Sam Friedlander

Project Designer

Sam joined The Brooklyn Studio in the Spring of 2025. He earned his Bachelor of Architecture from Carnegie Mellon University in 2015, where he also worked as one of the school's woodshop monitors. During that time, he also studied abroad at DIS in Copenhagen, where he immersed himself in Danish Design and Urban Planning. He is also an Alumni of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship’s Nine Month Comprehensive Program, where he honed his craft of furniture making.

Prior to joining The Brooklyn Studio, Sam ran his own furniture design company, Friedlander Furniture from 2018. Before that Sam worked as a Staff I Designer at Rothschild Doyno Collaborative in Pittsburgh from 2015 to 2017, where he worked on residential, multi-family, institutional, and historic adaptive reuse projects. He also worked as an intern at Urban Power in Copenhagen in the summer of 2014, where he worked on an adaptive reuse proposal that was featured at the Venice Biennale in 2016.

Outside the Studio, Sam designs furniture, goes for hikes, and enjoys spending time with his kid.

The Proust Questionnaire

Taking inspiration from a popular nineteenth-century parlor game, we sat down with each member of our team and asked them a few questions about their inspirations and aspirations.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Reading a book in a cozy space looking out towards nature or going on a day hike.

What is your greatest fear?

Not being able to express myself through designing or making.

What is your greatest extravagance?

Extra pairs of Made In USA New Balances. These are essential when standing all day.

What talent would you most like to have?

Producing music as a hobby, I gave up piano too soon as a kid.

What is your favorite color?

Green.

What is your favorite virtue?

Collaboration.

Which living architect or designer do you most admire?

Glen Murcott, Roy McMakin, Jan Gehl, Tom Kundig, and Peter Barber.

Which dead architect or designer do you most admire?

Hans Wagner, Albert Frey, and Jorn Utzon.

What is the trait that you most appreciate in a building?

Hygge.

What is your favorite type of project to work on?

Any project with lots of built- in cabinetry used architecturally.

Who is your favorite author?

Hayao Miyazaki.

Who is your hero of fiction?

Nausicca.

Who is your favorite artist?

Thomas Cole, Piet Parra, Claus Oldenberg, and Will Barnett.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?

FDR and Jane Jacobs.

What is your most treasured possession?

My pencil case collection.

Where would you like to live?

Where I live now Park Slope, but when I want to get away: Maine, Tokyo, Melbourne, and Copenhagen.

What quality do you most admire in others?

Honesty.

Stranded on a desert island, you have two books in your possession. What are they?

Life Between Buildings and a survival guide book!