Asaf Gottesman

Asaf Gottesman was born in Israel in 1958 but lived the majority of his youth in London. In 1977 he enlisted in the IDF where he served in the Paratroopers. After his military service Asaf moved to Paris to study at the Sorbonne before continuing to the USA where he earned an honors degree in History of Art and Comparative Literature from Columbia University. After working in commodity trading for a couple of years, Asaf enrolled at the Architectural Association and in 1992 received his Architectural Association Diploma & RIBA II.

That same year Asaf established his own architectural practice in Israel where it quickly became a leader in the domain of private homes. In 1999, the practice expanded its activities into the research of the virtual domain. The research lead to an important US patent that introduced innovative user interfaces and 3D information environments that were the precursors of such products as Apple’s Coverflow, Microsoft’s Vista 3D environments, as well as, various other 3D display & search environments.

In 2003 Asaf co-founded Gottesman Szmelcman Architecture with Ami Szmelcman. The partnership has won several international competitions and awards. It has projects in Israel, throughout Europe and has recently begun working in the USA. 90 Morton is the first NYC project designed by Gottesman Szmelcman Architecture.

Asaf is the author of “The Architectural Condition;” an e-book that analyses the world of the architect and speculates upon how to address the many shortfalls of the profession.

As of 2005, Asaf Gottesman has worked as both an architect and a property developer, undertaking projects in Poland, France & the US and as of the end of 2017, is fully focused upon creating Architecture led developments.

Asaf is married to Miriam for over 30 years and they have three children; Adam, Danielle and Dafna.