News
Lipsey Architecture Center Buffalo holds groundbreaking today for spectacular new home on the Richardson Olmsted Campus
Buffalo, NY, October 23, 2025. The Lipsey Architecture Center Buffalo (LACB), a dedicated space for the celebration and exploration of greater-Buffalo, New York’s rich architectural legacy, will break ground for its new home on the Richardson Olmsted Campus today, Thursday, October 23, starting at 10 a.m.
Currently located in the Campus’s Towers building, the LACB will move to an 11,000 sq. ft. structure that includes the adaptive reuse of a ca. 1870s kitchen building connected to an addition designed by internationally recognized, Boston-based Höweler + Yoon Architecture.
The addition will feature a teardrop-shaped structure clad in a curving wall of 18-foot-high scalloped glass panels designed to accentuate the mass of the historic Medina sandstone structure it will adjoin. Inside, the LACB’s new home will include ten distinct exhibit areas that explore and explain the grandeur of Buffalo’s historic architecture, its architects, and their patrons. Local firms engaged in the project include Hadley Exhibits, Buffalo Construction Consultants, Cannon Design, and Fisher Associates, among others. Speaking at today’s groundbreaking ceremony will be Governor Hochul’s WNY Regional Director Bonnie Lockwood; New York State Senator April Baskin; Visit Buffalo CEO Patrick Kaler; and LACB board members including Board Chair Judi Lipsey.
“LACB’s mission is to inform and excite visitors with a unique experience that encourages greater exploration of our region’s architectural jewels,” says Lipsey. “Upon its completion, our new home will be a spectacular addition to Buffalo’s ‘Cultural Corridor,’ standing proudly alongside our neighbors the Buffalo History Museum, the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, and the Burchfield-Penney Art Center.”
LACB Executive Director Paris F. Roselli adds, “The buildings and grounds of the Richardson Olmsted Campus were designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1986. And now, almost forty years later, we’re investing in both the Campus and the community by not only saving and reusing another of its historic structures, but also adding to it with an architectural showpiece that everyone will want to see. By highlighting the architectural treasures we’ve inherited from past generations, the LACB will serve as a powerful driver for cultural tourism and the associated economic benefits of bringing visitors to Western New York from all over the world.”
The non-profit LACB was founded in 2007 and initially supported by a lead gift from the late Stanford Lipsey, former publisher and president of The Buffalo News, and his wife, Judi, along with financial support from private donors, foundations, and private and public grants.
Judi Lipsey reflects on her late husband’s appreciation for Buffalo’s wealth of historically significant architecture, and his passion for preserving and repurposing them. “My excitement over the LACB’s new home on the Richardson Olmsted Campus is even greater when I think about how proud Stan would have been to be here today to witness this next step in seeing his dream come to life.”
Completion of the new Lipsey Architecture Center Buffalo is anticipated for spring 2027.
View pictures from the groundbreaking event on the New Building page.
Lipsey Architecture Center Buffalo Announces Major Expansion on the Richardson Olmsted Campus
Buffalo, NY, March 19, 2025. The Lipsey Architecture Center Buffalo (LACB), a dedicated space for the celebration and exploration of greater-Buffalo, New York’s rich architectural legacy, announced today that it will expand into a new 11,000 sq. ft. facility on the Richardson Olmsted Campus.
The National Historic Landmark buildings and grounds of the Richardson Olmsted Campus were designed by noted architect Henry Hobson Richardson, and the prominent landscape architect of the day, Frederick Law Olmsted.
Currently located in the Campus’s Towers building, the LACB will move to a structure that includes the adaptive reuse of a ca. 1875 kitchen building with a new addition designed by the internationally recognized firm, Boston-based Höweler + Yoon Architecture.
“The LACB’s new home not only involves saving and reusing another historic structure on the Campus, but, more importantly, represents an investment in the community by expanding the scope of the Center’s mission to highlight one of the greatest collections of period architecture in the country. New interactive exhibits will also feature aspects of our city’s planning, building, and preservation efforts,” said LACB’s Executive Director Paris F. Roselli.
Roselli continued, “By showcasing the many architectural treasures we’ve inherited from past generations, the LACB will serve as a powerful driver for cultural tourism and the associated economic benefits by bringing visitors to Western New York from all over the world. It will feel very much at one with other recent additions to Buffalo’s Museum District.”
According to H+Y founding principal Eric Höweler, “The curving glass face of the new LACB pavilion will create a ‘mirage-like’ effect with a unique system of 18’ tall scalloped glass panels that are designed to accentuate Richardson’s historic masonry structure.”
The LACB will work with many local firms on the project, including Hadley Exhibits, Buffalo Construction Consultants, Cannon Design, Fisher Associates, R.E. Kelly, J.A. Gulick Window Company and Weaver Metal & Roofing, among others.
The non-profit LACB was founded in 2007 and initially supported by a lead gift from the late Stanford Lipsey, former publisher and president of The Buffalo News, and his wife, Judi, chair of the LACB board of directors, along with financial support from private donors, foundations, and grants from private and public sources.
Judi Lipsey reflects on her late husband’s appreciation for Buffalo’s wealth of historically significant architecture, and his passion for preserving and repurposing them. “My excitement over the LACB’s new home on the Richardson Olmsted Campus is even greater when I think about how proud Stan would have been to see his dream come to life.”
A date for groundbreaking for the new Lipsey Architecture Center Buffalo will be announced this spring.
Clinton E. Brown, FAIA and Ramona Pando Whitaker—Olmsted’s Elmwood
Clinton E. Brown, FAIA, in partnership with the Lipsey Architecture Center Buffalo, received a prestigious Furthermore Grant in support of the publication of his latest work, ‘Olmsted’s Elmwood: The Rise, Decline and Renewal of Buffalo’s Parkway Neighborhood, A Model for America’s Cities’.
Read More
The fascinating story of the historic Elmwood District is told for the first time, from the arrival on the Niagara Frontier of Joseph Ellicott, through the role played by Frederick Law Olmsted’s parks and parkways, and into the decline and renewal during the modern era. This lushly illustrated book educates and enlightens, telling the stories of the people who gave Elmwood its enduring character, transforming it from dense forest into one of America’s top ten neighborhoods. With a preface by Anthony Bannon.
Find Olmsted’s Elmwood at your local bookshop, or online here.
A QUANTIFIABLE IMPACT
We are thrilled to announce the release of “Everyone’s Heritage: The Impact of Historic Preservation in Buffalo”!
This report is the first of its kind to quantify the economic and social impacts of historic preservation in Buffalo, and was produced by PlaceEconomics, a firm of world-renowned economists.
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