Laban Wingert Associates

“The lighting is dazzlingly serene. It is beautiful and I think the banquete is brilliant” said esteemed artist Susan Rothenberg upon her visit to long-time art collectors and museum philanthropists Gifford and Joann Phillips’ newly renovated and furnished Santa Fe residence. Principal Laban Wingert enrolled in the pre-architectural program at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York to expose himself to a broad range of the humanities prior to enrollment into the school of architecture at the University of Texas at Austin. His required post-graduate internship was completed in Vancouver, Canada, Elmira, New York, New York City, Houston and Austin where he worked on a range of projects from Residential, Ecclesiastical, Educational, Commercial and Governmental including the LBJ Presidential Library, prior to establishing his office in Santa Fe. He was later selected through a National Search to fill the position as Staff Planner Architect for the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. Laban’s internship launched a specialty for “Architectural Programming” for which he is considered a pioneer of by the late William M. Peña. Mr. Peña himself is acknowledged by the American Institute of Architects as the creator of the term Architectural Programming, the name of the current phase of pre-design services. In Santa Fe, his office has completed a combination of new and renovated residential projects for a wide range of clients such as: poet John B.L. Goodwin whose home, twelve years later, he sold to Stanley Marcus, founder of Neiman Marcus, master plan and renovation for the residence and studio of artist Forrest Moses, renovation of the residence for art dealer Virginia Dwan, renovation and expansion of the Abiquiu, NM residence of actress Shirley MacLaine, and the master plan and phased development of the Twin Willows Ranch in Ocate, NM. Laban Wingert Associates was also selected by the Legislative Council Service to complete a long-range study of Santa Fe-based state operations as part of the complete renovation of the state capitol. Additionally, as Part of the effort of the SYDA Yoga Foundation to develop a new temple as part of their ashram in downtown Oakland, California. LWA was selected to prepare a master plan of their mix of institutional and commercial properties with the goal of determining the best site for the temple.