Architecture & Urban Design — New York
Meridian & Locke is a full-service architecture and urban design practice. For 24 years, we have delivered civic, commercial, and institutional projects that are engineered to endure and designed to inspire.
Practice Overview
24
Years in practice
180+
Completed projects
$2.4B
Construction value
98.7%
Client retention rate
About The Practice
Founded in 2001 by Eleanor Meridian and James Locke, the firm has grown from a two-person studio in Tribeca to a 140-person practice with offices in New York and Boston. We are architects, urbanists, and structural engineers who believe the built environment is a public trust.
Our work is characterized by rigor, restraint, and a deep respect for context. We design buildings that are structurally honest, environmentally responsible, and financially prudent. Every project is led by a principal — never handed off.
LEED AP on staff
18 certified professionals
AIA & NCARB
Certified practice
DBE / MBE
NYC & MA certified
SITE SECTION A-A
Hudson Yards Cultural District — Phase II
Selected Work
Full portfolio available upon request
Civic / Cultural
A 3.2-acre master plan integrating a new public library, two performing arts venues, and 400,000 sq ft of public realm in Manhattan's West Side.
Commercial / Office
A 32-story, 1.1M sq ft Class-A office tower achieving LEED Platinum with a ground-floor public atrium design that restores a historic streetscape.
Institutional / Education
A 210,000 sq ft interdisciplinary science facility for a private research university—comprising 48 labs, 12 classrooms, and a 350-seat auditorium.
Residential / Mixed-Use
A mixed-use transformation of a 19th-century ironworks into 612 residential units, 90,000 sq ft of retail, and a central public courtyard across four city blocks.
Transportation / Infrastructure
A multimodal transit center unifying bus, light rail, and ferry connections beneath a 1,200-foot-long undulating canopy designed to mitigate urban heat island effect.
Cultural / Adaptive Reuse
A sensitive adaptive-reuse project converting a 1932 Art Deco power station into a 60,000 sq ft contemporary art museum with a rooftop sculpture garden.
Client Engagement
"Meridian & Locke delivered our transit hub on schedule and under budget. Their command of both the engineering and the community-participation process was exceptional."
Michael Reyes
Executive Director, Jersey City Transit Authority
"From the schematic phase to final punch list, the M&L team was exacting, transparent, and collaborative. The science building has transformed our campus."
Dr. Dana Chen
Dean of Research, Ashford University
"They respect the past while designing for the future. The Alcazar Museum extension is now the cultural anchor of our city's downtown."
Amanda Lovett
Director, Buffalo Cultural Trust
Due Diligence
For most projects, we work on a percentage-of-construction-cost basis, typically ranging from 6% to 12% depending on scope and complexity. For feasibility studies and master planning, we use a fixed-fee structure. We are transparent about all fees at the outset and provide monthly invoicing with full detail.
Sustainability is not a checkbox for us; it's a design principle. We integrate passive design strategies from day one—optimizing daylight, natural ventilation, and thermal mass. We currently have 18 LEED-accredited professionals on staff, and 75% of our recent projects have achieved at least LEED Gold certification.
Yes. We offer comprehensive construction administration services, including bidding support, contractor evaluation, submittal review, and site observation. Our principals visit every active site at least weekly, and we provide clients with a dedicated project manager as a single point of contact.
We are deliberately selective. We do not take on single-family residential work, and we decline projects where the program is fundamentally misaligned with our expertise or where we feel we cannot add significant value. This discipline allows us to maintain a 98.7% client retention rate and an average project duration of 2.4 years.
Start a Conversation
Whether you're a public agency planning a major capital project or a private developer exploring a new site, we'd be pleased to discuss how our team can help you achieve your goals.
Our New York office is located at 441 Canal Street, Suite 1200, New York, NY 10013