julia ann gallagher, AIA, noma, LEED AP

Principal Architect | Founder of JAGA-Studio

Julia Ann Gallagher is a licensed architect with over 25 years of experience in architecture, design, and project leadership. She founded Julia Molloy Gallagher Architecture PLLC in Brooklyn in 2017 and later established Julia Ann Gallagher Architect, PC in Hawthorne, California in 2023. Her bi-coastal practice, JAGA-Studio, delivers full-service design solutions—from concept through construction—for homeowners, developers, and institutions alike.

JAGA-Studio operates with a “lean” but scalable structure, assembling teams of collaborators as needed to support multidisciplinary work ranging from strategic planning to public art installations. The firm’s approach is rooted in collaboration, research, and a deep respect for place and people—often designing from the inside out to craft spaces that are sculptural, functional, and meaningful.

Julia’s background spans elite academic and professional settings. A native of Northern California, she holds a BA from Barnard College and a Master of Architecture from Columbia University. She has taught at Columbia GSAPP, Parsons School of Design, NYIT, and is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at USC’s School of Architecture.

Clients describe Julia as a trusted partner with a calm yet confident presence, an educator at heart who empowers them throughout the design and construction process. Her portfolio includes projects with Gehry Partners, Adjaye Associates, the U.S. Department of State, the Kennedy Center, and a host of cultural, governmental, and nonprofit institutions worldwide.

Julia also serves on the Board of Directors of AIA Los Angeles and is the 2024–2025 California Representative for AIA LA. She is currently accepting commissions for new construction, additions, and interiors in California and New York.

Prior to establishing her own practice Gallagher worked with design firms in New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles including Rockwell Group, Spacesmith, Slade Architecture, Geddes Ulinskas Architects, and AUX Architecture with clients and collaborators including Gehry Partners, Adjaye Associates, TDIC in Abu Dhabi, Matel Brands, Absolute Art, L Brands, Overseas Building Operations with the US Department of State, National Park Services, the Kennedy Center, Harlem School of the Arts, Vista Del Mar Family Services, and various international artists, athletes, businesses, and individuals. Beyond design, Julia has management and community development experience working on a professional and academic projects in the non-profit sector with Van Alen Institute in NYC, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in Abu Dhabi, the UN-founded Global Studio in Johannesburg, Urban Think Tank in Caracas, Venezuela, and the World Learning in Italy and West Africa. 

The office and its collaborative teams produce multidisciplinary work ranging from strategic planning, architecture design and construction, interior design, community workshops, and public art installations.  Across disciplines we specialize in curating engagement between governments, organizations, designers, and individuals to improve people’s experience in the places they visit, they live, and they love.  We focus on cultural, sustainable, and transformative environments that interface between historic spaces and the transient communities who create them.