HOLT Architects News
Welcome to HOLT Architects. With an illustrious legacy that dates back to 1963, we’re not just architects – we’re pioneers forging a sustainable path, one innovative design at a time. Specializing in a wide array of sectors like behavioral health, women’s and children’s healthcare, education, and affordable housing, we are a team of design believers committed to enhancing the quality of life of communities through our creations. Our cornerstone is sustainable design, presenting you with the latest news and developments in architectural design.
Focused on fostering a visual exchange of ideas, our architecture, design, and project management experts collaborate closely with clients to understand their unique needs before embarking on the journey to transform them into awe-inspiring spaces. Every project of ours is a testament to our investment in creating enduring, sustainable designs that shape the social, environmental, and economic fabric of our society. We marry creative aspirations with technical prowess, delivering tailor-made designs aligned with WELL Building, LEED, and Evidence-Based Design principles.
Get ready to explore a world where design integrity meets community purpose, only with HOLT Architects.
HOLT Architects Advances Sustainable Design by Turning Vision Into Reality
May 27, 2026
Holt Architects Leads With Relationships To Deliver Complex Projects Across New York
May 14, 2026
HOLT Architects Completes Award-Winning Lavery Library Project at St. John Fisher University
April 9, 2026
For nearly half a century, Lavery Library has stood at the center of St. John Fisher University’s campus, a familiar presence for generations of students. But step inside today, months after its grand reopening, and the experience feels entirely new. Sunlight pours through expanded glazing, students gather on a broad social stair, and academic support services sit in plain view, inviting engagement rather than hiding behind closed doors.
HOLT Architects Transforms Lavery Library Into a Modern Student Success Center
April 1, 2026
Constructed in 1975, the Lavery Library represents the characteristics of that period. As it was mostly concrete and constructed to keep the books stored (and not experience the students) there was an inward look at how the building was constructed which led it to having an internal nickname as a “book fort.” Students would enter the building to get their books and leave; The services were during their stay and spread throughout the building and days. Very little natural light was allowed inside. No circulation was promoted between the major campus areas.
HOLT Architects Inside the Process – How Values, Collaboration, and Long-Term Thinking Shape Every Project
March 13, 2026
Every architecture project is unique in some way, whether it be in scope, scale, purpose, or placement. As a result of that, not every project is a good fit for every architecture firm; it’s important that the goals, limitations, and resources required of a project are a good match for the expertise and values of the firm building it. Every single design is a collaborative venture shaped by the paradigm of the firm making it, from concept through completion, and every firm handles that collaboration differently.
HOLT Architects Builds More Than Buildings: A Look at the Relationships and Decisions Behind Their Most Impactful Work
February 26, 2026
When a prospective client approaches the Ithaca-based firm with a project, the conversation rarely starts with floor plans or material palettes. Instead, principals Steve Hugo, Kelly Maher, Paul Levesque and Quay Thompson want to know what the building needs to accomplish beyond its basic function. What does success look like in 20 years? How will this structure serve the community around it? What values should guide every decision from site selection to doorknob specification?
HOLT Architects and Award-Winning Affordable Housing Across Upstate New York Communities
February 20, 2026
Affordable housing in Upstate New York often sits at the intersection of policy, economics, and lived experience. When design enters that space with care and restraint, it can influence not only how buildings perform, but how communities function over time. That balance is central to the recent recognition awarded to HOLT Architects for its work on Village Grove, named Upstate New York Affordable Housing Project of the Year. The project reflects a long-standing approach shaped by sustainability, collaboration, and an understanding of how housing fits into a place’s daily life.
How Award-Winning HOLT Architects Brought a Tibetan Vision to Life in Upstate New York
December 11, 2025
ITHACA, NEW YORK – When Venerable Tenzin Choesang first met with HOLT Architects in 2016 , he shared a single photograph. The image showed the Dalai Lama’s Summer Palace in Tibet, a structure steeped in centuries of Buddhist tradition and architectural heritage. His request was direct: “I need to build exactly like this.”
For many architecture firms, such a declaration might have signaled a straightforward replication project. But Steve Hugo, the principal in charge, recognized something deeper in that moment.
HOLT Architects Approach Sustainable Design with Purpose
December 05, 2025
Architecture is a field that blends function and form, purpose and practicality, and comes with its own unique challenges and opportunities. Whether the task is to build a home, a public office, a hospital or a school, architects and architecture firms have to balance pragmatism and ambition in every project, a task that’s only grown more complex over time. In the modern age, new construction and architecture projects must consider a swathe of legal regulations and strive to match or exceed sustainability goals, especially when it comes to energy. As a result, the role of a leading architecture firm has evolved from being merely builders to being