John McAslan + Partners is known worldwide for its architecture and infrastructure contributions, specifically to major transit hubs—both London’s Kings Cross and Sydney’s Central Station being crowning achievements. New York Governor Kathy Hochul and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) have heralded the redesign of Penn Station from the architecture and engineering team led by John McAslan + Partners, FXCollaborative, and WSP as the preferred option for the upgrade of the aging train station. On the heels of this appointment John McAslan + Partners—which operates offices in London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Sydney—said it will be opening an office in New York City.
John McAslan + Partners head of transport, Colin Bennie, said the New York studio will work on the Penn Station job in addition to other projects.
![portrait of John McAslan](jpg/john-mcaslan-portrait_hires%c2%a9rob-clayton.jpg)
“Our New York studio will be the base for exploring further opportunities in the U.S., with a focus on new builds and retrofits in our key sectors of transport infrastructure, culture and education,” Bennie added.
John McAslan + Partners was founded in 1993, while the bulk of its portfolio comprises projects outside of the U.S., the firm previously worked on a project to update a Frank Lloyd Wright–designed building at Florida Southern College. The studio has been recognized globally for its restoration work. It stated in a description that it has “been widely recognized for turning ‘old into new.’” It is able to apply mindful preservation tactics to massive infrastructure projects, a principle that surely applies to the work required to upgrade Penn Station.
![Imran Patel Portrait](jpg/imran-patel-portrait_hires%c2%a9rob-clayton.jpg)
The firm’s New York presence will be based out of an office in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District in a Soho House–operated Soho Works at 875 Washington Street. The staff will be led by associate director Imran Patel, who said in a statement the firm is “delighted to bring to fruition our long-term ambition to be present in the United States and to be working on a major transport infrastructure project in New York.”