Studio Hillier

Who We Are

Studio Hillier LLC is an interdisciplinary design firm in Princeton New Jersey, co-founded in 2011 by Partners Barbara A. Hillier, AIA and J. Robert Hillier, FAIA, PP. Together for more than thirty years, we form the backbone of a vibrant, growing, full service design studio that has the depth of experience and design talent to take on any challenge.

We work collaboratively with experts in the region and elsewhere who bring excellence and robust knowledge of the latest building technologies, prefabrication systems, environmental systems and preservation of historic structures. Our success is reflected in the number of repeat clients who recognize our rigorous standards of performance in meeting occupancy dates, managing the budget and delivering high quality professional services. With over three hundred design awards, our reputation for excellence is evidence of our commitment to our clients, to place, sustainability and the built environment.

Over the last two decades, a representation of completed project types includes hospitals, international corporate headquarters, public and private libraries, a U.S. government courthouse, an urban convention center, independent day and boarding schools, arts centers / museums, research buildings and multi-family residential. Our work is a mosaic of places, cultures, customs and economies in locations that are a gradient from bucolic open space to urban neighborhood to densely urban. Through these projects, and others, we work tirelessly to achieve the expectations of our clients and to create an architecture that embodies the vision and spirit of their dreams.

Studio Hillier is located in the heart of the historic Witherspoon Jackson neighborhood in Princeton, New Jersey and operates out of a converted machine shop and warehouse. From our Princeton base, we serve clients throughout New Jersey, Philadelphia and New York, Connecticut and Washington DC: Beijing and Shanghai. We are less than one hour from two, international airports. We are licensed to practice in nineteen states.

Studio Hillier LLC is an interdisciplinary design firm in Princeton New Jersey, co-founded in 2011 by Partners Barbara A. Hillier, AIA and J. Robert Hillier, FAIA, PP. Together for more than thirty years, we form the backbone of a vibrant, growing, full service design studio that has the depth of experience and design talent to take on any challenge.

We are located in the heart of the historic Witherspoon Jackson neighborhood in Princeton, New Jersey and operates out of a converted machine shop and warehouse. From our Princeton base, we serve clients throughout New Jersey, Philadelphia and New York, Connecticut and Washington DC: Beijing and Shanghai.

What We Think

Conditions in the U.S. and abroad are shaping a new reality. Architecture is not immune to the uncertainties and must remain an agency of hope and optimism.
The American city in all its multilayered complexity is a catalogue of problems looking for solutions. It is not so much a laboratory for experimentation, as it is a Petrie dish overflowing with the particles and predictors for urban regeneration.
The inhabitants, a polyglot assemblage of immigrants and dreamers, intellectuals and entrepreneurs, are formulating the potent new agenda for living in twenty-first century America that will stimulate the emergent re-figuration of cities.

While underlying issues will need Congressional intervention, there is a public role to play within the local districts and communities. We learned in 1922 that architects shouldn’t mess with politics, but we can use our knowledge and design talent to promote better living standards, to advocate improvements to infrastructure and mass transit, and to impose incentives on municipalities to update their zoning codes.

America is in need of intelligent, thoughtful, and economically viable solutions to its aged networks and constructions. Architects can take on a strategic role in leading the discourse among the many, often opposing constituencies in the interest of not only the client they represent, but also those whose interests are most likely affected by their actions. We see our path forward as more than designers, but as urbanists, builders, and developers.

America is in need of intelligent, thoughtful, and economically viable solutions to its aged networks and constructions.

Architects can take on a strategic role in leading the discourse among the many, often opposing constituencies in the interest of not only the client they represent, but also those whose interests are most likely affected by their actions.

We see our path forward as more than designers, but as urbanists, builders, and developers.

What We Do

We are a full-service architecture firm. We serve a diverse mix of clients and project types including residential, mixed use developments, higher education, and secondary independent schools.

Our award winning design portfolio recognizes the accomplishment of the many past and present professionals who developed their individual craft as part of an exceptional talent pool.