KPF is pleased to announce that Marissa Sweig Trigger AIA LEED AP has joined the firm as a Director, stepping into a leadership role to spearhead KPF’s institutional pursuits and projects. The move comes as KPF Principal Jill Lerner FAIA, who built the firm’s institutional practice and stewarded it for more than three decades, transitions to an emeritus advisory role.
Marissa joins KPF during a period of significant momentum. The firm’s institutional portfolio spans active projects in design and construction across the country and abroad, reflecting KPF’s sustained commitment to this sector. In New York City, Columbia University’s Vagelos Innovation Laboratories, the city’s first purpose-built, all-electric academic research lab building, is on track for completion this fall, and the transformation of the Tisch Cancer Hospital at Mt. Sinai is well underway. The Ann McIlrath Drake Executive Center, the new home for the Kellogg School of Management’s executive education programs at Northwestern University, and the University of Michigan Center for Innovation, an academic hub for research and graduate education in robotics, urban technology, and entrepreneurship in Detroit, are both slated for completion in 2027. In the United Kingdom, work has begun at Bush House South West Wing, a component of KPF’s strategic planning project for King’s College London.
“KPF’s institutional practice over the past 30 years has included business schools, science buildings, and dorms, among other facilities. We are especially proud of the quality of the buildings we’ve created, which are distinguished by their innovative planning, high level of architectural craft, and ability to reinforce a sense of community,” said James von Klemperer FAIA, KPF President. “Over the past three decades, Jill Lerner has led our work in this area with inspired purpose. We thank her as she shifts to an emeritus role and are now super excited to bring Marissa on board to move us ahead in this sector with vigor and vision.”
“KPF is a thriving global practice with a vibrant institutional sector built over the last 30 years by the hard work of Jill Lerner and many others within the firm,” said Forth Bagley AIA, KPF Principal. “With the new leadership of Marissa we are building on this success and setting KPF up for a strong future within this market.”
Over her 22 years at Ennead, Marissa developed long-standing institutional relationships while working on transformational projects with NYU Langone Health; major planning and redevelopment initiatives for Northwell Health; and academic, research, cultural, and museum projects for institutions across the country, including the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum of Rowan University, the new Milwaukee Public Museum, and the Future Museum of Nature & Culture. Her approach combines complex institutional planning and programming with strategic thinking to translate an institution’s mission and long-term goals into buildings and campuses. She has worked with multidisciplinary teams to deliver high-quality, design-driven projects while advancing ambitious sustainability goals, including LEED, WELL, and Net-Zero targets. Marissa holds a Master of Architecture II from Yale University and a Bachelor of Architecture from Tulane University.
“What drew me to KPF is the combination of design excellence and ambition with the depth and scale of a global practice,” said Marissa Sweig Trigger AIA LEED AP, KPF Director. “I look forward to working with this incredible team as we continue to build on the strong institutional practice that Jill and so many others have established here. I am excited to bring KPF’s design creativity; attention to craft, context, and performance; and broad expertise to institutions as they think strategically about their future.”
During her tenure at KPF, Jill helped establish and define the firm’s portfolio of academic, research, and healthcare buildings, leveraging her expertise and program-driven approach together with KPF’s rigorous pursuit of design excellence. Jill has worked with many of the world’s most renowned academic institutions including the University of Pennsylvania, New York University, Columbia University, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou). Jill has also led KPF’s infrastructural and civic projects, engaging city, state, and federal agencies on projects for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Amtrak, and the New York City Housing Authority.
The former president of AIA’s New York Chapter, Jill has been intently focused on civic issues in New York city where she has been an active leader on public projects and a champion of sustainable architectural practice and policy. She is a former Board Member of Urban Green and currently serves on the board of the Regional Plan Association; the New York Building Congress; and the Municipal Art Society, where she is Co-Chair. In her new capacity at KPF, Jill will remain a resource and advisor to the firm moving forward.
“It is an extraordinary opportunity for the firm to be able to bring on Marissa, someone with over 20 years of experience in the sector who can continue to grow and steward our practice,” said Jill Lerner FAIA, KPF Principal Emeritus. “Marissa has the enthusiasm, expertise, and leadership to continue to advance the work of designing impactful academic, research, and health-care projects worldwide.”
