Aleksandr Mergold, AIA was born and raised in the former Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan in the ancient city of Tashkent, whose urban fabric bears simultaneous traces of the Great Silk Road, colonial conquests, and a socialist planned economy. After the collapse of the USSR, Aleksandr came to the US as a refugee in 1992 and began his discovery, inquiry and re-imagining of America.
Aleksandr Mergold was trained in architecture at Princeton and Cornell University. After working for several large architecture firms, he joined Pentagram in New York. There Aleksandr worked on a variety of architectural and design projects, exhibitions, and cultural institutions – including the Harley–Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Arizona Cardinals Stadium in Tempe, interiors for the Daily Show in NYC, and welcome center for Philip Johnson’s Glass House and Estate in New Canaan, CT.
Fascinated by the contemporary American Vernacular, Aleksandr co-founded Austin+Mergold (A+M) to work on projects in areas underserved by design professionals. For last 15 years, he had also been teaching architecture and design at Parsons in NYC, Listaháskóli Íslands in Reykjavik, Cornell in Ithaca, NY and Rome, Italy and at Columbia GSAPP.
Aleksandr’s work has been published in a variety of print and web media, including The Architect’s Newspaper, Architectural Record, BLDGBLOG, Cornell Journal of Architecture, Designboom, Dezeen, Domus, Mnemeio & Perivallon, The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Residential Architect Magazine, Specialle-Z and MIT’s Thresholds.
Aleksandr Mergold is a Registered Architect in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey; member of the American Institute of Architects, American Institute of Graphic Arts; and a LEED Accredited Professional.
While at MacDowell, he worked on drawings and catalogue text for an exhibition to be mounted in Detroit Center for Design + Technology and for installation Oculi on Governors Island in NYC, both in the summer of 2018. The drawings are part of the series of his work exploring contemporary spolia, another way to consider the legacy of 20th century American industrialization. Aleksandr is a recipient of NY Architectural League Prize.
