Karen Stonely AIA LEED AP is a Founding Principal of New York City based SPAN Architecture, an award-winning design studio she co-founded in 1995 with Peter Pelsinski. The collaborative practice focuses on both architecture and interiors of various types of projects, and Stonely herself has worked on projects including The Core Club, The Hyatt Times Square, interiors for The Ashland in Brooklyn, as well as many private residences. Along with her architectural work, she makes public service a priority having given her time and design services to a multitude of groups that include The Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club Design Showroom, OpenHouseNewYork, The Charlie Byrd Society at The Mainstay Cultural Foundation, The Sultana Education Foundation, NJ School of Architecture, and the Design Trust for Public Space. In 2012, Stonely founded LAAB (Life as a Brain) to help promote and fund research and support for rare neurological diseases. You can also find the accomplished designer regularly speaking at select architectural events and as a juror for annual awards like Dwell on Design, the Architectural Digest Home Show, and more. For the last Friday Five of 2018, Stonely shares her five picks, which range from a favorite condiment to a marine mammal. Photo by Paolo Gallo
1. The Moment When Light Is Captured.

From the oculus along the walls, across the floor, a beam of daylight moves along precise points within the forms of the Pantheon. In Zama, the City of Dawn, El Castillo holds th...