Joshua Ramus

Joshua Ramus serves as the John Portman Visiting Critic in Architecture at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design and is the founding principal of REX, an internationally acclaimed New York-based architecture firm. His work challenges conventional building paradigms through functionally specific designs that empower users and communities, resulting in landmark projects like the Perelman Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center and the Seattle Central Library.

He holds a Master of Architecture from Harvard University (inaugural Araldo Cossutta Fellowship and SOM Fellowship) and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, magna cum laude with distinction, from Yale University.

Ramus's practice focuses on advancing architectural typologies for cultural institutions and urban environments, emphasizing user agency, spatial flexibility, and community impact. His projects redefine aesthetic experiences through innovative structural solutions in performing arts venues, mixed-use developments, and adaptive reuse projects, pushing boundaries in theater architecture and sustainable urban design.

His accolades include the Marcus Prize (first American recipient), STREB Action Maverick Award, multiple American Institute of Architects National Honor Awards, and Time magazine's Building of the Year. Additional distinctions span the American Library Association National Building Award, Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Award of Excellence, Fast Company's World's 50 Most Innovative Companies (No. 25, 2024), and features in Architectural Digest's AD100.

• Marcus Prize (first American recipient)
• STREB Action Maverick Award
• Two American Institute of Architects National Honor Awards
• U.S. Institute for Theatre Technology National Honor Award
• American Library Association National Building Award
• Time magazine Building of the Year
• International Design Awards Building of the Year
• Two American Council of Engineering Companies National Gold Awards
• Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Award of Excellence
• Three Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize Outstanding Project Awards
• Architectural Digest AD100 listing
• Fast Company World’s 10 Most Innovative Companies in Architecture (three times)
• Fast Company World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies (No. 25, 2024)
• Engineering News-Record Top 25 Newsmaker (2024)
• HuffPost 5 Greatest Architects Under 50
• Wallpaper* World’s Most Influential Young Architects
• Fast Company 20 Most Influential Players in Design
• ICON magazine 20 Essential Young Architects
• Esquire Best & Brightest

Ramus actively contributes to architectural education as a visiting critic at Harvard and has held professorships at Yale, Rice, Columbia, MIT, and other institutions. While his teaching influences emerging architects globally, no formal student advisees or research grants are documented in available sources. His firm REX operates as his primary creative laboratory, executing projects that merge theoretical exploration with built innovation across five continents.

He leads REX as its founding principal—a New York City-based studio responsible for globally recognized projects including the Perelman Performing Arts Center, Lindemann Performing Arts Center at Brown University, and Seattle Central Library. The firm's work spans cultural institutions, mixed-use skyscrapers, and urban redevelopment, with current projects in Australia, South Korea, and Brooklyn's Domino Sugar Factory site.