Ismael Leyva
From the February issue: The prominent Mexican-born architect — behind the Upper East Side condo the Charles and the Riverhouse condos in Battery Park City — cut his teeth working under New York’s most prolific architects, Costas Kondylis. In 1996, he struck out on his own, launching an eponymous firm by renting a desk from a friend’s firm for $500 a month. [more]