Drew Lang

Drew Lang is the founding principal of Lang Architecture, a New York–based practice recognized for its thoughtful approach to spatial design and material expression. He holds a Master of Architecture from Yale University and is a licensed architect in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana.

At the helm of the studio, Lang defines the conceptual direction of each project, working closely with collaborators and clients to create spaces that are both grounded and enduring. His work reflects a sensitivity to context, where architecture becomes a medium to shape lived experience through light, material, and form.

Born in New Orleans, Lang’s early connection to place continues to inform his practice, particularly in the way natural and built environments intersect in everyday life. Beyond his architectural work, he founded the Faubourg St. Roch Project, a non-profit initiative dedicated to the revitalization of one of New Orleans’ historic neighborhoods, reinforcing his ongoing engagement with community and cultural continuity.

1. How did your journey into architecture start? Did you always know you wanted to work as an architect?

New Orleans, where I grew up, was my first introduction to architecture. I didn’t always know I wanted to be an architect; my interest evolved and strengthened over time. But growing up within such a distinct built environment made me aware, early on, of how architecture responds to place—history, landscape, culture, and daily life. That sensitivity to context, how structures sit within and shape their surroundings, is foundational to how I understand and practice architecture.

2. What guides your very first steps in conceiving a building, and how do you translate a client’s vision into architectural form?

We start by closely observing context, as well as taking the time to understand our clients. When working on homes, particularly those set within nature, we pay special attention to how the building will sit within its environment. Place and people inform every decision, allowing us to translate a client’s vision into architecture that feels grounded, intentional, and in harmony with its surroundings.

GERMANTOWN © Jonathan Hokklo

GERMANTOWN © Jonathan Hokklo

HUDSON WOODS © Matthew Williams

3. How would you describe your design style as an architect?

Our work is informed by place, people, and experience, and is defined by materiality and craft. Rather than imposing a singular aesthetic, we allow the conditions of the site, whether it’s the surrounding landscape or the existing conditions of a historical building, to guide the architecture, resulting in work that feels responsive and quietly integrated.

4. Many of your projects engage closely with existing buildings and neighborhoods. How does working within an established context shape the way you approach a project?

We always begin by observing context and identifying existing value before entering the process as architects. This is especially important when working in established neighborhoods or natural settings, where sensitivity to scale, landscape, and history is critical. By studying specific moments and details, we’re able to develop an approach that is both retrospective and forward-looking, allowing new architecture to sit comfortably within what already exists.

5. Could you tell us about one of your projects that you are most proud of, and share what it is about this project that is exciting?

Our Hudson Woods project is one we’re particularly proud of. It consists of more than fifty buildings carefully integrated into a natural landscape, with the mature environment preserved as the true protagonist. The architecture was deliberately restrained, positioned to sit in harmony with the land rather than dominate it. That sensitivity is reflected in the community itself, with residents who deeply appreciate the serenity and connection to nature the project offers.

6. It must be hard to choose from, but what are your favorite architectural works in the world, and could you tell us why?

The list is quite long, but a few stand out. The streets of New Orleans, where I grew up, lined with live oak trees that function as a form of natural architecture, structuring public space and shaping the city’s character. The Woolworth Building, which I see every morning walking to my studio and again in the evening on my walk home, acting as a constant presence that frames my daily rhythm. And Louis Kahn’s Salk Institute, which was the first modern work of architecture I experienced that felt truly awe-inspiring, both monumental and deeply connected to its setting.

7. What is the part of your work as an architect that you enjoy the least?

Misalignment with project collaborators. Fortunately, this occurs less and less as we become increasingly better at filtering collaborators and clearly aligning expectations early in the process.

8. What are your inspirations? Is there a place, a figure, or an activity that always fuels your inspiration or always re-centers you?

Nature and place, particularly landscapes that reveal how a built form can coexist quietly and respectfully within its environment.

9. Your work often addresses housing and everyday living. How do you balance design ambition with the practical needs of the people who will use these spaces?

That balance occurs instinctually and systematically within our process. By designing with clients’ needs and daily routines in mind, while remaining attentive to site conditions, the architectural ambition naturally emerges through form that follows function. The goal is always to create spaces that feel both elevated and deeply livable.

10. Is there a motto that resonates in all your designs? A mantra that you live by when building?

Place, purpose, and experience.

11. What do you think the new architectural projects of today need the most? Or asked differently, what is something that the buildings of today lack the most?

Public interest and prioritization as a cultural and societal good. Architecture today often loses sight of its responsibility to the public realm. By re-centering projects around public interest and contextual responsibility, the discipline can reconnect people to broader cultural and social structures, maintaining an honest relationship between builders, users, and the environments we build within.

12. What would be an advice that you wish someone had told you as you were starting out?

Always have an active self-initiated development project.