About Lori Hsu, Architect
Lori Hsu creates contemporary homes defined by warmth, balance, and a strong connection to light and landscape. Drawing on a foundation of East Coast training and West Coast sensibility, her work blends precision with artistry to craft spaces that feel both timeless and deeply personal.
LSH Architects — Contemporary Residential Design
Lori Hsu is the founder and principal of LSH Architects, a Bay Area practice specializing in contemporary custom residences, renovations, and additions. With over 25 years of experience, Lori combines design artistry with technical precision to create homes that are both functional and inspiring.
Education and Early Training
Lori earned her Master of Architecture from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Arts from Barnard College, Columbia University. Before establishing her practice, she worked at Charles Rose Architects in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she served as project architect on award-winning custom homes and institutional projects..
Design Approach
Her work is defined by a warm modernism—an organic geometry of forms shaped by light, material, and landscape. Lori’s approach is deeply personal and hands-on: she guides every project from concept through construction, ensuring each home reflects her clients’ lives and aspirations.
Personal Background
Born in South Korea and raised in New York City, Lori brings a multicultural perspective to her design sensibility, blending Asian aesthetics, East Coast rigor, and West Coast openness. She has completed projects across the San Francisco Bay Area, Cape Cod, Alabama, and the San Juan Islands.
Professional Experience
Earlier in her career, Lori’s professional training at Charles Rose Architects included leading roles on custom residences and larger civic commissions such as the Currier Center for the Performing Arts at the Putney School and the Shapiro Campus Center at Brandeis University. Two of her residential projects from that time are featured below, marking her early development as a designer and the foundation of her independent practice.
A Contemporary Home Shaped by Light and Landscape
Completed during Lori’s transition from senior architect to independent practice, this waterfront residence in Orleans, Massachusetts embodies the integration of craft, light, and landscape that continues to define her work. Expansive glass walls frame sweeping shoreline views, while high clerestory windows accentuate the flowing rooflines. Warm layers of wood, concrete, and metal extend seamlessly from exterior terraces to interior living spaces. A sculptural stair evolves in form and material as it connects each level, uniting the home’s lyrical geometry and refined detailing.
Graceful Cascading Forms
Floor and roof planes flow with the landscape
Lyrical Stair Design
Custom wood and glass stairs connect levels
Modern Library
Concrete, wood, and metal form an elegant study
Expansive Waterfront Views
Tall windows open to shaded terraces
An Urban Sanctuary in Chelsea, Manhattan
Located in the heart of Chelsea, New York, this penthouse conversion transforms a former light-industrial building into a tranquil urban retreat above the city. Beginning with a garden courtyard entry, the residence unfolds through layered indoor-outdoor spaces, terraces, and catwalks that connect living areas across multiple levels. Skylights and expansive windows draw natural light deep into the interiors, while a sculptural spiral stair links to a rooftop garden and recreation terrace. Completed during Lori’s early years as project architect, the design embodies the adaptive spirit and creativity that continue to shape her work today.
Private Oasis in the City
Windows frame gardens and extend to terraces
Gallery connection
A linear spine links two light-filled wings
Sculptural Ceilings
Wood ceilings lift toward the skylit stair
House and Garden
Light and views connect living spaces on two levels
W22nd St photos by Chuck Choi
A Collaborative Process
Lori continues to approach each project as a collaboration between client, architect, and place. Her work is guided by careful listening, thoughtful problem-solving, and a belief that architecture should enrich daily life through light, proportion, and material. Every home is an opportunity to create spaces that are both personal and enduring—designed with clarity, crafted with care, and built to inspire.