About Michael Moran Photography
Michael Moran is an architectural photographer in New York.
I was born in California but spent most of my childhood overseas, in Burma, Turkey, Colombia and Pakistan. My father was an engineering geologist who worked on hydroelectric dams. We eventually returned to California, where I studied biology and sculpture at the College of Creative Studies at UC Santa Barbara.
My first job out of college was working on the design and fabrication of a diorama at the Museum of Natural History in Santa Barbara, where I developed a fascination with the analysis and presentation of information. I decided to study exhibition design but applied to graduate programs in architecture as well, thinking that an architectural education would provide a strong design foundation. I received a MArch from UCLA in 1982.
While in graduate school I worked part time in the studio of Frank Gehry, and I continued working there full time after I graduated. While in Gehry’s studio I was asked, with no prior experience, to photograph the models I was making. I discovered an aptitude and a joy in this work and quickly taught myself photography. With Gehry’s encouragement, I began to photograph buildings in construction, then the completed buildings. I bought a large format camera and was soon taking photographs that were published in the architectural press worldwide, even as I continued (with diminishing enthusiasm) to work as an architect.
In 1985 I moved to New York City to begin a full-time practice in architectural photography. I’ve been fortunate to work with many talented architects, designers, and editors. My relationship with Toshio Nakamora of A+U began with his publication of my photographs of Gehry’s work. We collaborated on books on New York architecture of the 20th Century and Philip Johnson’s Glass House. I photographed the work of Roberto Burle Marx for an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, and have published books on the work of Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, John Johansen, and Rafael Moneo.
LOCATION: New York
LEARN MORE: moranstudio.com
Located on a scenic 13-acre lot that straddles the boundary between a dense forest and an open field, the House Between Forest and Field by nArchitects offers a unique blend of architectural styles and natural interactions.
To integrate the indoor and outdoor spaces of a Miami Beach tropical ocean front apartment residence in an elegant and rigorously designed curvilinear building by Renzo Piano.
The design of this weekend family retreat on Shelter Island, NY responds to the location’s wistful beauty. Mature trees, hedgerows and rolling lawns extend to a narrow sandy beach and the water beyond.
Chalet is a renovated, re-envisioned ski house located slope side at a mountain resort in Vermont. The existing 1960’s home, unoccupied and mold-riddled, was demolished down to the foundation and first floor framing.
At the end of the 19th Century a private beach community was established from over 100 acres of coastal farmland. It was here that a family with a passion for art decided to build a home for their family
For the client, a South African high-tech software entrepreneur and Astronaut (the second civilian to go to outerspace with the Russian Cosmonauts), create a low-tech architectural solution for Think Tank research and conference space
Terrapin House is a single-family private residence for a large extended family located in Woodstock, Vermont. The project straddles the edge of a forest and open mountain meadow on a steep rock band that delineates the two landscape features.
A modest single story L-shaped cottage on a bay side site in Sag Harbor was converted into a single two-story building volume.
