About Work

Dong-Ping Wong, Founding Director

Dong is the Founding Director of Food New York, co-founder of Friends of + POOL, and a licensed architect in New York state. Dong’s work has been featured in publications including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, PIN-UP, Fast Company, the Economist and Wired and has been awarded the Diamond Award for Engineering Excellence, the New York Design Award for Best Young Practice and was nominated for the INDEX Awards in Copenhagen. Prior to Food, Dong was a founding partner of Family New York with Oana Stănescu and was trained at OMA and REX in New York, specializing in public, cultural, and hi-density mixed-use buildings. Dong has taught at Columbia University and is a frequent public speaker including talks at RISD, UCLA, the New Museum, Municipal Art Society, Oslo Design Council, AIGA, TedX and the World Summit on Innovation. Dong graduated with a Masters in Architecture from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University and a Bachelors of Arts in Architecture from the College of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley. Dong is from San Diego, CA.

Bella Janssens, Director

Bella joined the office in 2017 and is in charge of all operations, including general office management, finances, project control and business development. In 2018 she initiated and lead Food Radio and has been leading Food Mahjong Club since 2021. Prior to Food, Bella gained experience as a designer and project manager at Inside Outside in Amsterdam and managed a couture studio in New York. Bella earned a Bachelor of Architecture at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, United Kingdom. Bella is from the Netherlands.

Ashely Kuo, Project Manager

Ashely joined the office in 2019 and has been a Project Lead on the new offices for Milk Agency in New York, NY, the renovation of the Brooklyn Nets Team Store in Brooklyn, NY and a new office development on Grand Cayman. Ashely earned a Master of Architecture at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University and a Bachelor of Interior Design at Pratt University in Brooklyn, NY. Ashely is from Taiwan.

Daniel Kendra, Project Manager

Daniel joined the office in 2020 and has been the Project Lead on the renovation of the new store for Les Benjamins in Istanbul and the Brooklyn Nets executive offices in Brooklyn, NY. Prior to Food, Daniel gained experience as a designer at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture in New York, NY and Landry Smith Architect in Portland, OR. Daniel earned a Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Oregon. Daniel is from Charleston, SC.

Oluwabunmi Fayiga, Design Lead

Oluwabunmi joined the office in 2022 and has been the Project Lead on the new store for an undisclosed tech company in New York, NY and a new community space for an arts nonprofit in New York, NY. Prior to Food, Oluwabunmi gained experience as a designer at Adjaye Associates in New York, NY. Oluwabunmi earned a Master in Architecture at Princeton University School of Architecture and a Bachelor of Design at the University of Florida. Oluwabunmi is from Gainesville, FL.

Ryan Fierro, Senior Designer

Ryan joined the office in 2018 and has been a designer on a private residence on Mercer Street in New York, NY, the flagship Les Benjamins store in Istanbul, Turkey, Food Radio in Chinatown, NY, Cayman Garden in Grand Cayman, the renovation of the Brooklyn Nets Team Store in Brooklyn, NY and the Brooklyn Nets executive offices in Brooklyn, NY. Ryan earned a Bachelor of Architecture at Mississippi State University in Starkville, MS. Ryan is from Huntsville, AL.

Katty Cybulski, Designer

Katty joined the office in 2022 and has been a designer on a number of projects across the studio. Prior to Food, Katty gained experience as a designer at Arquitectonica in New York, NY. Katty earned a Bachelor of Architecture from the School of Architecture at the University of Waterloo in Toronto, CA. Katty is from Ontario, CA.