Architect
Award-winning architect and designer Nicole Hollant-Denis has a reputation for creating distinctive living and environmental spaces. The founder and president of Aaris Design Architects, PLLC in New York City, Nicole’s 25+ year career in architecture has ranged from developing the historic African Burial Ground National Memorial and designing Harlem’s first indoor plant-wall of fresh greenery for Columbia University to renovating Met Life’s Fifth Avenue offices and building a permanent hurricane and earthquake safe house community in Haiti. Considered one of America’s most notable African American women architects, Nicole, a licensed architect, holds a Master in Design Studies (MDes) from Harvard University and a Bachelor Degree of Architecture from Cornell University. Some of her most high-profile projects include the Port Authority Beautification project, which features six miles of hardscape and landscaping décor along the Air Train route of the Van Wyke Expressway leading to JFK Airport. In 2004, the Aaris team, won the commission for the historical African Burial Ground Memorial in Lower Manhattan. The unique memorial design concepts, originated in Hollant-Denis’s thesis at Cornell University, explores Afrocentric forms in architecture using organic elements like earth, air and water. More recently, Aaris Design Architects, PLLC is working as Associate Architect of the Columbia Business School’s $500 million contract for Columbia University’s Manhattanville, a 17acre campus expansion. Aaris joins a team lead by internationally renowned firms, DS+R the design architects and executive architects FXCollaborative. Mrs. Hollant-Denis lives with her husband and two daughters in New York.
