplex architect to combine New York City apartments, including condominiums and co-ops, and convert single family houses. Studio ST Architects is committed to exploring low-budget, sustainable designs as well as high-end residential interiors.
Studio ST Architects’ work has won awards and has been featured in architectural publications in North America, Europe, and Asia. Skokie Valley Synagogue won the 2023 ADC Awards, 2023 Architizer A+ Awards, 2023 Archello Awards and the 2023 SARA National Design Awards for the renovation category. Studio ST’s designs for Ansche Chesed Synagogue and Jones Street Apartments won gold and silver, respectively, in the 2023 ADC Awards. In 2019 the SynaCondo project received the Architect’s Newspaper‘s Best of Design Award honorable mention. In 2008, Studio ST Architects was selected by Wallpaper* as one of the “World’s 50 Hottest Young Architectural Firms” and the Swell House was selected by Architectural Record as “Best Unbuilt House” for 2008.
Client Reviews
“Studio ST Architects designed and managed the gut renovation of our 2400 square foot apartment. Esther and her team were a very unique “one stop shop” as they not only led the design phase but led the bidding process for GCs, advised and managed material selection and procurement and provided weekly project oversight. Given all the complexities of doing work in NYC I cannot think of a better firm and architectural firm to use.”
Client, 2022 Read More
“Gut” Rennovation of 2,000 sf apartment in upper manhattan. They scoped it with an interior designer and helped run the tender , oversaw the works. Worked almost completely hands off as we were overseas. Diligent across 33 site meetings and reports of photos.
BA, 2022 Read More
“I have worked with Studio ST Architects on several residential projects over the past 16 years and have been very satisfied with every aspect of the work. Studio ST Architects has a great vision and keen eye for detail. The plans are very focused on the needs of the people who will be using the space, without compromising aesthetics.”
Saul, 2020
“Over the years I have worked with many architects and interior designers on various projects both in my profession and for my personal residence. Esther Sperber is by far, head and shoulders above any others. She excels in every important characteristic required in an architect. She is imaginative, creative and has worked very well with me and all of the contractors, designers and workers. She listens and makes wonderful suggestions. Esther goes above and beyond to make the project a success by taking a personal interest in the results. She displays amazing attention to detail and gets it done correctly, the first time.”
Sara, 2020
“Esther Sperber and Studio ST Architects did a fantastic job on our project. We combined two apartments and gut renovated. Esther and her team were a pleasure to work with from start to finish. She understood our needs and worked within our budget to help us create a beautiful new home. She was attentive to details, knowledgeable and made the inevitable stress of a major renovation more manageable. She carefully oversaw the construction anticipating and catching issues before they became problems.”
Client, 2019
Esther Sperber’s Thought Leadership
Business of Architecture UK Podcast
Growing a Business Step by Step, October 2023
New York Jewish Week
The Pain of the Pandemic and the Beauty of Praying Outside, March 2021
Harvard Graduate School of Design
Lecture: Faith in Design, Cambridge, MA, March 2019
Architect Magazine
To End Abuse in Architecture, Start with the Lone Wolf Myth, August 2018
Archinect “Sessions” Podcast Episode 121
Podcast: Mental Health in Architecture, May 2018
The New York Times
The Architecture of Psychotherapy, June 2015
