{{Short description|American architect (born 1944)}}{{Infobox person | name = Stephen Alexander Lesser | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1944|7|15}} | birth_place = Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. | education = {{plainlist| * Columbia University (BA) * Harvard Graduate School of Design (MArch) }} | occupation = {{hlist|Architect|educator}} | years_active = 1971–present | known_for = Faneuil Hall Marketplace | spouse = Celia | children = 3 | awards = {{plainlist| * AIA Long Island Chapter Awards: Residential (1993), Institutional (1986), Young Firm (1993) * ''Architectural Record'' – Record House; Record Interiors * Beauxarch IV – Commercial Project (1986) }} | website = {{URL|http://www.stephenalesserarchitect.com/}} }} '''Stephen Alexander Lesser''' (born July 15, 1944) is an American architect, in practice in East Hampton, New York, specializing in modern residential and commercial buildings in the school of Le Corbusier. He is perhaps best known for his work on Faneuil Hall Marketplace<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com/ |title=Home |website=faneuilhallmarketplace.com}}</ref> project in downtown Boston, MA.
==Early life and education==
Lesser was born in Bethesda, Maryland, the son of Virginia Hirst Lesser, a painter and teacher of art and piano, and Dr. Alexander Lesser, a Hofstra University professor of anthropology. He was raised in Manhasset, New York and graduated from Manhasset High School, where he was editor-in-chief of the literary magazine and a member of the National Honor Society. He graduated from Columbia University in 1966 with a B.A. in Social Sciences. He received a Master of Architecture from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University in 1972.
== Career == Beginning in 1971, Lesser worked at several Boston firms, including The Architects Collaborative (TAC),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.greatbuildings.com/architects/TAC.html|title = TAC - Great Buildings Online}}</ref> and ''Perry Dean and Partners'' before joining Benjamin C. Thompson and Associates.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.answers.com/topic/benjamin-thompson-1|title=Answers - the Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions|website=Answers.com}}</ref> There, he worked for two years on the Faneuil Hall Marketplace project.
In 1975, Lesser moved his practice to New York. He joined Richard Meier Associates where he honed his Corbusian style in residential and commercial buildings. He later joined ''Rivkin/Weisman, PC'' where he worked his way up to director. In 1986, he formed ''Nagel and Lesser, Architects'' moving to East Hampton. The practice included a broad range of residential, commercial, and industrial projects. Since 1994, he has been a sole practitioner.
===Teaching=== Appointments: Columbia, guest lecturer in Architecture and Planning (1992–94) New York Institute of Technology (1994-2004)
Guest Critic: Yale, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, NYIT, Columbia, Roger Williams University
===Licenses=== Certified: National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, 1975
Registered: Massachusetts (1975), New York, (1981), and New Jersey (1993)
Member: AIA/National, State and AIA Peconic Chapter
==Publications==
Architectural Review "Credit DuNord Offices" November 1982, pp 46–7
Yale Perspecta<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.architecture.yale.edu/drupal/publications/perspecta |title=Perspecta | YSOA | Yale School of Architecture |access-date=August 17, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515070621/http://www.architecture.yale.edu/drupal/publications/perspecta |archive-date=May 15, 2012 }}</ref>
Architectural Record "The Dubai Bank" January 1983, pp 85–91
Progressive Architecture "Bavarian Emissary" September 1984, 100-105
The New York Times "From Blueprint to Imprint" November 21, 1993<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/21/nyregion/from-blueprint-to-imprint-winners-of-architectural-awards.html?scp=5&sq=%22Stephen%20Lesser%22&st=cse|title = From Blueprint to Imprint: Winners of Architectural Awards|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 21 November 1993|last1 = Kampel|first1 = Stewart}}</ref>
Newsday "A Carriage Trade" October 16, 1994, pp 26–27
==Awards==
''American Institute of Architecture/Long Island Chapter'': Residential,(Shyer House 1993) Institutional (Camp Blue Bay 1986) and Young Firm (1993)
''Architectural Record'': Record House and Record Interiors
''Beauxarch IV'': Commercial Project (Viking Lines, 1986)
==Personal==
Lesser lives in East Hampton with his wife, Celia, who is an attorney. They have three children: Jonathan (born '95), Emma (born '93), and Alexandra (born '88). Jon attends the Ross School in East Hampton along with his sister Emma. Alexandra graduated Hampshire College in 2010.
==References== <references/>
==External links== *[http://www.stephenalesserarchitect.com/stephen-alexander-lesser-profile.shtml Stephen Alexander Lesser, Architect] *[http://www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com/ Fanueil Hall Marketplace] *[http://www.greatbuildings.com/architects/TAC.html TAC] *[http://www.answers.com/topic/benjamin-thompson-1 Benjamin Thompson] *[http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/ Harvard Graduate School of Design] *[http://architect.architecture.sk/le-corbusier-architect/le-corbusier-architect.php Le Corbusier] *[https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/21/nyregion/from-blueprint-to-imprint-winners-of-architectural-awards.html?scp=5&sq=%22Stephen%20Lesser%22&st=cse The New York Times]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lesser, Stephen}} Category:1944 births Category:20th-century American architects Category:Columbia College, Columbia University alumni Category:Living people Category:People from Bethesda, Maryland Category:Architects from Maryland Category:People from Manhasset, New York Category:Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni Category:People from East Hampton (town), New York Category:Manhasset High School alumni Category:21st-century American architects Category:New York Institute of Technology faculty