Our Unique Guided Tours
The best way to learn about architecture is to experience it. We invite you to join our New York Art and Architecture Tours and immerse yourself in this extraordinary city. During each tour, we will walk for 2 to 4 hours, exploring a different area and discussing the history and architecture of its most important buildings and landmarks. Feel free to bring your camera and your sketchbooks if you feel inspired to take pictures and draw sketches. Our tours divide the city into 6 parts according to the location and their distinct character, weaving history, art, and architecture in an engaging, story-telling manner to uncover some of the city’s hidden gems and best-kept secrets.
Mission
Our mission is to help people see, understand and experience Architecture, Art and the City in a profound and unique way. We combine our experience of practicing and teaching architecture with our passion for discovering and sharing the history and secrets of New York. We help our guests to connect the city through the eyes of artists and architects. They are activated and transformed by these fun and immersive experiences and live the city in a more meaningful way.
Vision
Our vision to be the leading global company for Art and Architecture Tours. We curate unique walking tours that connect people to the world we live in by seeing, understanding and experiencing the Architecture, Art and Design of New York City. Our guides lead tours that provoke curiosity, show hidden urban gems, and give opportunities for experiencing and understanding the world we create and inhabit in more conscious, joyful and creative ways.
Our Advantages
Clients First
Our tour guests are friends we have not met before. We prioritize their experience above all and allways get great feedback and reviews. We strive to create sublime moment for them.
Expert Guides
Our guides are architects, urban planners, scholars, professors and city experts. We are passionate about sharing our knowledge with other and inpiring them.
Transformational Experiences
Our tours are experiences that connect people with the cities we live in. We help our guests see, enjoy and understand the world in new ways, becoming co-creators of our reality.
Your Architect Guides
Ivan R. Shumkov, PhD
Dr. Ivan Shumkov is a New York based architect, urban planner, entrepreneur, and professor with more than 20 years of experience across the private, public, and academic sectors. He is the founder of Build World and Build Academy, organizations dedicated to providing professional solutions and education for the built environment.
Ivan combines his experience of practicing and teaching architecture with his passion for discovering and sharing the history and secrets of New York. His tours provoke curiosity, show hidden urban gems, and provide opportunities for experiencing and understanding art and architecture in a unique way. He helps his guests to see and connect the city through the eyes of an architect. They are activated and transformed by these immersive experiences and view the city in a new way.
Ivan is a licensed NYC tour guide. Being fluent in multiple languages, he can conduct tours in English, Spanish, Catalan, Bulgarian, French and Italian.
Stefan Al, PhD, RA, LEED
Stefan Al is an experienced architect and professor, who has worked on large scale projects around the world, including the Canton Tower, briefly the world's tallest tower. Dedicated to integrating the domains of architecture, urbanism and sustainability, he aims to create transformative spaces that balance human needs with environmental stewardship.
Stefan’s expertise extends beyond designing future buildings; he is deeply fascinated by humanity’s ongoing drive to build higher and expand further. His walking tours provide a unique lens through which the ambitions of the past merge with cutting-edge visions for the future, offering fresh insights into the evolution of architecture and its lasting influence on society.
William M. Singer, AIA, LEED AP BD + C, NCARB
William M. Singer, AIA, LEED AP BD + C, NCARB, is currently a discerning Code and Zoning Specialist for the NYC Department of Buildings. With a long and rich background in designing and constructing major public facilities—including courthouses, schools, transportation hubs, and cultural landmarks—William brings a wealth of knowledge to our tour. His impressive resume includes being a partner at Gruzen Samton Architects, a leading NYC architecture and planning firm, a Senior Fulbright Scholar in Slovenija, with graduate degrees in both Architecture and English. For the exceptional renovation and modernization of El Museo Del Barrio, he was honored with a City of New York Arts Commission Excellence in Design award (2004), a NYS AIA Merit Design Award for Adaptive Reuse (2011) and a Municipal Arts Society Master Works Award for Community Catalyst (2012).
William blends his passion for architecture, urbanism and history into a love of teaching—sharing information and knowledge. His 13 years of teaching in NYU’s Graduate Program for Real Estate Development, where he created and honed his cycle of walking tours, merge with 10 years of providing tours to One To World, the official Fulbright Programming organization in the NYC Metro area, enhances his knowledge of NYC through active engagement with tour colleagues—questions and discourse about NYC significantly sharpen the focus of observing the city. The way to know a city is through one’s feet.
Past Clients
Join our Team
We are looking for people with experience in Art and Architecture History, Operations, Marketing and Sales.