About Hanson Architecture

Homes shaped around the lives lived in them.

Hanson Architecture is a New York City architecture practice specializing in the design and transformation of homes.

We work with clients who see architecture as more than a renovation or a collection of finishes—people interested in what their home could become, how it might better support the way they live, and how thoughtful design can reveal possibilities that were not obvious at the outset.

Much of our work begins with an existing building: a Brooklyn townhouse, brownstone, apartment, or other New York property with its own history, constraints, quirks, and unrealized potential. We look carefully at what is already there, what is worth preserving, and where transformation can create something genuinely new.

The goal is not simply to make a house larger, newer, or more polished. It is to make it feel more connected, more generous, more natural to inhabit—and distinctly suited to the people who live there.

A deliberately small practice

Hanson Architecture is intentionally small.

Every project is led directly by principal Michael Hanson, from the earliest conversations and design studies through approvals, construction documents, contractor selection, and construction.

That continuity matters.

Residential projects are intensely personal and often complicated. They involve hundreds of decisions, unexpected conditions, significant financial commitments, and the coordination of contractors, craftspeople, consultants, agencies, and clients over a period that may last several years.

Working closely together allows us to understand not only what our clients initially ask for, but why they want it—and often to discover opportunities neither of us could have identified at the beginning.

We believe some of the best architecture grows out of that process.

Design grounded in experience

Our work is contemporary but not disconnected from its surroundings.

We are interested in light, proportion, movement, materials, views, connection, and the relationships between spaces. We are equally interested in how a building is put together, how it performs, how it will age, and how the realities of construction can strengthen rather than compromise a design.

That approach is particularly important in New York, where a seemingly straightforward residential project may involve historic structures, unusual existing conditions, zoning constraints, landmark requirements, complicated structural work, neighboring buildings, and layers of previous construction.

We enjoy those constraints.

They frequently become the starting point for the most interesting design decisions.

Michael Hanson

Michael P. Hanson, AIA, CPHD, LEED AP, founded Hanson Architecture after more than two decades of architectural practice in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and New York.

His experience ranges from private houses and apartments to historic adaptive reuse, multifamily housing, supportive housing, and large residential developments. Throughout that work, Michael has remained closely involved in both design and execution—working with clients, consultants, contractors, craftspeople, preservation agencies, and building authorities from initial concept through construction.

That broad experience now informs a practice intentionally focused on residential architecture and the unusually close relationship between architect, client, building, and builder that good residential work makes possible.

Michael grew up outside Pittsburgh and arrived at architecture by a less direct route. He studied art extensively from an early age and earned a BA in Psychology from Allegheny College, with substantial study in philosophy, before receiving his Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania.

Those interests remain part of his approach to architecture: an equal curiosity about people and places, about why we respond to certain spaces, and about how design can change the experience of everyday life.

Michael is a registered architect in New York and Pennsylvania, a Certified Passive House Designer, and a LEED Accredited Professional. He has also served as a guest critic and lecturer in architecture and design programs including the University of Pennsylvania, Parsons, CUNY, Temple University, and Philadelphia University.

The projects we are drawn to

We are particularly interested in projects where there is something meaningful to figure out.

That might be a townhouse that no longer fits the way a family lives. An apartment with hidden spatial potential. A historic building requiring both preservation and reinvention. An addition that needs to feel inevitable rather than attached. Or a rare opportunity to create an entirely new home.

The common thread is not a particular style.

It is the opportunity to make architecture.

To rethink how spaces connect. To bring light somewhere it could not reach before. To discover opportunities within constraints. To create a home that feels both surprising and completely natural once it exists.

Working together

A successful residential project depends on trust, curiosity, and a willingness to explore possibilities together.

We tend to work best with clients who want to participate in that process—who bring strong ambitions for their home but are also open to discovering solutions they may not have imagined when the project began.

If that sounds like the kind of relationship you are looking for, we would be glad to hear about your project.

Tell us about your home and what you hope it could become.