December 19, 2023
Dear Colleagues,
We are thrilled to welcome James Kolker to Yale as the University Architect. In this new role that reports to the vice president for Facilities, Campus Development, and Sustainability; James will be responsible for maintaining an architectural vision for Yale and shaping the Office of the University Architect. This new organization aligns the university with our Ivy League peers and supports how we manage our key strategic asset—Yale’s signature urban campus.
As the University Architect, James will be the principal steward for Yale’s physical environment. He will oversee campus planning and landscape architecture, establishing a clear design direction, and shepherd the implementation of facilities and sustainability standards and guidelines that inform the design of construction projects. These efforts will help unify the university’s campuses, facilities, places, and spaces. He will also lead the preservation of Yale’s architectural and landscape legacies, while embracing and piloting new technology, including zero carbon-ready preparedness and energy reduction efforts associated with the built environment.
James brings more than thirty-five years of architecture and campus planning experience, balanced between leadership positions at design firms and in higher education. His industry expertise is expansive, having worked on a diverse range of civic and academic projects throughout the United States as well as stewarding the Washington University campus for more than a decade.
As the University Architect at Washington University in St. Louis, James led all campuses and facilities and provided governance for campus planning and development of capital projects, new and renovated facilities, sustainability initiatives, space management, and project programming. During his tenure, he led wide-ranging university developments, including the transformation of the east end of the Danforth Campus, which is an 18-acre project that includes four LEED-Platinum certified projects, and three others, totaling more than $365 million.
Prior to his higher education experience, James worked for Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates where he led a team that provided campus planning and design support for academic and civic projects. Over his 23-year career at the firm he became principal, managing projects ranging from interiors and individual buildings to campus precincts and global contexts.
He received a B.A. in architecture from Columbia University and an M.Arch from Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. James is a registered architect, certified via the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, a LEED Accredited Professional, and a fellow of the American Institute of Architects.
Please join us in extending a warm reception to James as he assumes his leadership role in Yale’s Office of Facilities on February 1, 2024. We are excited to collaborate with him in achieving our ambitious capital plan.
Sincerely,
J. Mike Bellamy
Vice President for Facilities, Campus Development, and Sustainability
Jack F. Callahan, Jr.
Senior Vice President for Operations
Yale University
Top image: James Kolker, University Architect at Yale