Hoffmann awards 2026 scholarship to Zhou of The City College of New York

Manhattan, NY Hoffmann Architects + Engineers, a design firm specializing in the rehabilitation of building exteriors, has selected Matthew Zhou of the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at The City College of New York as the 2026 Hoffmann Scholarship awardee. Now in its fourth year, the Hoffmann Scholarship was established in collaboration with the Connecticut Architecture Foundation (CAF) to support students seeking degrees in architecture or engineering. Unique among CAF programs, the Hoffmann Scholarship also offers a paid summer internship in one of the firm’s three offices. This summer, Matthew Zhou interned with Hoffmann’s New York City team.

The applicant pool for the 2026 Hoffmann Scholarship was the most competitive yet, with 70 applications from students at more than 17 academic institutions. Out of these candidates, Hoffmann’s scholarship committee selected Zhou, a rising fourth-year student in Macaulay Honors College at The City College of New York Spitzer School of Architecture. With a 4.0 GPA and a keen interest in architectural preservation and adaptive reuse, Zhou channels his considerable creative and academic talent into community-centered historic restoration.

“We were impressed with the high caliber of this year’s applicants, which made selecting just one awardee challenging,” said Alison Hoffmann, chair of the Hoffmann Community Action Committee, which runs the scholarship program. 

“Matthew stood out for his stellar academic performance, as well as his heartfelt narratives about the value of humility and community in architectural preservation. In just three years of collegiate study, he has managed to develop the kind of nuanced and empathic perspective it often takes years of experience to cultivate.”

Internship with Hoffmann

Zhou joined Hoffmann’s New York City office as Architectural Intern in June 2026. Over the course of his twelve-week internship, he was able to remain involved with projects across their full life cycle, from investigation through construction.

“My internship at Hoffmann has taught me a lot about formalized inspections to ensure the NYC streetscape stays safe,” Zhou said. “I was able to learn a lot about the Facade Inspection Safety Program, the Periodic Inspection of Parking Structures program, and the annual requirement for parapet inspection. This information was mostly new to me, considering that my education at City College mainly focuses on designing new structures.”

The experience that stood out the most for Zhou was the opportunity to prepare a building envelope assessment report, which encouraged him to refine his technical writing under the tutelage of Hoffmann mentors. An active participant in enclosure investigations, he learned how to identify signs of distress and failure, and to describe observed conditions clearly and succinctly. Zhou praised the experiences he had learning to problem-solve on site: “Unforeseen conditions led me to see how the architects, owners, and contractors work together and communicate to remedy conditions and keep projects on track.”

Matthew Zhou interned with Hoffmann Architects + Engineers in New York.

An Exemplary Student

After graduating as the valedictorian of his class at the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan, Zhou was admitted to the highly selective Macaulay Honors College at The City College of New York and matriculated at CCNY Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture, where he expects to earn a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 2028. His many academic honors include the Duang Zhon Ai Xin Foundation Scholarship Award, the Tina Li Sheff and Donald Sheff Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Architecture, and the Spitzer School of Architecture Second-Year Project Design Award. In June, he was also awarded the Student Merit Design Award from the Society of American Registered Architects (SARA) in New York.

After his second year of architecture school, Zhou secured a summer internship with the NYC Landmarks

Preservation Commission (LPC), documenting historic districts and landmark structures. Beyond learning about the permitting and designation process, he gleaned valuable insight into how the preservation of the built environment protects critical social and economic infrastructure and sustains community identity.

Zhou brought this sense of purpose to his experience with Hoffmann. “I was able to get a broadened sense of what it means to be an architect in New York City,” he reflected. Zhou connected so well with the team and the work that he has already accepted Hoffmann’s offer of a second summer internship in 2027.