Stefan Al is an architect, urban designer, educator, researcher, and founder of Stefan Al Architects. He is a licensed architect in New York and The Netherlands and a LEED accredited professional.

Stefan has dedicated his career to designing and researching sustainable, resilient and built environments that improve the quality of life for everyone. His latest research advocates for designing more resilient cities in the face of climate change, most notably in his book Adapting Cities to Sea Level Rise: Green and Gray Strategies. His co-authored book, Beyond Mobility: Planning Cities for People and Places, won the 2019 National Urban Design Award. His book, The Strip: Las Vegas and the Architecture of the American Dream, was a Wall Street Journal “best book to read.” He is acclaimed for his work on Asian urbanism with four books published including, Villages in the City, which was selected by Architectural Record as “one of the best” books on informal urbanism. His recently published book, Supertall (W. W. Norton, 2022), promotes new sustainable directions for skyscrapers and compact cities. Besides his academic publications, his work has been featured in museum and biennale exhibits and media outlets including The Guardian, The Times, and NPR.

Early in his career as a practicing architect, Stefan worked on the competition and commission for the 2000-feet tall Canton Tower, briefly the world’s tallest tower. Following its construction, as a Senior Associate Principal at KPF, he contributed to the design of mixed-use master plans and high-rise towers across Asia and the US. Currently, he works with his private practice on sustainable design projects. In addition to his design work, he has served in various capacities to major institutions, such as the World Heritage Center of UNESCO, working on the preservation of world heritage in Latin America, the Hong Kong government, consulting on the development of the city’s harbor and external lighting guidelines, the Chinese government, advising on new urban design guidelines, and to the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, serving as an expert on compact city design, and the Urban Green Council.