Joining Steinberg Hart’s leadership team in New York City, Alex O’Briant brings extensive experience in higher education to the firm.
New York, NY (February 19, 2026) – Nationally recognized architecture firm Steinberg Hart announced today that Alex O’Briant, AIA, has joined the firm’s New York office as Principal. With 25 years of design leadership across a wide array of typologies, Alex brings a particular focus on partnering with academic institutions as they navigate change, growth, and evolving models of learning. His work balances sensitive campus placemaking with design innovations that strengthen learning, collaboration, and a shared academic purpose. Alex has established meaningful relationships across a broad range of institutions and industries and will play a pivotal role in the continued growth of Steinberg Hart’s national education practice.
“We are thrilled to welcome Alex O’Briant as the newest member of our leadership team in our New York office,” said Kim Patten, Steinberg Hart’s Partner and Higher Education Practice Leader. “Alex’s robust background in educational design will not only enable us to expand our national reach in that sector, a core focus of our practice, but also sharpen our expertise and enable us to cultivate new relationships with an array of leaders and changemakers in both academic and design communities across the country.”
Prior to joining Steinberg Hart, Alex was a principal at Ennead Architects, where he practiced for more than two decades, leading the design of projects across the firm’s educational, civic, and cultural practices. His portfolio includes award-winning projects such as the Natural History Museum of Utah, the Engineering Education and Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin, a new high school for Seoul Foreign School in Seoul, South Korea, and a comprehensive master plan for the American School in Japan in Tokyo. Throughout his career, Alex has worked closely with colleges, universities, and K–12 schools around the world, helping shape campuses for institutions such as Harvard University, Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University, Georgia Tech, Purdue University, and The Ohio State University.
“The spaces we create as architects shape how communities learn, connect, and imagine their future, and that responsibility matters deeply to me,” Alex shared. Steinberg Hart has a long history of designing with purpose and care, and I’m excited to bring my experience, curiosity, and collaborative approach to a practice so committed to people and place. I’m genuinely energized by what we can build together in the years ahead.”
Known for his relentless optimism and deeply collaborative approach, Alex is particularly well-suited to working with academic institutions, where progress depends on listening, trust, and long-term partnership. He also brings an enduring commitment to sustainable practice—not as a checklist, but as an integral part of how institutions plan responsibly for the future. This commitment is reflected in recent projects such as Maryville College’s Alexander Institute for Conservation Leadership and the Sciences and the University of Texas at Austin’s Gary L. Thomas Energy Engineering Building, the first campus building at UT Austin to achieve LEED Platinum certification.
An established thought leader, Alex contributes actively to national and international conversations about the future of education, design, and campus life. He is a frequent speaker at the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) international conference, where he has addressed topics including interdisciplinary collaboration, strategic sharing, and flexible design. Additional speaking engagements include SXSWedu, Tradeline University Facilities, the Association of University Architects, the East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS), China’s Better Education Environment Dynamic Conference (BEED), and delivered the keynote address at AIA Austin’s 2018 summer conference.
Alex’s writing explores issues such as the future of the academic library, designing for sensitive campus contexts, and adaptable laboratory environments, and has been published in Harvard Design Magazine, Tradeline, and American School & University. He was also a guest on education-focused podcasts including Education Tomorrow and Inside Higher Ed’s The Key.
Alex is a member of the American Institute of Architects and the Society for College and University Planning and has served on the AIA New York Chapter Committee on Architecture for Education, the SXSWedu Advisory Board, and awards juries for SCUP and Learning By Design magazine. He received his Master of Architecture from Rice University after earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and sculpture from Birmingham-Southern College. Alex has practiced architecture in Houston, Spain, and New York City, and has taught at Rice University and Lehigh University. He regularly serves as a critic and juror at schools of architecture across the country.
“Alex O’Briant is a design leader in the truest sense—someone whose work consistently elevates architectural quality while advancing how learning environments support discovery, collaboration, and community,” said Steinberg Hart President and CEO David Hart. “His rigorous design thinking and ability to translate complex institutional ambitions into enduring, award-winning architecture will further elevate Steinberg Hart’s national profile and reinforce our firm’s long-standing commitment to design excellence.”