Suffern, NY Since its establishment in 1971, Aufgang Architects, LLC, has enjoyed a reputation for providing thoughtful, effective, and creative designs – a focus that has driven its success and consistent growth over the past four decades.

Success in this intensely competitive and constantly evolving real estate development market requires fresh and sophisticated architectural design approaches. As the industry has changed over the years, so has Aufgang Architects.

Today the firm is recognized for innovative and imaginative designs that reflect the changing demands from the commercial real estate development marketplace. 

Aufgang designs emphasize high quality and appealing features that add unique value to each project and enhance their marketability. 

“Our designs anticipate and address the impact of economic cycles, changes in regulations and building codes, awareness of environmental impact and the imperative need for energy efficiency. We create designs that meet the expectations of the growing market – an approach we’ve applied to the design of myriad commercial, residential, and mixed-use structures that blend contemporary style with timeless sustainability,” said Ariel Aufgang, AIA, the firm’s principal.

Aufgang Architects is a New York State Certified Minority Business Enterprise.

Aufgang was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1979. A naturalized US citizen, he was educated in the United States. After joining the firm at 18 while still a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, he quickly rose to partner upon completing his studies. In 2012 he became principal of the firm.

“As an architect, I have been heavily influenced by the importance of family and the feeling of ‘home,’” said Aufgang.

“I obsess over the awareness that selections and design choices I make on my projects will affect people’s lives in profound ways. I therefore respect the responsibility of designing homes in which people live, raise families and grow old together, and the influence that the design of their homes has on their lives, lifestyles, financial well-being, and spirits. 

“Well designed and esthetically pleasing homes contribute to the appeal and viability of neighborhoods, and enhance the social and economic strength and stability of communities. For architects, this is a very different responsibility compared to designing office or retail space or classrooms,” he said, adding “this obsession drives my desire to focus my firm’s work on apartment buildings and hotels, spaces that are experienced over and over again, and that allow for personal intervention by the occupants.”

Aufgang Architects is known for designing multifamily affordable and senior housing, many with amenities usually found in market rate projects.

“Our incredible clients have allowed us to design over 15,000 units of new and preservation affordable housing since 2000. Our goal is to consistently contribute to very gratifying housing transitions and quality of life experiences for many families,” he said.

Aufgang see this as an “amazing time” for architects.

“Technology allows us to create new and innovative designs in response to a heightened awareness and growing concerns about accessibility, energy usage and the environment. The goal of reducing energy consumption has led to new building practices, along with innovative strategies to conserve energy and reduce consumption of resources, control emissions and save money,” he said. He pointed out that innovative design, combined with technology has “also enhanced accessibility for those with mobility issues.”

“Today New York has an undeniably distinctive and appealing architectural identity. High profile super projects change the skyline.  Neighborhoods throughout all of the boroughs evolve as a result of thoughtful development. Our designs respect the neighborhood fabric and social context of their sites, and complement them with innovation and a fresh outlook,” he said.

Aufgang Architects is headquartered in a new four-story building in Suffern, N.Y. The firm has a staff of more than 40.

“When my firm outgrew rented office space we moved to our new building that I designed and had built on a blighted parcel in the center of Suffern that had been vacant for 60 years. It’s the first new building constructed in downtown Suffern in decades,” he said. 

“I designed the contemporary and contextual four-story, 27,000 s/f building as a showcase for maximum energy efficiency, using leading edge design concepts and systems. These include a deep well geothermal system and heat pumps, the first US commercial installation of automatic-deployment solar sensing exterior shades on south facing windows, which greatly reduce A/C costs, and super cavity insulated outside walls and roof, far exceeding applicable energy codes,” he said.

The building is situated less than a block from an express commuter train station, allowing Aufgang and his colleagues to be in and out of Manhattan within 60 minutes using mass transit. The entire building was 100% occupied within three months of opening, with office tenants including engineering and law firms, a popular restaurant and a business services company occupying ground floor retail space, and a fitness center tenant in the basement. 

“Our new building has sparked a commercial revitalization of this portion of the main thoroughfare in the center of Suffern,” said Aufgang.