Kimberly Murphy, AIA
Partner
Inspired by founder Judith Eldelman’s legacy for women in architecture, and the office’s work with non-profits, Kimberly Murphy joined ESKW/Architects in 1999 and was named Partner in 2017. With over 25 years of experience, her leadership blends big-picture vision with close engagement, guiding projects from concept to completion while remaining attuned to the needs of those who steward and inhabit them. She ensures every aspect of a project ties back to the original concept, maintaining the integrity of her client’s vision, while promoting a deeply collaborative in-office process. Her projects often bear signature details such as dynamic circulation and welcoming communal spaces.
Kimberly champions inclusive, human-centered design, translating the lived experiences of end users into strategies that advance her clients’ goals. She leads collaborative workshops, site visits, and participatory design exercises. For Providence House’s Lexington Avenue Shelter, she worked directly with staff and justice-impacted women to transform the typical shelter model, introducing “micro-communities” that balance privacy with social connection. Similarly, with St. Francis Friends of the Poor, she helped tenants one of the city’s original Supportive Housing operators envision their first new construction, ensuring the design reflected their daily lives and the success of their program.
The same focus on human experience that guides her nonprofit work informs her approach to municipal projects, where she has built lasting relationships with agencies such as the NYC School Construction Authority (SCA) which she respects for the scale of their service. Her first SCA project, the New Settlement Community Campus, taught her how to work creatively within strict timelines, design requirements and complex partnerships. Today, the campus remains a vital Bronx resource, its graffiti-free façade a testament to its deep community connection.
Currently, Kimberly is leading the Lexington Avenue Shelter, 1545 Jerome Avenue (S:US), and PS508Q (SCA), a richly detailed brick school that stands out like a “little red schoolhouse” among glass towers. She also oversees the firm’s marketing efforts, broadening her perspective on how the firm’s values resonate in the civic landscape. Kimberly believes everyone has something to teach and something to learn, and she fosters equity over hierarchy.
Kimberly Murphy is a registered architect in New York and holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Kansas State University. Her work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the AIANY Merit Award (2005) for O’Dwyer Gardens Community Center; AIANYS Excelsior Award for Public Architecture (2014), and SARA Pennsylvania and New York Council Awards (2013) for New Settlement Community Campus; AIANYS Design Award of Merit (2021) and SARA National Design Award of Merit (2021) for the Thomas S. Murphy Clubhouse Pool. Kimberly has volunteered for NYCOBA/NOMA’s Project Pipeline and NOMA HBCU Professional Development programs, and she is currently on the board of the New York Citizens Housing & Planning Council.
