James Leng, RA, is a founding partner of Figure, and a lecturer at University of California, Berkeley’s Department of Architecture. Previously, Leng was the Harry der Boghosian Teaching Fellow at Syracuse University, and has received various accolades such as the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise for immigrant contribution to the arts, the SOM Foundation Research Prize for independent research, and the James Templeton Kelley Prize for best graduate thesis.
Leng has professional experience from numerous international practices including: Michael Maltzan Architecture, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Office for Metropolitan Architecture, UNStudio, and Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Leng holds his master’s degree in architecture from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and his bachelor's of arts in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley.
Jennifer Ly, RA, is a founding partner of Figure, and a licensed architect in California. She holds her master’s in architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design and bachelor’s of art in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley. She is the recipient of several design honors including the Rotch Travelling Scholarship, Burnham Prize, Harvard’s Department of Architecture Faculty Design Award, and the Alpha Rho Chi Medal. Her work has been published in journals including Log, Cornell Journal of Architecture, and The Architectural Review.
Prior to establishing Figure, Ly worked on high-profile projects at Foster + Partners (Apple Park and California High-Speed Rail Vision Plan), Adjaye Associates (The Studio Museum in Harlem, and the McCarter Switching Station), and SHoP Architects (Google Charleston East).
Current Team: Yasmine Kahsai, Vincent Yee Foo Lai, Guillermo Mendoza, Despoina Papadopoulou, and Manon Eylenbosch
Former Team: Douglas Lee, Grant Fisher, Maple Lin, John Sita, Annie Xuan, Reishan McIntosh, Oliver Moldow, Tiger Fu, Bryan Huang, Sonja Cheng