Chris McVoy (born 1964) is an American architect based in New York.Davidson, Justin. "Bronx Children's Museum is Just Antic Enough," New York Magazine, February 22, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2026. He is a design partner at O'Neill McVoy Architects, the architectural firm in Brooklyn he co-founded with architect Beth O'Neill.Villardi, Leopoldo. "New Topographical Landscape by O'Neill McVoy Architects," Architectural Record, February 1, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2026.Mazade, Kate. "O'Neill McVoy inserts mass-timber children's museum into 1920s Bronx powerhouse," Dezeen, April 26, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2026.Medina, Samuel. "The Kitchens at Reynolds Brings Ambitious, Multipurpose Architecture to Underserved Richmond Community," Architect's Newspaper, March 30, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2026. For over two decades, he was senior partner at Steven Holl Architects and is partner emeritus.Roche, Daniel Jonas. "Language and Laughter Studio by O'Neill McVoy Architects offers a master class in light, color, and energy," The Architect's Newspaper, March 19, 2025. Retrieved January 2, 2026.Ricci, Giulia. "A Conversation with Steven Holl and Chris McVoy on the Recently Opened Kinder Building," Domus, November 21, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2026.Bradbury, Dominic. "The building blocks of America's best architect," The Daily Telegraph, July 13, 2007. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
McVoy's work has focused on the design and construction of cultural and educational buildings, as well as the integration of new structures into sites of cultural and historical significance.Gerfen, Katie. "American Lyric: The Inclusive Patriotism of Steven Holl Architects' Kennedy Center Expansion," Architect, November 1, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2026.Architect Magazine. "Bronx Children's Museum, O'Neill McVoy Architects," Projects, February 9, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2026.Kipnis, Jeffrey. "… and Then, Something Magical," Stone & Feather, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2026. Among the projects for which he served as partner in charge with Steven Holl Architects are the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Bloch Building (2007), the University of Iowa Visual Arts Building (2016), the REACH expansion of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (2019), and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston campus extension (2020).Lacayo, Richard. "Light Waves," Time, The Year in Review, 2007, p. 100–101. Retrieved January 2, 2026.Minutillo, Josephine. "Visual Arts Building at the University of Iowa by Steven Holl Architects," Architectural Record, November 1, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2026.Madsen, Deane. "Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center opens The REACH," Wallpaper, August 17, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2026.Lewis, Michael J. "A Triumphant, User-Friendly Addition." The Wall Street Journal, November 21, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2026. His projects at O'Neill McVoy include the Bronx Children's Museum (2022) and Church Hill Community Hybrid (2021).Graeber, Laurel. "For Bronx Children's Museum, a Long-Awaited Home," The New York Times, December 1, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2026. McVoy's work has received awards from the American Institute of Architects New York (AIANY), the Society of American Registered Architects (SARA), Urban Land Institute, and MacDowell.AIA New York. "Bronx Children's Museum," Featured Projects. Retrieved January 5, 2026.AIA New York. "The REACH," Featured Projects. Retrieved January 5, 2026.Society of American Registered Architects (SARA). SARAscope 2019, Vol. 9, Issue 4, 2019, p. 13.Urban Land Institute New York. "Meet The 2023 Awards Winners". Retrieved January 5, 2026.MacDowell. "Christopher McVoy," Artists . Retrieved January 2, 2026.
Education and career McVoy was born in Ankara, Turkey in 1964.Facades+. Chris McVoy, The Architect's Newspaper. Retrieved January 2, 2026. He earned a BA in architecture from the University of Virginia in 1986 and a Master of Architecture from Columbia University in 1992.The New School / Parsons School of Design. "Christopher McVoy," Faculty . Retrieved January 2, 2026.
After graduating, he worked with Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects for a year. In 1994, he joined Steven Holl Architects (SHA) and was named the firm's first partner in 2000. He served as senior partner until becoming partner emeritus in 2024. Concurrent to his work at SHA, McVoy and architect Beth O'Neill co-founded O'Neill McVoy Architects in 2012, where he has served as design partner. Based in Brooklyn, the firm operates a multi-scale practice that includes institutional, commercial and residential buildings and interior build-outs.Testa, Caterina. "Mixed-Use Building in Church Hill North," The Plan, May 3, 2022.Architectural Digest. "Clever Conversions: Clinton Hill Courtyard House," November 20, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2026.McKnight, Jenna. "O'Neill McVoy carves light wells into historic brick townhouse in Brooklyn," Dezeen, January 27, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
McVoy has been a lecturer at The New School / Parsons School of Design since 2023. He has been a visiting critic at Andes University (Colombia), Columbia University, Pratt Institute, University of Michigan, Harvard University and Yale University.
Work McVoy is known for his inventive and integrative architectural style, used primarily in the education and arts sectors.Bergdoll, Barry and Steven Holl. The REACH, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, New York: Rizzoli, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2026. Commentators note his connection-based approach to architecture, regarding building design as a means to link users with nature, with community and with their own purpose and senses.Ouroussoff, Nicolai. "A Translucent and Radiant Partner With the Past," The New York Times, June 6, 2007. His projects have received critical attention for their fusion of aspirational design elements with pragmatic ones.Slipek, Edwin. "Rebuilding Blocks: The architecturally splendid Kitchens at Reynolds engages its North Church Hill environs," Style Weekly, Richmond, VA, October 13, 2020. Esthetically, these works are noted for their open, fluid layouts and symbolically framed views, as well as their innovative use of raw materials and light.
McVoy's development process is considered inclusive, incorporating extensive consideration of local impact and internal project goals. His projects are often described as community-centric, both for their integrative design and their participatory development approach. He deploys design elements such as permeability and color to establish continuity with surrounding environs and uses input from local stakeholders—including children—to guide the direction and execution of projects.
Projects at Steven Holl Architects Steven Holl Architects (SHA) is widely known for its work in creating large-scale art centers. McVoy acted as partner-in-charge and co-designer with Steven Holl on many of these projects, including the Nelson-Atkins Museum Bloch Building, the University of Iowa Visual Arts Building, and MFA Houston's Kinder Building.ArchDaily. Visual Arts Building at the University of Iowa / Steven Holl Architects. Retrieved January 5, 2026. The architects developed a reputation for winning commissions with imaginative, unorthodox proposals.
In 2007, Kansas City's Nelson-Atkins Museum opened its Bloch Building, for which McVoy co-designed and served as partner in charge while at SHA. The building received widespread critical attention for its structural use of glass and inventive integration with the museum's landscape, situating parts of the construction beneath new rooftop gardens that blended into the museum's existing sculpture park.Goldberger, Paul. "Lenses on the Lawn," The New Yorker, April 30, 2007. Retrieved January 2, 2026. Architecture historian Barry Bergdoll called the work "transformative," stating that "Holl, McVoy and their associates bypassed a literal interpretation of the brief…to reimagine the very relationship of the institution's functions to the landscape and the adjacent city fabric."
In 2016, McVoy co-designed and was partner in charge of the University of Iowa's Visual Arts Building (VAB). The hilltop structure provides 126,000 square feet of program space for the university's art department. The building was designed with loftlike interiors and an exterior of perforated stainless steel panels that modulate light and reduce solar gain.Archello. Visual Arts Building, University of Iowa / Steven Holl Architects. Retrieved January 5, 2026. Curvilinear carve-outs in structure bring daylight deep into the building and create a staircase-wrapped atrium that provides ventilation and anchors movement. The designers built lounge areas into circulation routes to encourage interaction and collaboration. Despite the high-energy needs associated with art production facilities, the VAB's energy-conscious design earned LEED Gold status and a $550,000 incentive for its energy performance, projected to save the university $300,000 annually.O'Reilly, John. "University of Iowa Visual Arts Building Integrates Striking Aesthetics with Innovative Mechanical Systems," Engineered Systems News, June 1, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
In the 2010s, the firm created a nearly 500,000 square foot expansion at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston which included the Glassell School of Art (2018) and Kinder Museum Building (2020), together with underground passageways linking multiple buildings. The Glassell building houses studios, gallery spaces, an auditorium and a rooftop garden with amphitheater.Land, Davis. "Photo Gallery: Glassell School Of Art's New Building Unveiled," Houston Public Media, May 14, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2026.Gerfen, Katie. "Glassell School of Art," Architect, August 8, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2026. The Kinder Museum offers 184,000 square feet of modern and contemporary art galleries with a film theater, restaurant, café and conference center. Its design centralizes natural light with a translucent glass tube façade together with a diffused-light roof treatment that emulates clouds. The roof and ribbon staircase are noted for their hidden-structure design which create a "floating" appearance. Critic Michael J. Lewis of the Wall Street Journal wrote: "The Kinder is a triumph. It is impressive by day or night, adroitly integrated into its site, and—best of all—designed with special consideration for the ease and comfort of its users."
In 2019, the firm inaugurated the REACH expansion of the Kennedy Center, for which McVoy served as partner in charge. The $250 million expansion features an iceberg-like construction that situates 72,000 square feet of interior space within and largely below nearly five acres of landscape. Three white pavilions overlook a manicured, artificial ground plane which together cover two levels of performance space as well as a parking garage. A porous entrance scheme, outdoor viewing area and studio mezzanines democratize access to the space. The project received critical attention for its pairing of inventive design and meaningful symbolism with high functional performance.