Metropolitan United Studio, PLLC (MUS) was founded in New York City under the creative vision of Jason Kim and Ethan Lu after years of practice with environmentally responsible design firms.
Ethan Lu
IIDA AIA NCIDQ IDEC LEED AP BD+C
Principal
Ethan is a tenured Assistant Professor of Interior Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology/SUNY and a Principal at Metropolitan United Studio, PLLC. He was with FXFOWLE Architects from 2001-03, and with CookFox Architects from 2003-06. He served as a designer for some of CookFox’s signature projects, including the 2.1 million square-foot office building at One Bryant Park (aka Bank of America Tower).
Previous professional work at FXFOWLE included master planning study for the Doris Duke Foundation, Long Island City’s Midtown East Queens development, and sustainable design guidelines for the Battery Park City Authority. While at FXFOWLE, he participated in the creation of sustainable design guidelines for New York City Transit’s 2nd Avenue Subway and the No.7 Subway extension to the West Side, under the direction of the Design for the Environment (DfE) team. Before joining FXFOWLE, he interned at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in 1998, where he worked on 5X Square and Random House’s Headquarter project in NYC.
Ethan has taught courses at several universities, including Columbia University, Parsons School of Design, New York Institute of Technology, New York School of Interior Design, and the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). He served as a Program Director & Coordinator at the New York School of Interior Design from 2010-18.
Ethan received his Master in Architecture from Harvard University in the Advanced Placement curriculum; his Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University, where he was awarded the Honor Award for Excellence and the Lucille Smyser Lowenfish Memorial Prize. He also received his Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Michigan, where he was awarded the Burton L. Kampner Memorial Award for best graduating design project as voted by faculty.
He is a Registered Architect in NY and NJ; NCIDQ Certified Interior Designer; and LEED Accredited Professional.
Jason K. Kim
AIA LEED AP
Principal
Jason has over 20 years of unique and varied sets of professional skills and experiences in architecture, planning, real estate development, real estate finance, project management, and construction. He possesses an exceptional understanding of total build-out design and the construction process in local practice and has extensive knowledge and skills in real estate development, and finance. Since starting as the Principal of Metropolitan United Studio, Jason has met every challenge presented to him and to the company; thus, exceeding the client’s expectations in the process. Jason has overseen numerous large and complex commercial and mixed-use development projects, from concept to finance and to construction, including the 200,000 SF mixed-use residential development of One Bates Street in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Prior to Metropolitan United Studio, he was with FXFOWLE Architects from 2000-2006 with a background in architecture and urban design. He served as a project architect or manager for several of the firm’s major international projects including the Office Park Business Bay in Dubai, U.A.E., Dongbu Insurance Building in Seoul, Korea, and the International Center for Yi He Real Estate Development Company in Beijing, China. He was a key member of the design team for The Helena, a recently completed 600,000 square foot residential tower in Midtown Manhattan, as well as the Mosaic, a mixed-use complex under construction in Manhattan. He was the Project Architect for Fifth on the Park, a 365,000 SF mixed-use residential tower and future home of the 2,000- seat sanctuary for the Bethel Gospel Assembly.
Before joining FXFOWLE, Jason worked for six years at a number of firms in Korea including Han & Partners Architects, Suhhan Architects & Engineers Inc, and Samsung Constructions & Engineers Ltd. At Samsung Constructions & Engineering he was responsible for the construction field management of the Jongro Tower designed by Rafael Vinoly Architects.
Jason has served as a guest critic at the New York Institute of Technology, Parsons School of Design, New York School of Interior Design, and Columbia University. In 2001, he was introduced in the People section of “The Saegae Times”, one of Korea’s major national newspapers.
Jason received his Master of Architecture Degree and Master of Science in Real Estate Development Degree from Columbia University. While at Columbia, he participated in the Hell’s Kitchen South: Developing Strategies exhibition and the 7th International Architecture Biennale in Venice featuring the U.S. pavilion with Hani Rashid. He earned his Bachelor Science in Architecture from Hanyang University in Seoul, Korea.
He is a Registered Architect in NY, NJ and a LEED Accredited Professional.