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Architect and urban designer Marilyn Jordan Taylor is known for her passionate involvement in the design of urban projects and civic initiatives, as well as for her exceptional leadership on some of the most complex public and institutional projects around the world.

An expert in using public space and infrastructure to shape urban districts and civic places, Ms. Taylor leads SOM's Urban Design & Planning practice, including such projects as Columbia University's Manhattanville Master Plan, the East River Waterfront Master Plan, the reclamation of Con Ed's East River sites for mixed-use development, the new research building at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, and the new urban campus for John Jay College. Ms. Taylor also founded and leads SOM Airports and Transportation, working on U.S. airport projects such as Terminal 4 at JFK, Continental Airlines at Newark, and the expansion of Washington, DC's Dulles International Airport. Her international airport projects include SkyCity at Hong Kong International Airport and the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, as well as the new Terminal 3 at Singapore's Changi Airport. Ms. Taylor's transit work has been equally diverse, ranging from the award-winning Changi Airport Station in Singapore to the Transit-Friendly Land Use Handbook for New Jersey Transit. Her train projects include all 15 intercity rail stations from Washington, DC to Boston. She also led SOM's planning and transportation design for reuse of New York's Farley Post Office as the Moynihan Station.

Ms. Taylor is deeply engaged in civic leadership. In July 2005 she became Chairman of the Urban Land Institute, having previously served as Vice Chairman for Policy and Practice for this global research and education organization dedicated to the responsible use of land. Ms. Taylor serves as a member of the Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority's International Advisory Panel of Architects and Urban Planners and the Penn Institute for Urban Research Advisory Board. In 2002-2003 she was Chairman of the New York Building Congress (NYBC), and she currently serves on the boards and steering committees of the Association for a Better New York, the Downtown Alliance, the Women's Transportation Seminar (WTS), and the Forum for Urban Design. She is a Past President of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and a Past Chairman of the national AIA Regional and Urban Design Committee. She received a prestigious David Rockefeller Fellowship from the Partnership for New York City in 1995. Ms. Taylor was a founding member of New York New Visions, formed to galvanize the support of the business and professional communities for the restoration and rebuilding of Lower Manhattan.

Ms. Taylor was educated at Radcliffe College, MIT, and the University of California at Berkeley, where she received her Master's in Architecture. She joined SOM in 1971 in the firm's Washington office and was elected Partner in 1985. A long-term member of the firm's Executive Committee, she was also SOM's first woman Chairman.

Among Ms. Taylor's recognitions are CREW*NY's Woman of the Year (1998), Crain's Top 100 Leaders in New York City (2002), and the Associate of Real Estate Women's (AREW) Outstanding Achievement Award (2003). In addition, she was awarded the 2001 Professional Leadership Award by Professional Women in Construction, and named Woman of the Year by WTS in 2002. In 2004, Ms. Taylor was named one of AREW's Top 50 Women, and was among the many recipients recognized by NYBC's George A. Fox Award for Public Service for her role in helping to create New York New Visions. Most recently, Ms. Taylor received the 2005 Industry Recognition Award from the New York Building Congress.