Thomas J. Zoli

For three generations, Workshop/APD principal architect Thomas Zoli’s family has helped to shape the Northeast’s architecture and infrastructure. Born to the building trades, he spent his early years on job sites learning to operate every piece of heavy machinery possible while honing an eye for building architecture and construction. Today, he is known for the development of strategic solutions for commissions of every type and scale, and his design work and project management reflect an incisiveness, practicality and institutional knowledge that is critical to project delivery.

Thomas’ considerable experience in architecture and construction- including nearly three decades of work in New York City architecture – result in designs that are as functional as they are memorable, resonating beyond transient notions of beauty. Since joining Workshop/APD as Director of Architecture in 2011, he has overseen all of the firm’s architectural output, bringing a technical mastery of space, light, technology and design to projects including major residential developments The Printing House, 88 & 90 Lexington Avenue and 111 Leroy Street; luxury estates in Nantucket, the Hamptons and Miami; numerous high-end apartments, townhouses, and commercial renovations in New York City; and hospitality and social living projects nationwide.

He has worked on a wide range of project typologies, from modern residences and luxury residential developments to large-scale institutional projects including the design and renovation of Newark Airport for Continental and JFK Airport terminal 4 for Delta during his time at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. At Gluckman Tang, his projects included the Whitney Breuer Museum renovation and addition, concept and master planning for the Guggenheim Hudson Yards, museums and galleries including The Picasso Museum in Malaga, The Tang Museum, The Parrish Museum, Gagosian Galleries, Yvon Lambert, projects for Jenny Holzer, Chuck Close and François Pinault, Second Stage Theater, the Robin Hood Foundation, Syracuse University Architecture School, and Helmut Lang’s NY and Tokyo retail flagships and studios. At Gluck+, he was the Construction Manager and architect onsite for a ground-up design/build of a modern gatehouse with two guesthouses and recreation facility in the Lake George Region.

Thomas earned his Bachelor of Architecture from Lehigh University and a Master of Architecture from Syracuse University, where he received the James Britton Memorial Award for the school’s top thesis project. He is dedicated to fostering young talent, championing professional development and mentoring Workshop/APD’s architectural staff and, as a visiting professor at the New York Institute of Technology, teaching digital design and 3D visualization.