Joe Brennan, AIA

Associate Principal, Computation and Fabrication @ KPF | Adjunct Assistant Professor @ Columbia GSAPP

New York, New York, United States

About

Joe Brennan, AIA is a licensed architect, educator, writer, and problem solver with a passion for digital practice and design technology. Formerly of SHoP, Populous, Gensler, and BLDGWORKS, he is currently an Associate Principal and Senior Computational Designer at KPF. There, he leverages advanced digital processes and technology to improve the design process, overseeing both the computation and digital fabrication teams in New York. Joe is an adjunct assistant professor at Columbia University, where he teaches a graduate architecture class in advanced methods of technology implementation. In the past, he has taught 3D visualization classes and performed research in robotics at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) and City College of Technology. Joe is a member of AIANY's Housing Committee, as well as a mentor for students at Columbia's GSAPP, a start-up mentor at New Inc, and a member of the Next Generation Leadership Fund at NABU.org. He has also worked on an advisory committee for NCARB and as a peer-reviewer for a journal on construction resilience by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Experience

  • KPF (Full-time · 3 yrs 1 mo)
    • Associate Principal
      Jul 2025 - Present · 1 yr

    • Senior Computational Designer
      Jun 2023 - Present · 3 yrs 1 mo

      Oversee Computation and Digital Fabrication at KPF's New York Office

  • Columbia University in the City of New York (New York, NY)
    • Assistant Adjunct Professor of Architecture - Rethinking BIM
      Dec 2021 - Present · 4 yrs 7 mos

      Instructor of Rethinking BIM, a hybrid building technology and visualization class focused on the integration of design technology into real estate development, architecture, engineering, and construction.

    • Adjunct Assistant Professor of Architecture - Ultrareal
      Aug 2013 - Dec 2021 · 8 yrs 5 mos

      Co-teacher of the Ultrareal sequence, part of the Visual Studies program at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. This class seeks to teach students the technical aspects of rendering, while using the technology as a tool for design.

  • Chief Design Officer at BLDGWORKS
    Aug 2021 - May 2023 · 1 yr 10 mos

    Led architectural design and engineering at BLDGWORKS, a vertically integrated real estate development, design, and construction firm

  • Project Architect / Design Technology Specialist at Gensler
    Mar 2019 - Jul 2021 · 2 yrs 5 mos

  • CEO at ReDO Terminal
    Jul 2017 - Mar 2019 · 1 yr 9 mos