Jennifer Ly and James Leng: “Practicing Softly”

Join Jennifer Ly and James Leng, principals of the San Francisco-based architectural practice Figure and visiting faculty at CCA Architecture, for their lecture “Practicing Softly.” This talk explores Figure’s thoughtful approach to architecture, characterized by sensitivity to context, material, and human experience. Through their work, James and Jennifer reflect on how design can quietly and meaningfully engage with the complexities of contemporary life, offering insights into the ethos and processes that shape their practice.

Jennifer Ly, RA, is a founding partner of Figure and a licensed architect in California. She holds a Master of Architecture from Harvard GSD and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from UC Berkeley. Ly has received numerous design honors, including the Rotch Traveling Scholarship, Burnham Prize, Harvard Faculty Design Award, and Alpha Rho Chi Medal, with her work published in Log, Cornell Journal of Architecture, and The Architectural Review. Before founding Figure, she contributed to high-profile projects at Foster + Partners, Adjaye Associates, and SHoP Architects, including Apple Park, The Studio Museum in Harlem, and Google Charleston East.

James Leng, RA, is a founding partner of Figure, a San Francisco-based architecture practice, and a lecturer at UC Berkeley’s Department of Architecture. He has been recognized with numerous awards, including a Graham Foundation Grant, the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise, the SOM Foundation Research Prize, and the James Templeton Kelley Prize for best graduate thesis. Previously an artist fellow at MacDowell and the Harry der Boghosian Teaching Fellow at Syracuse University, Leng has worked with renowned international firms such as Michael Maltzan Architecture, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, and Diller Scofidio + Renfro. He holds a Master of Architecture from Harvard GSD and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from UC Berkeley.

Host or Publisher California College of the Arts