--- title: "Michael K Chen Architecture — Architects & Building Designers | Houzz" canonical_html_url: https://www.houzz.com/professionals/architects-and-building-designers/michael-k-chen-architecture-pfvwus-pf~1921097710 markdown_url: https://www.houzz.com/md/professionals/pf~1921097710.md entity_type: LocalBusiness business_name: "Michael K Chen Architecture" category: ["Architects"] image: https://st.hzcdn.com/fimgs/f0a3024202cc721b_4897-w400-h400-b1-p10--.jpg address: "1239 Broadway Suite 703A, New York, New York 10001, United States" latitude: 40.7484 longitude: -73.9967 phone: "(212) 732-0060" website: http://www.mkca.com rating: 5 review_count: 1 best_of_houzz_awards: 1 followers: 549 last_updated: 2026-08-28 --- # Michael K Chen Architecture Original Houzz profile: [Michael K Chen Architecture](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/architects-and-building-designers/michael-k-chen-architecture-pfvwus-pf~1921097710) ## Professional summary - **Primary category:** Architects - **Location:** New York, NY - **Serves:** New York City, Queens, Manhattan, Borough of Bronx, The Bronx, New York - **Houzz rating:** 5.0 out of 5 (1 review) - **Best of Houzz:** 1 award (2018), for Design. ## About ### Houzz Badges - Houzz Influencer - 50,000 Ideabook Saves Michael K Chen Architecture is an architecture practice providing innovative and superbly crafted work for clients seeking thoughtful and considered design. We have experience designing and building at a diverse range of scales and bring an ultra-refined sensibility and attention to detail to projects ranging from individual micro apartments to entire buildings. Our approach is deeply informed by curiosity and a love of tinkering, of drawing, of discourse, and of making. Our methods and capabilities are at the leading edge of design, analysis, manufacturing, and construction, but we strive to produce exceptional experiences, intricately choreographed spaces, and works that are unexpected, hyper-useful, intelligent, and full of delight. MKCA serves a diverse and international client base. We are based in New York City and work across the United States and worldwide. The office’s work and research have been widely exhibited and published including in The New York Times, Architectural Digest, Dwell, Interior Design, Metropolis, and in many publications in Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia. ### Services Provided - Architectural Design - Building Design - Sustainable Design - Historic Building Conservation - Art Advising - Interior Design ### Areas Served - New York City - Queens - Manhattan - Borough of Bronx - The Bronx - New York ### Typical Job Cost $500,000 - 5,000,000 ## Business Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Business Name | Michael K Chen Architecture | | Address | 1239 Broadway Suite 703A, New York, New York 10001, United States | | Phone | (212) 732-0060 | | Website | http://www.mkca.com | | License Number | NY State | | Followers on Houzz | 549 | **Social profiles:** - Facebook — http://www.facebook.com/mkcarchitecture - X (Twitter) — https://twitter.com/mkcarch - Blog — http://www.mkca.com ## Contact - **Houzz profile:** [Michael K Chen Architecture](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/architects-and-building-designers/michael-k-chen-architecture-pfvwus-pf~1921097710) - **Website:** http://www.mkca.com - **Phone:** (212) 732-0060 ## Credentials **Certifications & Awards** - Best of Houzz, 2018 - Residential Architect Award, Architect Magazine, 2017 - Renaissance Award, Friends of the Upper East Side, 2017 - R&D Award, Architect Magazine, 2016 - NYCxDesign Award Finalist, 2017 - Architizer Awards, 2016 - For more, visit online at www.mkca.com - **Best of Houzz:** 1 award (2018), for Design. **Affiliations** - [The American Institute of Architects](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/schools-and-organizations/the-american-institute-of-architects-pfvwus-pf~1350720471) ## Reviews **Overall rating: 5.0 out of 5 — 1 review** ### All 1 review **★★★★★ — dianebrochu, March 2014** > From what my friend told me, they were above and behond his expectation. Very professionnal, always courtous and provide alot of attention on details. Budget was respected. ## Selected projects - [Upper East Side Townhouse](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/upper-east-side-townhouse-pj-vj~519902) - Location: New York, NY - Photos: 36 - Description: A reconstructed Landmarked Upper East Side townhouse. The reinvention of a badly degraded, but significant 1879 Neo-Grec townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side negotiates and balances the building’s history and context with a desire for a forward-looking, contemporary residence. This is accomplished largely through an exceptional attention to craft, augmented by digital methods for design, coordination, and a broadly collaborative approach. Conceived as both a family home and a setting for lar… - [Park Avenue Prewar](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/park-avenue-prewar-pj-vj~3284389) - Location: New York, NY - Description: A thoroughly transformed prewar Park Avenue apartment for a young and fun-loving family. Located in a distinguished Carnegie Hill co-op building, the 3,000 sf apartment has been reimagined for contemporary family life while retaining its original gracious formality. Throughout the project, emphasis is placed on maximizing natural light and a feeling of airiness. A warren of service rooms and storage spaces have been consolidated, creating a generous kitchen suitable as both the center of family… - [Attic Transformer](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/attic-transformer-pj-vj~2300190) - Location: New York, NY - Photos: 19 - Description: Having acquired a 225 sf space in the West Village with a 5ft tall storage attic space, MKCA’s client was seeking to create a gracious and multi-functional home. The project takes advantage of the compact attic space which while not standing height nevertheless offers a useful volume for numerous apartment functions. The space was aggressively subdivided and loaded with custom fabricated transforming elements including hanging clothing storage, pantry storage, and a pull-out dining table that is… - [Bank Street Apartment](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/bank-street-apartment-pj-vj~3009532) - Location: New York, NY - Photos: 14 - Description: Serenely pale above Bank Street. A thorough reinvention of a generously scaled but awkward post-war West Village Apartment. Lightened and subtly textured materials, and exactingly detailed custom elements create an elegant and informal living environment for a professional couple. A reconstructed kitchen, anchored by a sturdy block of richly figured Vermont marble and bleached ash establishes a functional and airy center that integrates an informal bar and entertaining zone, generous work area,… - [5 to 1 Apartment](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/5-to-1-apartment-pj-vj~1042867) - Location: New York, NY - Photos: 19 - Description: A motorized sliding storage element and sliding creates multiple distinct spaces within a tiny Manhattan apartment. The 5:1 Apartment is the latest evolution of MKCA's research on micro housing, containing the functional and spatial elements for living, working, sleeping, dressing, and entertaining, plus kitchen, dining, and bathing space within a compact 390 sf. A motorized sliding storage element glides from one end of the room to the other, revealing and exchanging spaces between daytime and… - [KG Home Office and Storage System](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/kg-home-office-and-storage-system-pj-vj~2300245) - Location: New York, NY - Photos: 9 - Description: The K-G Home Office is a custom modular desk, storage, display, and lighting system executed in laser sintered nylon, steel, and white oak. A series of laser-cut and lacquered steel storage elements serve as the primary structure of the unit supporting long shaped planks of rift cut white oak. The storage volumes can be spaced at regular or random intervals and are anchored to a wall, allowing the wood shelves to float off the surface. Sliding 3D printed doors allow for the screening of storage… - [Partywall](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/partywall-pj-vj~416380) - Location: New York, NY - Photos: 9 - Description: Part wallflower, part party animal. A multiple personality appliance for entertaining with a few surprises up its sleeves. By day this transformer sits quietly, even elegantly in the entry to a Chelsea apartment. But after dark, lacquered panels open to reveal a full bar with integral refrigeration and tap, and storage in a louche walnut burl with integral LED lighting. A display compartment has another dual personality, flipping from cool and white, to richly burled. Vodka versus bourbon. A sep… - [Unfolding Apartment](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/unfolding-apartment-pj-vj~30256) - Location: New York, NY - Photos: 18 - Description: Bigger than furniture; smaller than architecture. A renovation of a 400 square foot studio in Manhattan.The client is a young single man who entertains frequently, has houseguests, and works occasionally from home. The challenge is to incorporate all of the aspects of a larger space for work and entertaining within a compact studio apartment. Rather than the typical Manhattan approach of dividing a small space into even smaller individual rooms and spaces, a strategy of extreme density and flexi… - [Aerated Apartment](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/aerated-apartment-pj-vj~33304) - Location: New York, NY - Photos: 17 - Description: Green but not crunchy. The project is a combination and renovation of two adjoining apartments in a prewar building for a professional couple and their young children. Sustainability is a top priority for the clients and they were looking not only for sustainable materials but ecological design strategies that would encourage sustainable practices and lifestyles. A strategic set of cuts and insertions along with a series of custom fabricated sliding panels are used to generate a flexible floor p… - [Pocket Office](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/pocket-office-pj-vj~519852) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 7 - Description: A compact home office for a theater director in Brooklyn. The home office takes the place of some inefficient closets in the entry to the apartment and is integrated into a large cabinetry insert with shelving for books and decorative objects, storage drawers, and two large pull-out storage elements, one for coats, and another for shoes, and bags. An oversized sliding door allows the office to be closed when not in use, revealing a wall of shelving and drawers. And when open, the office injects… - [Photographer's Loft](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/photographer-s-loft-pj-vj~33302) - Location: New York, NY - Photos: 8 - Description: A live-work space for a professional photographer in a former manufacturing building on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Spatial flexibility is required as the loft is regularly used for photo shoots and editing, presentations, and events in addition to serving as the owner’s primary residence. To maximize open space, storage components and thickened storage zones within walls are used exclusively to delineate spaces. The existing nineteenth century shell of tin ceilings and rough plaster walls… - [Plaza Nursery](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/plaza-nursery-pj-vj~33301) - Location: Brooklyn, NY - Photos: 7 [See all 12 projects](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/architects-and-building-designers/michael-k-chen-architecture-pfvwus-pf~1921097710) --- *Source: Houzz professional profile. Reflects the profile as of 2026-08-28.*