photo by: Matthew Testa
make beautiful the parts unseen.
Born 1980
education 2002
Bachelor of Arts in Architecture, Lehigh University
certifications
LEED Accredited Professional
Matthew Francis Testa was born on February 16th, 1980. His focus on high performance architecture can be traced back to the crafts of his grandfathers’; a stone mason and watchmaker.
After career beginnings as a carpenter’s apprentice, he rose to the rank of Construction Director for the largest active/local development group in Hoboken where he was deeply involved in the design and construction management of over one-million square feet of mixed-use projects comprised of 859 dwelling units, 5 retail spaces, and 2 robotic parking systems. Sustainable building accolades included the completion of multiple LEED Platinum accredited multi-family projects and New Jersey’s first reinforced-concrete Passive House accredited mid-rise.
As a firm believer in the importance of carbon-neutrality as a mantra for the built-environment, Matthew is focused on the creation of an all-electric, zero-emission portfolio of smart buildings, also know as building electrification.
work
2020 - now
2011 - 2020
2003 - 2011
projects
project, city. company/role/year
multi-family
ATRIA, hoboken. LIVINGSYSTEMS/DEVELOPER/coming soon
THE WYLDES, hoboken. LIVINGSYSTEMS/INTERIOR DESIGNER/2023
Candela lofts, hoboken. bijou properties/contractor/2020
7seventyhouse, hoboken. bijou properties/owners rep/2020
via lofts, hoboken. bijou properties/contractor/2019
edge adams, hoboken. bijou properties/contractor/2019
vine, hoboken. bijou properties/owners rep/2016
Park+garden, hoboken. bijou properties/owners rep/2015
edge lofts, hoboken. bijou properties/contractor/2013
restaurant
THE HIVE, JERSEY CITY. livingsystems/ARCHITECT/COMING SOON
porter collins, hoboken. livingsystems/contractor/2017
hudson table, hoboken. livingsystems/contractor/2014
retail
west elm, hoboken. bijou properties/contractor/2016
athletic
gravity vault, hoboken. bijou properties/contractor/2016
slt, hoboken. bijou properties/contractor/2016
For the past 20 years, Matthew has been exposed to every intricacy of the inner workings of real estate development including pre-development, architectural and engineering design, construction management, marketing, sales/leasing, and property management.
Working for boutique firms has afforded him the opportunity to apply the necessary grit to master each level of the real estate development process, while an affinity for sustainability has lead to unparalleled exposure to new and exciting building techniques and new-urbanism ideologies.
This latitude in project exposure across multiple real estate classes, shapes, and sizes has spurred a relentless pursuit of the next generation of building types that embrace clean energy, IoT connectivity, and passive architectural design methodologies.
Matthew’s prime focus along with his business partner Colleen O’Keefe (the other half of Livingsystems) is to elevate from these experiences, relationships, and lessons-learned to create/work with a best-in class development team with like-minded creative, design and construction professionals.
