Real Estate Practitioners Institute

Michael Harris Spector, FAIA

Michael Harris Spector, FAIA, has dedicated his professional career to the creation of innovative architecture. From his beginnings in the northeastern United States to today, Spector's work is known around the world. As Founder and Principal of the Spector Group, he has incorporated his design style, acute business sense and technological expertise to enhance America's landscape. Michael and the Spector Group have done much to define the environment where we live and work, pray and play, shop and learn.

Michael Spector's architecture has received national recognition with honors gained for design excellence. With a basic philosophy that man's behavior is influenced by his lifespace, Spector marries design purity with humanistic values. Described by Sam Toperoff, then Professor of Arts and Humanities at the New York Institute of Technology, as, "The Man Who Resculpted and Revolutionized Long Island", Spector has always bucked the trend to specialize in a single architectural project type. His panoramic perspective and disciplined client learning process graces him with the ability to create timeless design encompassing nearly any architectural context. His buildings service the needs of a repeating clientele who know the true architectural as well as economic return of a Spector designed building.

EDUCATION & EMPLOYMENT ------------------------------------------------
Michael Harris Spector received his Bachelor of Architecture in 1962 from Syracuse University and attended Harvard thereafter. Upon graduation, he joined the firm of Harrison and Abramowitz where, among other projects, he served as Project Designer for the Radcliffe College Library and Dormitories at Harvard.
In 1965, Michael Harris Spector and Associates was founded. The success of the firm's first corporate headquarters paved the way to future large-scale commissions and, in 1983, Spector designed and built his own studio/offices. Upon moving in, he renamed his firm the Spector Group to more accurately portray the firm as it functions today. While Spector maintains a strong architectural/interior design leadership position, he positively recognizes the design and production partnerships within his firm. Based on his demonstrated broad scope of design with outstanding credentials, Michael Harris Spector became a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architecture in 1988.

AWARDS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spector Group to date has received over 60 Awards for Design Excellence with clients including The National Flight Academy in Pensacola, Florida; Redevelopment of the Town of Riverhead, Sony, Olympus America, North Fork Bank, Sbarro, J P Morgan Chase, The Bank Of New York, European American Bank and Computer Associates in both Long Island and London. Michael and the Spector Group have also embraced the educational community across the region with school buildings both on the boards and completed for Birch Wathen Lenox in NYC, Newark School District, NJ; Hewlett-Woodmere, Great Neck, Port Washington, East Meadow, Malverne, East Williston, Center Moriches and Westbury school districts in New York.

PERSONAL ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael and Joan have been married for 45 years. They have three children, Scott, Marc and Jolie – professionally, two architects and one teacher. They have been blessed with nine grandchildren.

PUBLIC SERVICE ------------------------------------------------------------------
In response to the region of his education and recognized success, Michael Harris Spector has always maintained a strong public service presence. He has lectured to local, state, national and international professional organizations. He has served on professional committees and juries and has been honored by a host of regional charities. For nearly twenty years, he has sponsored a student architectural award at New York Institute of Technology and serves as a Mentor for Long Island Career Shadow Day. Currently, Michael is on the Board of Directors of the Great Neck Arts Center; an associate Trustee of North Shore University Hospital and a Trustee of the North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center.