Margaret Castillo, AIA, LEED™

Margaret Castillo, who joined Helpern Architects in 1996 and was named a Principal of the firm in 2000, is the principal most often in charge of historic restoration and renovation projects.  She thus lives a life intertwined with history, danger, and, at times, godliness.

The history part relates to the usually 19th-century, sometimes 20th-century properties that she has restored, frequently for a new use.  These include the exotic 1887 Lockwood DeForrest home on East 10th Street, converted into the Edgar M. Bronfman Center for Jewish Life for New York University; five historic homes owned by Yale University, notably the fine Skinner-Trowbridge House on Hillhouse Avenue that became the International Center for Finance at the Yale School of Management; and several of the so-called “Carnegie Libraries” of the New York Public Library.

The danger part involves the need to go into extreme places to assess the condition of a structure.  Prime among these are the double dome and related galleries of Columbia University’s Low Memorial Library and the fragile Davies Mansion, now converted into the high-functioning Betts House and home to the Yale Center for Global Studies and World Fellows Program.

Coverage of her work has appeared in Contract Magazine [cover], Early American Life, Architectural Record, and SCUP’s Planning for Higher Education.  She has addressed the Association for Preservation Technology/New England, the New Haven Preservation Trust, and the Society for College and University Planning. 

As for godliness, Margaret Castillo has created plans and designs for the urban sites and structures of historic Marble Collegiate Church and its sister congregation, the Fort Washington Congregational Church. 

She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College and a Master in Architecture degree from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.  She is a member of the American Institute of Architects and co-chair of AIA New York Chapter’s Historic Buildings Committee.  She is also on the Board of the Carl Schurz Park Association.