Madame Architect Presents: 144 Vanderbilt Ave

For our next "Madame Architect Presents" event on Tuesday, September 16, our founder and editor, Julia Gamolina, will speak with 's co-founder Jing Liu, 's Founder Sebastian Mendez, and critic about transforming the conventional multifamily housing typology in New York through 144 Vanderbilt Ave.

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The Speakers:

Jing Liu, SO-IL: Jing Liu is principal of Solid Objectives - Idenburg Liu (SO - IL). A native of China, she received her education in China, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, concluding with a Master of Architecture from Tulane University School of Architecture in New Orleans. Prior to founding SO - IL, Liu worked at New York based Kohn Pedersen Fox and Starwood.

Sebastian Mendez, Tankhouse: Sebastian is a licensed architect with extensive design and construction experience. Prior to founding Tankhouse, Sebastian was an Associate Partner at Foster + Partners New York where he lead the design and project management for over 3 million square feet of residential, commercial and cultural projects throughout North and South America. Sebastian earned his master's degree in architecture from the University of Buenos Aires (2002) and a master's degree in real estate development at New York University’s Schack Institute. Sebastian has held teaching positions at the University of Buenos Aires and the Boston Architectural College.

Alexandra Lange, Critic: Alexandra Lange is a journalist, design critic, and author. Her essays, reviews and profiles have appeared in numerous design publications including Architect, Harvard Design Magazine, and Metropolis, as well as in The Atlantic, New York Magazine, The New Yorker, and the New York Times. She is a contributing writer for Bloomberg CityLab, and has been a featured writer at Design Observer, an opinion columnist at Dezeen, and the architecture critic for Curbed. In 2025 she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism for a series on how urban design and architecture affect children and families.

Moderator - Julia Gamolina, Madame Architect: Julia Gamolina is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Madame Architect, a digital magazine focused on the extraordinary women that shape our world. Trained as an architect herself and with over a decade of experience across all aspects of design, business development, and communications, Julia is also an Associate Principal at Ennead Architects. Her writing has been featured in A Women's Thing, Fast Company, Metropolis Magazine, and the Architect's Newspaper. In 2024 and 2023, Julia was listed in Wallpaper*'s Creative America, a list of the people defining the creative landscape of the US.

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