James Piacentini

Master of Architecture
Columbia University GSAPP
May 2020

Master of Science Urban Planning
Columbia University GSAPP
May 2020

Bachelor of Arts in Architecture UC Berkeley
May 2014

EXPERIENCE

Senior Map Designer
Mapbox
Jun 2024 - Present

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Columbia University GSAPP
Sep 2023 - Present

Product Manager, Digital Service
NYC Department of City Planning
Jan 2022 - Jun 2024

Fellow: Civic Leadership Program
AIA New York | CFA
Jun 2022 - Dec 2022

Cartographer / Data Analyst
Apple
Oct 2020 - Oct 2021

Design Manager
Lincoln Center
Mar 2019 - Mar 2020

University Senator
Columbia University
Sep 2017 - May 2019

Architecture Intern
Montroy DeMarco Architecture
Jun 2018 - Aug 2018

Design & Visualization Fellow
MKThink
Jun 2017 - Aug 2017

Research Assistant to Professor Leah Meisterlin
Columbia University GSAPP
Mar 2017 - Aug 2017

Fulbright Researcher
Academic Contributor
La Sapienza University, Rome
Oct 2015 - Jun 2016

PUBLICATIONS

BLOG POSTS & ARTICLES

“Biking in NYC Now: CLP Explores Future of Biking Infrastructure in NYC”
Majekodunmi, I., Nalavade, A., Provine, H., Piacentini, J., Sherburne, B.
AIA NY - 2022

“Inside Out: CLP Explores Models for Community Engagement”
Piacentini, J., Savvides, N.
AIA NY - 2022

“Somewhere under Somewhere, Somewhere in the City”
Piacentini, J.
URBAN Magazine - 2016

EXHIBITIONS & DESIGN WORK

“Distorted_Cities”
Piacentini, J.
fifteen group show - 2025

Selected Architecture drawings
Piacentini, J.
Columbia GSAPP ABSTRACT - 2021

Selected Architecture drawings
Piacentini, J.
Columbia GSAPP ABSTRACT - 2020

“Hacer Vieques” in New Paradigms for a Resilient Vieques
Piacentini, J.

UDL, Earth Institute - 2019

Selected Architecture drawings
Piacentini, J.
Columbia GSAPP ABSTRACT - 2019

Selected Urban Planning drawings
Piacentini, J.
Columbia GSAPP ABSTRACT - 2018

“Praça Pedregulho” in Design Thinking for Healthy Urban Environments: A Case Study of the Social Housing Project: Pedregulho
Piacentini, J., Indrakesuma, F.
Columbia GSAPP - 2017

LECTURES & PRESENTATIONS

“Mapping NYC: Intersessions”
Piacentini, J.
The Dalton School - 2026

“Advanced map style customization in Mapbox Studio“
Piacentini, J.
BUILD with Mapbox - 2025

“The ArchiTECH: The Equitable Development Data Explorer”
Piacentini, J.
AIA NY CLP - 2023

“The Equitable Development Data Explorer”
Piacentini, J., Matteo, T., Shen, W.
NYC School of Data - 2023

“Biking in NYC Now: CLP Explores Future of Biking Infrastructure in NYC”
Majekodunmi, I., Nalavade, A., Provine, H., Piacentini, J., Sherburne, B.
AIA NY CLP - 2022

“TREE.3”
Piacentini, J., Pietraszkiewicz, E.
GSAPP Incubator - 2021

“Riace Rinasce” John Belle Travel Fellowship Lecture
Piacentini, J.
Beyer Blinder Belle - 2019

“Hacer Vieques” Public Design Presentation
Piacentini, J.
Isabel Segundo City Hall - 2019

CONFERENCE PAPERS/PRESENTATIONS

“Thirdplaces.nyc”
Piacentini, J.
Poster at: OpenStreetMap State of the Map US - 2026

“The Equitable Development Data Explorer”
Piacentini, J.
Abstract at: Spatial Justice in Practice Symposium - 2023

“Rome: Past, Present, Future”
Piacentini, J.
Poster at: The Fulbright National Conference - 2017

“Blogging as a Tool for Advocacy Planning”
Piacentini, J.
Paper at: 18th N-AERUS Conference - 2017

“Rome: Eternal City or Evolving Metropolis?”
Piacentini, J.
Poster at: The APA National Planning Conference - 2017

JOURNAL PAPERS

“The Building Environment: A Brief Study of Architecture’s Influences on Human Survival”
Piacentini, J.
Berkeley Undergraduate Journal, Vol. 27, Issue 1 - 2014

AWARDS

Narrative Community Map Award
OpenStreetMap US
June 2026

Civic Leadership Fellowship
AIA New York | CFA
May 2022

Incubator Prize ($10,000)
Columbia University GSAPP
Oct 2020

Visualization Prize ($1,000)
Columbia University GSAPP
May 2020

William Kinne Prize ($2,500)
Columbia University GSAPP
May 2020

Finalist - Student Photo Contest
Hahnemühle FineArt
Jul 2019

John Belle Fellowship ($10,000)
Beyer Blinder Belle
Mar 2019

2nd Place - Poster Competition
American Planning Association
May 2017

Fulbright Scholarship ($18,000)
U.S. Department of State
May 2015

PRESS

OSM / Esri
“State of the Map US Narrative Map Competition”
June 15, 2026

AIA NY
“The ArchiTECH: Who Are The New Designers?”
by Ivan Himanen, Tiana Howell
Oct 11, 2023

The Best New Architects
“Criss-Cross City”
Dec 7, 2020

Columbia Climate School
“13 Proposals to Boost Resilience in Vieques, Puerto Rico”
by Sarah Fecht
Dec 6, 2019

Beyer Blinder Belle
“2019 John Belle Travel Fellowship - Riace Reborn”
Nov 4, 2019

Columbia Climate School
“Building Resilience in Vieques, Puerto Rico”
Sep 9, 2019

Radio Vieques
“Robert Rabin Seigel Interviews GSAPP Designers on Rebuilding Vieques Post-Maria”
Mar 12, 2019

10.1 - Find your place

10.2 - Data structure and methodology diagram

10.3 - Thirdplaces.nyc shows over 10,400 unique social spaces across the five boroughs

10.4 - Select a place to reveal its kindred connections and a secondary web of those places other connections

10.5 - Zoom in on a kindred arc to reveal what draws places together

10.6 - Highlight shared identity to discover neighborhood and community stories

S5. THIRDPLACES.NYC

*Winner of the 2026 Narrative Community Map Award at SOTMUS26*

As digital technologies continue to integrate into our daily lives, thirdplaces.nyc leverages community-driven data and urban analytics to re-activate the discovery of meaningful physical third places and their kindred connections in New York City.

8.4 - The project was exhibit at Sommwhere gallery in New York City as part of the ‘fifteen group show’ in 2025

8.2 - Four primary datascapes: a) property values and ownership, b) 311 complaints and landscape contours, c) zoning and land use logics, d) transit and mode density

8.3 - The combined (interlaced) map invites the audience to contemplate intersecting truths and lies built into their perception of the city

8.1 - Mapping truths that lie

8.5 - Limited edition prints reveal the block-level detail of the maps

S4. DISTORTED_CITIES

Our reliance on digital datascapes comes with inherent risks as algorithm-authors rebuild how we see the world around us. Distorted_Cities entangles artist-designed maps of authentic and AI-hallucinated synthetic civic data that has been distorted in subtle and dramatic ways, inviting interpretation and reflection.

4.8 - Urban armature in Hong Kong

4.9 - Architectural programming and structural systems

4.2 - Ecologics of forestry and human settlements

4.3 - Lumber and forestry in China (including contested territories)

4.5 - Project growth phase 1 (2020-2030)

4.6 - Project growth phase 2 (2030-2040)

4.7 - Project growth phase 3 (2040-2050)

4.4 - Global to urban scalar lumber potential

U3. CRISS_CROSS_CITY

Criss-Cross City is a modular and expandable lumber armature that extends across Hong Kong, the world’s largest megalopolis, home to over 120 Million people. Tapping into the region’s massive eucalyptus and bamboo resources, the project hypothesizes a flexible, robust platform for a new approach to urban living.

2.1 - Mapping militarization in occupied Jawlan

2.3 - Topographic raster analysis of the Jawlan

2.4 - Hydrological and geological analysis of the Jawlan

2.5 - In 1967, over 200 villages and farms were destroyed to make way for Israeli settlements in the Jawlan

2.6 - Popular ‘visited’ sites and their spatial relationship to artificially censored images

2.7 - Analysis led to the selection of three key sites for further analysis on-site: Ya’ar Odem, Ein Fit, and Za’ura

2.8 - Ya’ar Odem, formerly the A’rab El Hesh and Al Sahtiyah farms, is now a ‘nature reserve’

2.2 - A woman prays in the ruins of her childhood mosque

2.9 - This artifical demarcation creates a political border preventing Syrians from return to their destroyed homes

2.11 - Ein Fit (’beautiful spring’), a former town of 2,000 people remains in a state of preserved ruination

2.12 - The wall of the former elementary school in Ein Fit, riddled with IDF bullets

2.13 - The ruins are left to undermine Syrian legitimacy to the area

2.16 - Za’ura, a neighboring town of 1,500 that is now used for military training exercises

2.18 - Online imagery is censored to hide the extent of military intervention on-site

2.19 - Where once stood homes now stand military training bunkers and debris

S3. DESTRUCTIVE_INTERVENTIONS

The occupied Syrian Jawlan, or Golan was once home to hundreds of Syrian villages and farms. Since 1967, Israeli military intervention has expelled over 95% of the Syrian population. This project investigates military violence in region across three consecutive scales of order at three sites: Excavation at Ya’ar Odem, Ruination in Ein Fit, and Appropriation in Za’ura.

9.1 - Mapbox Standard is a flagship, highly-customizable 3D/2D basemap

9.3 - Over 200 airports around the world recently launched in the basemap

9.4 - Dynamic layer matching and indoor floor toggling via an in-map UI works by default

9.5 - Over 6,500 custom landmark icons, styled for light and dark map modes are available in cities around the world

9.6 - Landmark icons dynamically appear at mid-high zooms providing additional context on the map

9.7 - Robust layer configurations continue to expand customization for Mapbox users

U6. MAPBOX_STANDARD

As a current Senior Map Designer at Mapbox, I design and implement style and performance improvements, including UI/UX developments for Mapbox Studio and related products, launching Indoor Maps for airports, Landmark Icons, and the expansion of customization and configurations in Mapbox Standard.

6.1 - Putting transit on the map

6.3 - Consistency and clarity

6.6 - Light and night mode legibility

6.4 - Hierarchy and iconography

6.7 - Wayfinding improvements in iOS 15

6.5 - Multi-modal systems in Munich and Frankfurt

6.8 - WWDC 2021 transit update showcase

U4. APPLE_MAPS

As a former cartographer on the Transit team at Apple Maps, I styled and implemented all new or updated transit related map features and elements. I handled entire new cities such as Munich and Frankfurt, and thousands of map elements including wayfinding, icons, logos, stations, lines, systems, and information hierarchy.

E2. INNOVATION_PARK_NEWARK

Innovation Park is a Newark-based research campus that aims to foster symbiotic relationships between water access, energy sustainability, and population vulnerability through social and economic partnerships with local anchor institutions. The campus integrates wastewater treatment, passive energy generation, and affordable housing. Designed in partnership with Joud Al Shdaifat, Allison Fricke, and Luiza Furia.

7.1 - The Equitable Development Data Explorer (EDDE) includes a first-of-its-kind displacement risk map

7.2 - EDDE’s Community Data portal is used in the generation of Racial Equity Reports (RER) as part of the rezoning process

7.3 - ZoLa, DCP’s premiere zoning, land use, and property data portal is the primary access point to spatial urban data in NYC

7.4 - The Capital Projects Portal visualizes the Capital Projects Database so communities can keep track of development in their neighborhood

U5. NYC_DCP

As a former Product Manager at the NYC Department of City Planning, I oversaw the design and development of the Agency’s portfolio of public-facing digital tools such as ZoLa, Population FactFinder, the Online Zoning Resolution, and the launch of the Equitable Development Data Explorer and the Capital Projects Portal.

E1. GREENPOINT_THEATER

Greenpoint Theater is an integrative approach to building design and construction, incorporating performative energy systems and metrics across the entire design phase, from conception to construction documentation. Designed in partnership with Adina Bauman, Lena Pfeiffer, and Jack Lynch.

U2. HACER_VIEQUES

A radical re-thinking of how to source, design, build, and live resiliently in Vieques, Puerto Rico that combines large-format 3D-print building technologies with waste upcycling systems to generate new value from old objects and to build affordably, quickly, and resiliently in a post-disaster scenario, producing a new 21st Century Vieques ‘vernacular’ in the process.

1.1 - Modern plans for an ancient city
1.2 - Context map of Rome and the Fori - EUR zone
1.3 - Chronology of urban development phases in Fori - EUR
1.4 - Master Plans (PR/PRG) from 1883 to 2008 in Fori - EUR
1.5 - Contemporary urban typological systems in Fori - EUR

U1. ROME_ETERNAL_EVOLVING

*Fulbright Scholars Grantee ($18,000) & 2nd Place poster at the 2017 APA National Planning Conference*

These maps analyze the development and planning strategies employed in Rome, Italy roughly from the Risorginemto (Reunification, 1871) to the present, focusing on distinct planning phases, economic and spatial growth cycles, and urban typological systems. The project focuses on a region of Rome known as Fori - EUR.

5.1 - A timber trade tool

5.2 - Data structure combining cross-scalar sources

5.3 - Forest coverage mode displays specific for information for the selected nation

5.4 - Commodity flows explore the global imports, exports, and internal productions of various timber products

5.5 - Case studies reveal the timber production, trade routes, and energy expenditures for a given project

E4. TREE.3

*2020 GSAPP Incubator Prize Recipient ($10,000)*

TREE.3 (Timber Trade Tool) merges global forestry and green space data, international timber and wood product trade data, and energy databases and environmental life-cycle analyses into a platform to explore and understand the environmental complexities and consequences of the global timber trade and related construction. Research and design support from Eric Pietraszkiewicz.

3.1 - Modeling populaton shifts in West Africa

5.3 - LLLH262 model for 2015 showing population adjustments

5.2 - LLH262 hotspots demaracating likelihood of change based on overlap across 16 climate models

5.4 - 3D view of population change from 2015 to 2050 based on the LLLH262 model

E3. CLIMATE_MIGRATION_MAP

The Climate Migration Map visualizes the spatial relationships between critical climate shifts and the affected regional populations using climate models developed at Columbia University's Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) in partnership with The World Bank. The map displays the LLLH262 population model, a 'best case' scenario, as well as Hotspots at the 15x15 km cell level, in five year increments from 2015 to 2050.

S2. TRACK+PAN

Analysis of how Alfonso Cuarón’s 2018 film “Roma” produces lateral scalar narratives that explore interior and exterior experiences of Modernity within architectural and urban space through tracking and panning shots.

S1. LOOKING_THROUGH

Selected images from a photographic monograph exploring the moments between, within, and behind urban spaces across New York City and Rio de Janeiro.