Education
Felsen earned his Bachelor of Architecture from the Virginia Technical in 1991 and a Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University in 1994.
Felsen earned his Bachelor of Architecture from the Virginia Technical in 1991 and a Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University in 1994.
He directs UrbanLab, a Chicago-based architecture and urban design firm. Felsen"s projects range in scale from houses such as the Hennepin, Illinois Residence, mixed-use residential and commercial buildings such as Upton’s Naturals Headquarters, public open spaces such as the Smart Museum of Art Courtyard at the University of Chicago, and large scale, speculative urban design projects such as Growing Water in Chicago. Prior to founding his own firm, he worked for Peter Eisenman, Stan Allen, and OMA/Rem Koolhaas in Rotterdam.
Felsen’s work has been exhibited at the International Venice Biennale of Architecture, the Museum of Modern Art, the National Building Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
Felsen has been featured in publications such as Architect magazine and Dwell magazine. He has received many honors for his work, including several design awards from the American Institute of Architects.
Since 1996, Felsen has taught architecture and urban design as a Studio Associate Professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He was a visiting professor at Washington University in Saint Louis in 2011.
Felsen served as Director of Archeworks, an alternative design school in Chicago from 2008-2011.
Under his leadership, Archeworks completed several significant public interest design projects, and developed and organized two influential urban design workshops titled Infrastructures for Change. During Felsen’s tenure, Archeworks’ projects were exhibited internationally at the Venice Biennale of Architecture and The Architecture Foundation in London. Felsen founded and served as editor of a new Archeworks publication titled Works.
2014 American Institute of Architects Distinguished Building Honor Award – Morgan Street Live/Work.