People Nikolas Dando-Haenisch

Principal

Nikolas plays an instrumental role in Grimshaw’s large-scale North American projects, delivering complex works within infrastructure settings, dense urban cores and campuses across a range of sectors. He has extensive experience in designing transformational civic spaces, as well as managing them to realization through collaboration with city agencies, community groups, and stakeholders.

Central to the growth of Grimshaw's planning and transportation portfolio across the country, Nikolas was the design lead for the recently completed Newark Liberty International Airport's new Terminal A →, the upcoming LAX Airport Metro Connector Transit Station →, which will link the airport with the city's mass transit system, and the highly-awarded Los Angeles Union Station Master Plan →, which aims to revitalize the site into a vibrant, mixed-use destination. This led to his role in guiding the concept development for the Washington, D.C. Union Station Expansion Plan →, which includes extensive new rail, intermodal connections, and passenger infrastructure.

Most recently, Nikolas directs the Grimshaw design team in the development of the New York Penn Station Expansion Plan, the guidelines for the Ayalon Highways Transport Hubs, and the concepts for the Be’er Sheva North Station. Previously, he supervised the design and delivery of both the Fordham Plaza transit interchange in the Bronx and the Fulton Center → subway complex in Lower Manhattan. This experience became the basis for expanding into sustainable and transit-oriented development, such as the Via Verde → affordable housing complex.

Nikolas’ portfolio extends into the higher education sector, including design management for the programming of the University of Florida Wertheim Laboratory for Engineering Excellence a full suite of projects at New York University, comprised of the 2031 Strategic Master Plan, University Towers Landmarks Application, and the Concept Design and Feasibility Analysis of the mixed-academic use Mercer Building, as well as the coordination and technical detailing for the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Nikolas earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago and his Master of Architecture from Columbia University. He continued to be involved in academia as a lecturer at the Yale University School of Architecture. He is a Registered Architect in the State of New York and a LEED Accredited Professional.