Luben Dimcheff

Luben Dimcheff is the coauthor of Model Perspectives | Structure, Architecture and Culture (Routledge, 2017). He is the principal of his creative consulting practice based in New York. Previously, he was founding partner of Dimcheff Smith Architecture and a senior associate at Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects, where projects included the SMH house at the much-acclaimed development Houses at Sagaponac, and the Hospital for Special Surgery building on Manhattan's waterfront, which received awards from Mayor Bloomberg and the NYC Design Commission. 

As principal at Luben Dimcheff Studio, he oversees design work built internationally, including in Rio de Janeiro and Mumbai, with current residential and commercial projects in New York City, Cayuga Heights, NY, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Karachi. In addition to his practice, Dimcheff is dedicated to academic work and has lectured on Design pedagogy, Design Empathy and Cultivated Intuition at the 2017 ACSA National Conference at Marfa, Texas, and at the 2019 International ACSA/EAAE Teachers Conference, hosted by the University of Antwerp in Belgium. Most recently, Dimcheff conducted a workshop on scale and detail at the American University of Sharjah and lectured at Polit(t)ico at the Università di Pisa, where he was a visiting Fellow in Spring 2022.

Academic Research/Specialty Areas

  • Architectural design
  • Architectural practice 
  • Architectural representation
  • Visual representation

Classes (Selected)

  • ARCH 5114 Comprehensive Design StudioFocus on the development of architectural ideas in constructed, material form. The studio explores emergent topics and constructive methods in contemporary architectural practice. Design study includes the creation of a comprehensive set of representations that describes an architectural project in detail. Students work in collaborative groups and in consultation with advisors drawn from professional practice to develop a project that engages a complex range of topical areas, including: structural and environmental systems, building envelope systems, materiality and construction, life-safety planning, and sustainability.
  • ARCH 4509/6509 Special Topics in Visual Representation: Extra/Intro VersionThis course addresses pertinent issues relative to the subject of Visual Representation. The instructor(s) of the course are drawn from the permanent and visiting faculty who may either broadly or narrowly define the course's scope and content. For precise content, please see the Architecture Department webpage.
  • ARCH 4509/6509 Special Topics in Visual Representation: Drawing from the CityThis course addresses pertinent issues relative to the subject of Visual Representation. The instructor(s) of the course are drawn from the permanent and visiting faculty who may either broadly or narrowly define the course's scope and content. For precise content, please see the Architecture Department webpage.
  • ARCH 1110 Introduction to ArchitectureDesigned to introduce students to ideas, principles, and methods of solving architectural problems in a studio setting. Through a graduated sequence of exercises culminating in a major semester project, students explore the architectural concepts of space, form, function, and technology. Instruction is via highly personalized critiques of individual student work by assigned department faculty members, as well as periodic reviews of the group by invited faculty and guest critics. The grade is based on the overall performance in the studio with special emphasis on the quality of a major studio project.
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