Ricardo Zurita

Ricardo Zurita
Zurita in 2013
Born1959 (age 65–66)
Ecuador
Alma materCornell University
OccupationArchitect
PracticeRicardo Zurita Architecture and Planning, P.C.

Ricardo Zurita (born 1959) is an American architect and the founder of the design firm Ricardo Zurita Architecture and Planning, P.C. (RZAPS).

Early life and education

Zurita was born in Quito, Ecuador, and moved to New York City at the age of five. He attended Stuyvesant High School and then the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning at Cornell University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1984.

Career

After graduatng from Cornell, he practiced in New York City, including tenures with Rafael Viñoly Architects and Beyer Blinder Belle, and in Madrid, Spain as a designer for the National Training Center for the 1992 Summer Olympics. In 2002, he founded his eponymous firm RZAPS, located in New York.[1]

Notable works

Ricardo Zurita has designed a variety of projects with public impact at a wide spectrum of scale and type, including master planning, buildings, outdoor spaces, interiors and public art. He is most recognized for his long term involvement as lead architect for the Redevelopment of Randall’s Island, the largest public park project in New York City in over a half century.[2] Authoring the master plan, Zurita designed a number of buildings on the island, the most notable of them being Icahn Stadium and the Sportime Randall's Island Tennis Center that serves as the venue for the John McEnroe Tennis Academy. Additionally, on the island he designed public comfort stations, a power substation, a nature education center, maintenance buildings and redesigned the access ramp from the Robert F. Kennedy Triborough Bridge to the island.[3]

Other projects of significant public impact include the renovation of the urban park at One Penn Plaza in midtown Manhattan, the redevelopment of the NYC Parks-owned Douglaston Manor as a conference and banquet center, the Tennis Center at Lake Isle Park in Eastchester NY, and the design for the Courtland/McGill Bridge in Atlanta GA.[4]

References

  1. ^ Taylor, J.R. (2 July 2008). "I treat every space as public projects". Daily News. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  2. ^ Gordan, Rebecka (14 June 2010). "Randall's Island Reborn". The Architect's Newspaper. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  3. ^ AIA New York (Summer 2004). "Taking Back the Shore, Icahn Stadium and Randall's Island Park Master Plan; and the Hudson Riverfront Performing Arts Center". Oculus. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  4. ^ Ricardo Zurita Architecture and Planning P.c. "Projects". RZAPS. Retrieved 14 June 2015.