In 1977, after 3 ½ years with the US Coast Guard and over 6 years with Johansen and Bhavnani FAIA, Ben founded the practice that has become Ingui Architecture. As a Senior Associate at J&B, he managed one of the first residential, educational, and retail complexes on Roosevelt Island and the Drama Facility at the Usdan Center for the Arts on Long Island.
While the renovation and restoration of 19th century townhouses currently predominate among our projects, Ben has been involved with numerous new homes stretching from Tennessee and Virginia to Massachusetts, and typologies as diverse as schools, retail environments, offices, and galleries. Having completed passive solar townhouse rehabs, a passive solar indoor pool and a new passive solar residence in the 1970s and early 1980s, environmentally and socially responsible design has been a fundamental value since the firm's birth. Ben's architecture has been honored by the American Institute of Architects and the New York Landmarks Conservancy.
As volunteers, Ben and Susan Baxt, also an architect, have provided a campus master plan for a rural orphanage in Haiti and consultation for a new high school campus in Ethiopia as well as numerous pro bono projects in Brooklyn. Ben has been active in the leadership of Brooklyn Community Housing and Services (BCHS), Central Synagogue, and the Cobble Hill Association.
As a teenager growing up in Texas, architecture was Ben’s dream; he hopes to continue practicing “as long as I can hold a pencil.” He received the Alpha Rho Chi Medal from the University of Michigan’s College of Architecture and Design, where he and Susan received their architectural degrees in 1967. Five years in Michigan did not affect his "terrible Texas drawl." Nevertheless, he and Susan were married a week after graduation.
