NEW YORK, NY––Architecture and interiors firm Spacesmith announced that designer and project manager, David Roberts, has joined the firm to support its growing office in Hudson, N.Y.
According to Spacesmith’s founding principal and Hudson resident Jane Smith, FAIA, IIDA, Roberts will play a key role in Spacesmith’s business development across Upstate New York.
A longtime resident of the Hudson Valley, Roberts says the timing could not be better to deepen Spacesmith’s roots and broaden the firm’s engagement and project roster in the region.
“As Spacesmith has demonstrated, the firm offers depth of experience and significant value to institutions, commercial organizations, cultural venues and more,” says Roberts. “I’m delighted to be joining this diverse and talented team.”
Currently, Roberts is working on the designs for three high-profile projects in the region including two food-related works and a new, state-of-the-art largescale film and television production facility for Upriver Studios in the town of Saugerties. The highly anticipated Upriver Studios will feature a sound stage and post-production spaces with solar photovoltaic panels and high-efficiency LED lighting throughout. Other notable projects Roberts is currently helping lead include the Spruce Street Food Market Development in Albany, N.Y. and a gourmet food retail venue and production facility in Hudson called Talbott & Arding.
In his new position at Spacesmith, Roberts will oversee both design and project management. A well-rounded practitioner with over 20 years of experience across the country in the areas of design-build project delivery, adaptive reuse conversions of older and historic structures, as well as interior design, Roberts is familiar with projects of all scales and complexity. Prior to joining Spacesmith, his recent work included a retrofit of an existing 19th-century sugar refinery for the boutique hotel One11 in the French Quarter of New Orleans as well as the interiors for the Eileen Fisher Design Center and Showroom on 5th Avenue in Manhattan. Roberts’s rich portfolio also includes high-end commercial interiors for Goldman Sachs and The Associated Press within iconic New York City buildings.
Previously in the Hudson Valley, Roberts served as project manager and designer on the conversion of an existing house into the Allaire Recording Studios in the hamlet of Shokan, and he has completed several single-family homes on his own as an independent design-builder. The Australian native moved to New York after completing studies in environmental design and architecture at the University of Canberra.
“When I arrived and began interning in New York as a student, I fell in love with how fast decisions were made and all the responsibility that was given to me,” says Roberts, recalling what originally drew him and his wife to settle near the city. “We were blown away by the beauty and gentleness of the Hudson Valley, and we feel very connected to the area having raised our kids and built a life here.”
As a seasoned professional, Roberts combines his love of the Hudson Valley with a rigorous, context-sensitive design approach that will strengthen Spacesmith’s local foundations in new ways, according to the firm’s leader, Jane Smith.
“We’re glad to have David’s leadership on some of the region’s most prestigious and complex new building projects, including Upriver Studios in Saugerties, the Talbott & Arding retail and catering shop in Hudson, and the future Spruce Street Market in Albany,” she says, adding that Roberts will also contribute to the firm’s renowned culture of mentorship, which nurtures junior architects. “David is helping expand Spacesmith’s presence in New York’s Capital District, where he draws from his deep experience and a growing network of clients.”
