Brad W. Groff

Brad W. Groff, AIA, is the founding Principal of Building Ground Architecture, an architecture and design firm based in Pittsburgh and New York. The firm is rooted in transformative solutions, with project types including adaptive reuse and new construction of residential, commercial and institutional spaces.

Previously, Brad was a Senior Associate at SHoP Architects in New York. He also worked in other high-profile offices including Ennead Architects (formerly Polshek Partnership), Michael Maltzan Architecture, and KieranTimberlake in Philadelphia. While at SHoP, Brad’s work focused on four projects: the Uber headquarters in San Francisco; Essex Crossing in New York City; an international office tower in Bangkok, Thailand; and 475 West 18th Street in New York, which won a 2015 U.S. Department of Agriculture Tall Wood Building Prize. His involvement on the Uber project focused on operable facade design and transient indoor/outdoor space from concept through construction. For Essex Crossing, his work included developing a master plan that has transformed a large stretch of undeveloped city-owned land in New York City into a dynamic mixed-use neighborhood, the design of a 14 story residential tower, a three story museum, and a 30,000-square-foot public market. Prior to joining SHoP, Brad worked on the design of the Yale University Art Gallery renovation in New Haven, Conn., and The Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, Pa., while at Polshek Partnership.

Brad’s professional project experience ranges from renovation and adaptive reuse of historic structures to exterior envelope façade, residential, and sustainable design. He maintains a core interest in site specific architecture, renovation, and materiality specific to a region. Most of his projects have been either large, public scale commercial and mixed use, cultural/institutional spaces, or residential design. 

In academia, Brad has taught or served as a teaching assistant at Penn State University, the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and Parsons School of Design.

He earned a Bachelor of Architecture from Penn State University in 2002 and a Master of Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2007. He is a registered architect in several states and a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).