In celebration of July 4th, Archinect recognizes the work of U.S.-based architecture firms by bringing attention to a selection of emerging studios establishing themselves as changemakers and design leaders within the industry.
From coast to coast, we've explored several architecture practices that are making their mark in their respective cities. For this special feature, what better way to highlight the growing talent of U.S.-based practitioners than by celebrating their progress and expertise?
We asked each firm a few questions to learn more about their practice, what makes architecture from their practicing region so unique, and invited them to share an exciting new project.
How would you define your practice within the greater context of architecture firms in California?
We work on a lot of houses, which puts us in a big group here, but we often find ourselves working in rural, agricultural landscapes, which is a much smaller group. Maybe that puts us closer to some of the old California firms from the 60s and 70s.
What is unique about the architecture in your city/region in particular?
We feel lucky to be in California and in Los Angeles specifically. It's such a diverse place for architecture-- geographically and culturally. Within an hour of our office there are beaches, mountains, deserts, rivers, orchards, museums, universities, strip malls and on and on. We're always discovering something new. There's also so much industry here you can find someone to make you literally anything within fifty miles.
What are some of your favorite practices you follow in your city/region?
We like driving around stalking architecture whenever we can: early Gehry projects, Kappe houses, Johnston Marklee houses, and the stuff we like but we can't figure out who the architect was.
Do you have a new or memorable project you can share with our readers? Completed or in progress?
Our first project is still probably our most memorable. We designed a ground-up house for a friend on a steep cherimoya orchard. It was a huge learning experience for us as we were both coming out of rather non-traditional architecture jobs (art installations, sailboats, experimental architecture) and throwing ourselves into a somewhat difficult building project. We're a little older now, but we still try to bring that fresh energy and curiosity to all of our projects.
How would you define your practice within the greater context of architecture firms in the Pacific Northwest?
Our practice is inspired by the pioneering quality of the Pacific Northwest—its robust material culture, environmental reverence, and entrepreneurial spirit—with a special focus on collaboration and iterative design making. We prefer to work with real materials from concept to execution, infusing our work with a potent physicality that, in turn, informs construction techniques throughout the process. We have a commitment to sustainable material use and resourcefulness, often pairing local sourcing and reuse methods with experimentation in unconventional construction systems. We’re also inspired by the rich culture of creative individuals here and take great joy in the collaborative opportunities we find. We feel our role as visionaries is to create a passionate conversation that everybody—clients, contractors, and craftspeople—can engage in.
What is unique about the architecture in your city/region in particular?
The rugged frontier here in the Pacific Northwest continues to foster a healthy pioneer spirit, supporting a high tolerance for risk-taking and a richness of project typologies and designs. A commitment to craft is intrinsic to this place. Buildings here are made with a fineness that appeals to the hand and eye, as well as to the communities they serve. Staggering landscapes here are paired with reverential attitudes towards environmental conservation, providing inspiring sites for occupation, both urban and pastoral.
What are some of your favorite practices you follow in your city/region?
We find endless inspiration in the many diverse creative practices that surround us. Studio Noyes, a woman-led apparel design studio continues to impress us with their attitudes toward materiality and sustainable sourcing and production. Grovemade, a product design studio, designs and fabricates beautiful objects of utility for the home office. Spartan Shop, a Portland design gallery, curates world-class art, furniture and lighting. Sequitur Wine produces some of the highest quality pinot noir and chardonnay in the nation through its attention to detail, craft, and biodynamic farming. Each of these practices operate at the highest levels in their field, and we are fortunate to work with them as clients and collaborators.
Do you have a new or memorable project you can share with our readers? Completed or in progress
The Gradient
House and Studio
comes to mind. The clients came to us in 2018 with the novel approach
of integrating a professional design studio into their home, asking
us to question spatial separations of life and work, and to bring a
specificity of daily use to each of their spaces. Unknowable to us at
the outset of the project, a global pandemic would force these
questions of live/work into the broader culture. The project
completed in mid-2020 and was put to the test immediately, performing
beyond expectation. We
attribute those successes to the focus on rich material articulation,
dynamic spaces, abundant daylighting, and an integral relationship to
site and landscape, all qualities we bring to each of our projects.
How would you define your practice within the greater context of architecture firms in California and the Midwest?
As an emerging practice founded in 2019, the office grew alongside the evolving legislation in California for Single Family Residences/ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units) and has since expanded into larger-scale work, including multi-family, retail, and mixed-use commercial spaces. Through these new challenges, we remain grounded in the ideas and lessons of our smallest projects while we position ourselves as architects who contribute to finding solutions for ongoing issues which have social and spatial consequences. Personally, I am deeply fascinated by the differing housing crises in both Los Angeles and Detroit and strive to contribute to an ongoing dialogue between the two cities and the ways in which they can learn from each other.
What is unique about the architecture in your city/region in particular?
Los Angeles and Detroit actually have a lot in common in terms of architecture in spite of their vast geographic and climatic differences! Many of the historic buildings in both cities mix architectural styles and time periods together into strange but wonderful concoctions - Art Deco, Spanish Mission, Mayan Revival, Neo-Gothic, etc. The eclecticism within a single building that is rooted in its underlying identity is a big inspiration in my work. Both cities also have iconic cylindrical John Portman twins, so they are forever bonded in my mind!
What are some of your favorite practices you follow in your city/region?
Los Angeles: Sharif, Lynch: Architecture and Design, Bitches
Detroit: Synecdoche Design and Studio RADish
Do you have a new or memorable project you can share with our readers? Completed or in progress?
Mouse House is an early but formative project completed in 2020 in Los Angeles. The original house was split in two - the front portion was converted into an attached ADU and a second story was added in the back for the 2-story main unit. To effectively separate the houses and comply with ADU size restrictions at the time of permitting, a series of sculpted peach-dipped niches were carved out of the monolithic massing to create entries, a large outdoor patio, and a sunroom with laundry area. The porosity of the massing gave it the affectionate name of “Mouse House.”
How would you define your practice within the greater context of architecture firms in the South?
Our practice tries to leverage emerging technologies to solve the unique challenges our clients face in the South. We think that quick adoption allows us to push the needle on how we build, whether that be using concrete 3d printing to produce stronger and more flood-resistant buildings or 3d scanning and VDC to aid in construction quality control. As William Gibson said, “The future is already here – it's just not evenly distributed,” and I think that quote rings particularly true in South Florida, where many of the challenges we face could be aided by building practices already being implemented in other regions.
What is unique about the architecture in your city/region in particular?
One of the unique and, in my opinion, exciting aspects of architecture in Miami is that it is balancing so many different pressures at the same time. If you look at a handful of different areas such as Miami Beach, Design District, and Coral Gables, you see there are stylistic pressures ranging from Art Deco to Contemporary Design to Spanish Mediterranean, while at the same time, those areas are facing pressures from climate change, socioeconomic change, and an influx of new technology that weren’t as prevalent ten years ago. All these factors are weighing on the emerging architecture of the region and producing an incredibly dynamic range of buildings and experiences across the city.
What are some of your favorite practices you follow in your city/region?
A few of my favorite practices in South Florida are Brooks + Scarpa, Brillhart Architecture, and Touzet Studio. I think Brookes + Scarpa do a great job of blending contemporary design with some of the historical styles, such as Art Deco in Miami, one great example being their Heron Senior Housing Project on Miami Beach. Brillhart Architecture seems to have mastered contemporary tropical design and creates amazing transitions between exterior and interior spaces here in Miami as well as in the Bahamas. Touzet Studio does a wonderful job of pushing developers for more sustainable design and construction throughout their projects while still delivering great design work.
Do you have a new or memorable project you can share with our readers? Completed or in progress?
We have one new project that we are kicking off demolition for this week, which will be a new flagship fashion store in the Design District. We don’t have any pictures of that project yet, but one recent project that we can share pictures of and have been excited to work on is the Hauser Houseboat by a company called Modern Struktures. This was a bit of a unique experience for us as it has been more work on a product than a traditional building design so it let us think and engage the manufacturing and fabrication processes much more than we typically would be able to as architects. I think it is also a project that is deeply embedded in the sea level crisis facing South Florida and offers one potential solution to what will surely be an ongoing issue we face in the coming years.
How would you define your practice within the greater context of architecture firms in the West?
Studio MUKA was founded in 2021 by Neda Kakhsaz & Zabie Mustafa, our practice is a full-service architecture and interior design studio that spans ground-up buildings, interiors, and object design. We believe that every building and interior should evoke memory, feeling, and atmosphere. We take a comprehensive approach to design, combining both architecture and interiors to create narratives that reflect the unique sensibilities of the project location and our collaborators. We are always crossing disciplines from the very early stages of design to bring together all elements that form a space. From architectural programming to furniture design to lighting details, all the layered components come together to create a cohesive vision.
What is unique about the architecture in your city/region in particular?
Los Angeles and California at large have always been a place for innovation and the birthplace of many cultural, technological, and economic movements that have influenced the whole world. There is so much layered history in this region, even though it feels like things are constantly changing. People are not resistant to change and are generally very excited about the future. Because of these qualities, it is a very collaborative environment in which barriers that may be present elsewhere are very open, be it barriers between age, race, disciplines, or even occupation. It feels like the perfect place to have our studio because we aim to do that exact thing, create reciprocity across multiple disciplines of design to accomplish a total work of art.
What are some of your favorite practices you follow in your city/region?
We have respect for many practices that are here in Los Angeles. Specifically, studios that also focus on interdisciplinary work. In addition to design and architecture practices, there is a rich community of contemporary artists that live in Los Angeles that are creating very exciting work. We have recently been inspired by the projects coming out of practices based in Mexico City and different regions within Mexico. There is a beautiful attention to craft and detail in the architecture and interiors that almost feels like a new vernacular for the region. Architects like Manual Cervantes Estudio and Taller Hector Barroso are creating spaces that feel so connected to the environment while at the same time holding a scale and seriousness that feels very forward.
Do you have a new or memorable project you can share with our readers? Completed or in progress?
We recently worked on a project atop an oceanfront hillside property in Malibu that was destroyed by the Woolsey Fire in 2018. In this project, we were experimenting with the concept of a ruin, as our site was fully burned, and only a ruin remained of the old home on the property. We began thinking of new methods to build with the idea of permanence and building to withstand such enormous natural disasters. Almost primitive in its form, the structure lends itself to a beautiful play of shadows as the architectural elements are enhanced by the movement of the sun on the passing of each day. We were commissioned to design both the architecture and interiors to create a complete vision for the project.
How would you define your practice within the greater context of architecture firms in the Midwest?
Being in Detroit, it’s important to us to strive for authenticity in our projects. We’re tirelessly curious about our clients, the building sites, and the building users. As such, generating innovative ideas while keeping people and place at the core of our solutions is paramount.
What is unique about the architecture in your city/region in particular?
There isn’t a particular style like you may find in the southwest, northwest, or Long Island. Michigan does have a large Dutch population which is interesting because, while there is a desire for modern architecture and luxurious design, there is also a Midwestern pragmatism that find its way into everything. Rarely do you see frivolous work. It may sound cliché, but the best projects in our region employ a hardworking, economical, and honest brand of architecture – solving problems with ingenuity instead of fads or trends.
What are some of your favorite practices you follow in your city/region?
M1DTW, Jonathan Disbrow, PLY+.
Do you have a new or memorable project you can share with our readers? Completed or in progress?
Briarcliff in Franklin, Michigan was completed last year and has recently garnered some awards from the American Institute of Architects (AIA). As with most successful projects, we had incredible clients and a truly collaborative approach with the landscape architect, interiors, and structure. The home is in a historic village with many original structures, yet the client wanted a modern home. The solution was to generate a seemingly rural vernacular building form to fit the context while tweaking the detailing, parti, materials, and details to create a sort of mutation. It’s a modern home “cloaked” as a classic Michigan farmstead.
How would you define your practice within the greater context of architecture firms in the Northeast?
We’d define our practice as providing tools for the public. We see architecture at the intersection of culture and infrastructure. As anthropologist-architects, we are interested in how culture shapes spatial codes and vice versa. We celebrate vernacular spatial practices that allow users to self-determine the built environment and try to emulate this freedom and playfulness within our work, whether it is a public installation, a speculative drawings, or an interior renovation.
What is unique about the architecture in your city/region in particular?
New York City has so many buildings and so many architects! We think this encourages more urbanistic thinking on one hand, but also critical thinking about adaptive reuse. We’ve been lucky to find opportunities in both realms, and our ideas to be enriched by work across various typologies.
What are some of your favorite practices you follow in your city/region?
We love New Affiliates, especially how they’ve curated a series of projects that have allowed them to research, experiment, and implement Test-Beds, a way of recycling mock-ups for community gardens. We’re also big fans of AD-WO, for pushing new formats of image-making and representation, alongside meaningful work in teaching and practicing from a critical and diasporic point of view. It’s great to have a supportive community of friends that are evolving their practice while also rooted in academic work.
Do you have a new or memorable project you can share with our readers? Completed or in progress?
We are currently working on the renovation of a fourth-generation family-owned building in Manhattan Chinatown, which houses a ceramics shop and a women, queer, and trans-led arts nonprofit arts space. The building has reinvented itself across generations, while holding on to family tradition and connection to the broader Chinatown community. It’s an exciting intersection between our fascination with Chinatowns and intergenerational living, as two American-born Chinese people.
How would you define your practice within the greater context of architecture firms in the Northeast and Midatlantic regions?
I would describe ourselves as generalists, and we like to take on a broad range of different project types. Currently we have multi and single family residential, commercial office, retail, a recording studio and a pool. I don't think most firms - especially small ones - have the diversity of projects that we do. We see this as an advantage over specialization: we can cross-pollinate ideas and lessons learned from one type of project to another.
What is unique about the architecture in your city/region in particular?
The dialogue between old and new. Virginia is just beginning to embrace the idea that new architecture should not necessarily look like the old, and there are exciting opportunities to question what contextual design can look like. We really enjoy doing urban infill projects - like our Richmond office - that push the boundaries of contextualism.
What are some of your favorite practices you follow in your city/region?
VMDO. Andrew worked there and being a Charlottesville firm we know a lot of the partners. They are true believers in building sustainable and high performing buildings. They do really great work.
Do you have a new or memorable project you can share with our readers? Completed or in progress?
Our affordable housing project, 1125 Commerce, stands out. It was the first project that all three of us (partners) worked on together and is largely responsible for what our practice looks like today. I think what we did there best reflects our values and the kind of architecture we want to achieve. It was a complex adaptive reuse project that was bound by historic and low income tax credits, but we still managed to be creative with what affordable housing can look like. Every time I visit the building, the residents tell me how much they enjoy living there. And the corridors feel like pedestrian streets with residents decorating their stoops. It has a real sense of place and community.
How would you define your practice within the greater context of architecture firms in the Pacific Northwest?
La Union Studio is an innovative studio of designers of cultural space founded by Sonia-Lynn Abenojar & Sergio Legon-Talamoni with lifelong ties to the richness of the Seattle area and beyond. We believe that every space and building has a genuine story to tell; the story of our clients' culture, craft & brand and the stories of our communities. We speak truth to your authentic narrative by creating spaces and places that embody your values in an authentic and vibrant way. Through thoughtful creativity and collaboratione design cultural landmarks that celebrate the beauty and cultural richness of the Pacific Northwest.
What is unique about the architecture in your city/region in particular?
Despite Seattle’s recent and rapid growth, we love that the city makes an effort to celebrate arts and cultural spaces that capture the heart and soul of our region’s small business ecosystem, especially in Seattle’s Chinatown International District. We’re lucky to play an active role in highlighting the richness and ethnic diversity of the region through the projects we design and build. Our past projects like Hood Famous Cafe + Bar, Phin Vietnamese Coffee, and Boon Boona Coffee are examples of spaces we designed to tell a unique story and highlight cultural values through the use of vibrant color, harmonious textures and honest materials.
What are some of your favorite practices you follow in your city/region?
From architects that actively involve the community in the design process like Environmental Works and Schemata Workshop, to human-centered design studios like Atelier Drome and SMR, and designers that are exemplary in their attention to detail and craftsmanship like Olson Kundig and Graham Baba, La Union Studio takes inspiration from the design thinking of contemporary practices throughout the region. We often learn the most, however from the creatives, artists, and artisans in our extended network that we work with both directly and indirectly, often-times outside of the world of architecture and design. We are founded on values of culture, community and collaboration, so we are keen on learning from our peers and partners and folding them into the design process. From culinary artists, crafts-people and musicians, to entertainers and business professionals, we take cues from leaders in every industry across all spectrums all over the world.
Do you have a new or memorable project you can share with our readers? Completed or in progress?
La Union Studio is proud to have just completed the simultaneous design and construction of two neighboring family-owned restaurants, CheBogz Filipino Food and Baja Bistro, who have long standing roots in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of south Seattle. Both businesses were displaced before the pandemic due to rising rent costs and gentrification in the area, and have since-seen a wave of community and municipal support to reopen in the neighborhood they once-served. We worked in conjunction with both owners to align the funding, design, permitting and buildout for both spaces and to utilize economies of scale efficiencies by working with one general contractor partner, Coastal Construction, despite each having their own individual kitchen and service program. Both spaces were designed with special intention to deploy elements that were inspired by the owners’ cultural ties to Pampanga, Philippines and Baja California, Mexico, respectively, celebrating their authentic values and highlighting their resiliency in the face of Seattle's changing economic landscape.
How would you define your practice within the greater context of architecture firms in Canada as well as in the American Northeast?
To start, we celebrate Canada Day, Independence Day, and several other remarkably similar holidays of different importance and sometimes different days. Unfortunately for me, this often means I work on both. Yes, international design practices are more commonplace than in many other professions, and a Canadian from Toronto is one of the most famous American architects! (Mr. Gehry, Canada finally returns your affections). However, we likely stand out as an emerging firm, given we are simultaneously Canadian and American in origin and practice.
Despite the proximity, many would likely be surprised by the marked difference in culture, communication, and norms. Operating in both provides a great deal of practice at holding multiple perspectives yet not being confined by them. What is routine in one place can become a fresh perspective in another. Although it sometimes plays out as a thorough understanding of unquestioned norms followed by a tendency to misbehave. This, combined with my background in product design and interior architecture, before a focus on architecture and development, drives a propensity to color (colour) outside the lines in the type of work we take on, tailoring our role to suit the project.
What is unique about Canadian architecture, and in your region in particular? What about the U.S. region you're also in?
Canadian cities are undergoing unprecedented urban development. Along with-it Canadian designers and architects are rising to the occasion and getting more attention on the international stage. Toronto and the surrounding areas provide a curious combination of cosmopolitan dynamism and provincial sensibility. With largely embraced historical population growth, Toronto is in an inevitable state of transformation. In contrast, cultural and political resistance to change and breaking with convention is particularly pronounced in the built environment. The associated bureaucracy has brokered a range of peculiar stylistic mash-ups. But also some unique and fruitful experimentation.
The American Northeast has a rich mix of historic styles with modern and contemporary architecture. This reflects the layers of frequent reinventions and transformation.
What are some of your favorite practices you follow in Canada and in the American Northeast?
Winnipeg-based 5468796 architecture consistently surprises and delights! Such resourcefulness.
I am very excited by the housing projects completed by Interface Studio Architects (ISA) out of Philadelphia. These projects are anchored in their context while also serving as local landmarks in their own right. These are good examples of how a little individuality can contribute to the larger whole. Many of these projects provide clear insight, if not inspiration to their Canadian counterparts for the potential of small-scale housing projects with only slightly more hospitable approvals processes, zoning and building codes.
What's your favorite architectural landmark in your cities in Canada and in the U.S.?
Toronto City Hall (1965). Less to do with my architectural admiration and more to do with it representing a moment when the city processed an ambition and enthusiasm for the future and civic space. It's coming back around.
American Cities have an abundance of architectural landmarks from industrial uses to more grandiose civic icons. I spent most of my childhood and young adult life exploring these cities. What interests me most today are the small-scale interventions like the ones previously mentioned. Although, I am very fond of Steven Holl's Nelson-Atkins addition.
How would you define your practice within the greater context of architecture firms in the Northeast?
Modellus Novus is an architecture firm creating spaces that shape and define culture. Our New York City-based team is led by individuals united not only by our diverse backgrounds and perspectives, but an optimistic commitment to designing spaces for the many. MN seeks to redefine access to exceptional design. From the most public cultural institutions to private homes, our work prioritizes the experience of all users of a space. Diverse perspectives are pivotal to our work, and we partner with clients who share our belief that great design should not be elusive nor exclusive.
What is unique about the architecture in your city/region in particular?
When building Modellus Novus, we were united by a photo of Rock Steady Crew battle dancing in front of Lincoln Center by Martha Cooper, circa 1981. It captured for us what was quintessential New York City: diverse communities and cultures creating spaces for themselves, and we aspired to create architecture that would welcome more to do the same. To accomplish this, we set out to build a team as diverse as NYC, which meant giving more people not only an opportunity to enter the profession and survive, but thrive. This commitment became the foundation of MN’s core values.
What are some of your favorite practices you follow in your city/region?
Three practices that we admire are Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, SO-IL, FOOD. Architecture is such a collaborative pursuit, the final outcome of a project evolves from many thinkers and hands, and it’s inspiring to be building an architecture practice in a city as vibrant and diverse as New York.
Do you have a new or memorable project you can share with our readers? Completed or in progress?
The creation of Tatiana, the new restaurant by Chef Kwame Onwuachi in David Geffen Hall, was an exercise in rebirthing one of the city’s most iconic institutions. Modellus Novus reimagined David Geffen Hall's hospitality spaces to directly celebrate the history that shaped the area, namely the Afro-Caribbean San Juan Hill neighborhood that was razed to develop Lincoln Center. Through the creation of welcoming and inclusive environments, the design makes space for diverse, future generations of patrons. Tatiana’s pairing of the ugly and the beautiful is inspired by Chef Kwame’s years growing up in the South Bronx in the 1990s. Rather than an insular, exclusive space, the restaurant is an extension of the Lincoln Center campus for the entire city. In 2023, Tatiana topped the NYT’s 100 Best Restaurants list, stating, “We needed Tatiana... To look around a dining room and see a new, heterogenous vision of New York and to feel hope for its future.”
How would you define your practice within the greater context of architecture firms in California?
We are a dynamic and experimental design studio based in San Francisco, defining ourselves by our core values of experimentation, innovation, and compassion. These values empower us to create meaningful moments of time and space. Beyond our daily practice, we actively engage in interdisciplinary research and introspective critique to foster innovation and create compassionate works that genuinely serve the communities we engage with. We are dedicated to pushing boundaries, nurturing human connections, and delivering transformative architectural solutions.
What is unique about the architecture in your city/region in particular?
San Francisco's architecture celebrates cultural diversity, adapting to the undulating landscape, and has a unique blend of historic and contemporary styles, However, the city grapples with challenges of unaffordability and a growing wealth gap, which call for architects to play a proactive role in addressing these challenges and creating more inclusive and equitable spaces for all residents.
What are some of your favorite practices you follow in your city/region?
Stanley Saitowitz | Natoma Architects, Aidlin Darling Design in San Francisco. I also follow Tonkin Zulaikha Greer, Durbach Block Jaggers in Sydney, Australia where I used to live.
Do you have a new or memorable project you can share with our readers? Completed or in progress?
We want to share a memorable project, Songs of Amber, a Columbarium Design in Latvia. This conceptual endeavor was a testament to what Moment X represents – a multi-disciplinary, cross-cultural (US, Australia, Chinese, Latvia) collaboration. The project team comprised an architect, a software engineer, and a fashion designer, united by a shared vision to create a kind-hearted project rooted in research on the culture, environment, and materials of the region. Our goal was to reinterpret and innovate, pushing boundaries while respecting the context, resulting in a unique creation that resonates with the land and its people.
How would you define your practice within the greater context of architecture firms in the Northeast?
At Bolt, we offer the unique combination of full-service Design, Fabrication, and Construction. With the proximity of our fabrication shop, strategically located next door to our office, we are able to seamlessly connect our design process with the fabrication and construction phases, resulting in a holistic approach to all our projects. Our onsite fabrication facility provides our team with the opportunity to experiment, test new fabrication methods, and push the boundaries of what materials can do. This ability to explore and innovate fosters a culture of creativity and encourages our team to take risks and continuously evolve. Within each interaction, our team of designers, fabricators, and builders are learning and discovering new ways of thinking.
What is unique about the architecture in your city/region in particular?
New York City is in a constant state of motion. The spirit and pace of design and architecture that exist in New York demonstrate a resolute commitment to ideas and reinvention while respecting the roots of the city.
Having our office based in New York City, we have the opportunity to work on a broad range of projects within a very small footprint. In the past year, our office has completed the design for a high-end social club, a new retail eye-wear concept, a local OBGYN office, a Brazilian restaurant and bar, a new dog hotel concept, a Matcha cafe, and a facial aesthetic studio (to name a few). There are very few cities in the world that can facilitate such a variety in design and research as well as provide us with clients who all have a focus on how design can assist in their business and overall customer experience.
What are some of your favorite practices you follow in your city/region?
We are constantly looking for sources of inspiration here in New York and across the world. Here are a few of our favorite local teams that we follow locally (as well as a few we collaborate with): Civilian Projects, Drift Studio, Home Studios, Work AC, Herzog & de Neuron, Sing Sing, Man the Studio (graphic design), Crown Creative (graphic design), Saint Urbain (graphic design).
Do you have a new or memorable project you can share with our readers? Completed or in progress?
We recently completed the design, fabrication, and build for the restaurant, Nat’s On Bleecker, located on the corner of Bleecker and Sullivan Street in Greenwich Village. The restaurant is filled with a bright whimsical style unified through colorful patterns and bold forms. Bolt fully designed and constructed this project in just under four months, including the custom fabrication of the banquettes, feature ceiling light, and all tables
How would you define your practice within the greater context of Canadian/New England architecture firms?
Our practice is unique in that we work very actively across borders, both in the U.S. (where we originally founded the studio in Los Angeles) and in Canada. Since its founding, we’ve aimed to challenge the traditional top-down approach to architecture, by making design more democratic, accessible and inclusive for our clients, and the wider community.
What is unique about Canadian/New England architecture, and in your region in particular?
While it’s difficult to address this uniqueness at the scale of a nation (in the case of Canada) or the New England region - at the local scale, what we find unique and wonderful about these cities (Portland and Toronto) is that the landscape and built fabric is unique and acts as an important backdrop for its inhabitants.
In Toronto, an extensive ravine system creates an undulating landscape that cuts across the city and affords opportunities to connect with nature directly in the city. When buildings engage with the ravine (similar to the Ontario Science Centre we talk about later on), it generates incredible sectional opportunities and forces a direct relationship between architecture and landscape, in an exciting way.
In Portland and many of the coastal towns along New England, there’s a solid vernacular of colonial and victorian architecture that engages with its rocky and often hilly shoreline in a wonderfully playful and animated way. We find this clustered and undulating landscape of historic fabric fascinating in the way the buildings and their inhabitants speak with each other against the backdrop of the ragged coastline.
What are some of your favorite practices you follow in Canada as well as in New England?
So many wonderful practices to choose from!
Local to Toronto, we’re big fans of LAMAS, Office of Adrian Phiffer, Ja Architecture Studio (who we teach with at University of Toronto’s Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design), and SOCA (who we collaborate with at BAIDA).
In New England, we love a few well-known names like WOJR and NADAA out of the Boston area, but are also fond of a few local emerging practices like Jessie Carroll Architect and Aceto Landscape Architecture, who blend a modern approach to architecture with New England vernacular in a beautiful way.
What’s your favorite architectural landmark in your city (Toronto and Portland, Maine)?
One of our favorite landmarks in Toronto is the Ontario Science Centre by Raymond Moriyama. It’s a wonderful brutalist building that, despite its size, sensitively descents and integrates itself into a steep and lush ravine site. Sadly, the provincial government of Ontario recently announced plans to demolish the building. We are joining the chorus of local community members and architectural societies that are opposed to this, and call for the restoration and care for this important landmark and vibrant space for learning in Toronto.
In Portland, it’s definitely Fort Gorges, which sits in Casco Bay between the downtown peninsula and the city’s residential islands. It is a former US military fort dating back to roughly 1860 that so fully inhabits the small island it was built on that from the exterior there is no longer any semblance of land. This gives the illusion that the sem-octagonal stone fort is floating in the middle of the bay. Always a fun sight when taking the ferries out to the islands.
Do you have a new or memorable project you can share with our readers? Completed or in progress?
We recently completed a design for an ADU (accessory dwelling unit) in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles that - due to the nature of the site setback conditions - took the shape of a near-perfect triangle. Conceived during the height of the pandemic, the unit is made of two home offices and a gym for the homeowners on a daily basis, that can be easily covered into a guest or tenant unit with murphy beds, kitchenette and a built-in banquette. The primary home is a 1920s Spanish-style home, which informed many of the material and formal decisions on the ADU.
How would you define your practice within the greater context of architecture firms in California?
We are stylistically agnostic and practice moving fluidly between architectural types. We offer a hyper-customized approach to design, working across varied scales, contexts, and personalities, blending international, local, historical, and contemporary ideas. We keep things fun, open, and imaginative while maintaining a commitment to precise drawings and crafted construction. We place people —including our clients, employees, partners, and neighbors— over ideologies, asking, ‘What can we do for you?’
What is unique about the architecture in your city/region in particular?
Architecture here is a patchwork of glamor and grit, defined by colliding aesthetics and forms. The spatial infrastructure here is messy and unlike anywhere else in America, which means local practitioners are afforded opportunities in openness and eclecticism that are not present in other regions. We see Los Angeles as a series of villages woven together by deserts, mountains, and sea: SPEEDBOAT has always been intended as a specially crafted vessel for all-terrain design applications in this context.
What are some of your favorite practices you follow in your city/region?
In no particular order: Frank Gehry, Terremoto, Stayner Architects, Cactus Store, Casey Hughes Architects, LAUN Studio, Nabi Boyd, Emma T. Price, Social Studies Projects, Responsive Homes, Wilton Hemet.
Do you have a new or memorable project you can share with our readers? Completed or in progress?
The studio currently has about ten in-progress projects in various stages of design and construction. There are about half-a-dozen or so completed projects, and some are still being documented. Here is ‘MOUNTAIN HOUSE FOR CINEMATOGRAPHER’:
"ONE DAY, a cinematographer approached us seeking a transformation of his recently acquired hillside abode. The house was distressed, so we peeled away the many dispirited layers that had accumulated over time. With its original structure opened up, we meticulously recomposed its interior & exterior relationships to the site, using classical & Japanese proportioning to draw a new parti that celebrates the land, light, air, and water. We translated our drawings into construction work, creating spatial clarity and new flows for screenings, music, cooking, sleeping, and sitting with views of the surrounding mountain gardens. Now the house has many fine details and an elevated material palette that combines urban sophistication with natural living: douglas fir millwork, poured-in-place terrazzo countertops with river rock aggregate, clay plaster walls, hemp insulation, cork flooring, and handmade ceramic tile from Northern California." – SPEEDBOAT
How would you define your practice within the greater context of architecture firms in the West and Northeast?
The Level Studio team began working together over ten years ago while pursuing design-build competitions, and to this day, all of our projects have a focus on materiality and fabrication means and methods. With every project, we pursue an iterative and research-intensive design approach. Whether it is exploring local vernacular, construction materials, geography, climate, culture, or effects on the environment, we believe understanding context is critical in producing impactful spaces. This is particularly important as we are a bi-coastal firm (with roots in the Midwest) working in very different climatic conditions, so we trust each other's local knowledge and learn by engaging members of the community.
What is unique about the architecture in your city/region in particular?
As an emerging practice, we are formalizing across the country and working on projects in a variety of regions. With home bases in Los Angeles and New York, we are confronted daily with contrasting conditions, from one that is more car-centric, facade-focused, and sprawling to one that deals with high-density and pedestrian-scale spaces. Both regions are also facing unique climate-based challenges, such as droughts in the west and poorly performing building facades in the northeast. We find that our investigatory approach is key in tackling not only projects in New York and Los Angeles but in any location, and that process is critical in informing our designs. As societies become more globally interconnected, it is important to be able to work within diverse communities and across multiple markets.
What are some of your favorite practices you follow in your city/region?
In New York, we are huge fans of CO Adaptive, Young Projects, and we recently pursued a project in collaboration with Alicia Ajayi of Studio AOA. In this process, we learned a lot from her approach to community engagement in public design projects. In Los Angeles, we follow Brooks + Scarpa and Bestor Architecture. Straddling both coasts and many typologies, we really admire Charlap Hyman & Herrero, who has been hugely successful as an emerging practice.
Do you have a new or memorable project you can share with our readers? Completed or in progress?
Level Studio recently received the 2023 Forge Prize sponsored by AISC for our proposal, "Electric Oasis". In this project, we explored the emerging typology of EV charging infrastructure, which is becoming increasingly relevant. We are actively pursuing partnerships working on green energy and infrastructural projects. We believe it's important for architects to remain involved in this type of work not only to keep up with current technologies and more sustainable building practices but also because local and federal policies have been passed to fund these large-scale projects, which will dramatically affect public spaces and our future way of life in the US.
How would you define your practice within the greater context of architecture firms in the South?
studio^RISE is a small firm based in New Orleans, LA, that collaborates with clients at multiple scales. While we’re a relatively new firm, we like to think that we’re having an impact on each project for the betterment of the client, the project, and the community. Being based in New Orleans, we look to balance the needed respect for the context and place in which we live with the need for forward-thinking design.
What is unique about the architecture in your city/region in particular?
Specific to New Orleans, as residents and practitioners, we have a very strong regard for historic preservation and adaptive reuse, working to respect the place. We also acknowledge the changing landscape regarding environmental impacts, population shifts, and the need not to recreate history. New Orleans provides opportunities to insert new moments of design while incorporating proper materials and proportions. In the end, the relationship between New Orleans and our work is one of forward-thinking respect.
New Orleans’ rich architectural landscape often leads to a very interesting and thoughtful way of addressing projects. This requires us to immerse ourselves in the site and surroundings. Particularly on projects with new elements, no matter if new construction, addition, or adaptive reuse, we review the context and work to incorporate important relationship-based decisions to create a final project that feels of New Orleans today while carrying traits of previous generations.
Do you have a new or memorable project you can share with our readers? Completed or in progress?
We are currently working on an expansion of a local microbrewery in the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans, a historically mixed-use area of industrial buildings and residential. The existing building consists of a single shotgun and a two-story metal warehouse that was built attached to the shotgun. The expansion is renovating the vacant 2nd floor into expanded seating and bar area with an expansive balcony overlooking the existing beer garden. The balcony form responds to the site usage by the owner, existing beer garden elements, and the Public Belt railroad tracks that create the angled property line along the eastern edge of the property.
How would you define your practice within the greater context of architecture firms in the Midwest?
As a newly established firm in Chicago with deep personal and professional roots in the Midwest, we seek to create a practice that genuinely lives up to our ideals of serving the needs of our clients and communities with joy and compassion. Architecture has such a strong connection to its place, so when we create future visions for the communities of Chicago, especially ones that have seen disinvestment and decline, it comes with great contextual understanding and empathy. We embrace the diversity of our work that gives opportunities for novel designs that reflect the unique characteristics of the site to create architecture that the community will take pride in.
What is unique about the architecture in your city/region in particular?
Standing on the big shoulders of the great architects, planners, and thinkers of Chicago’s rich architectural past and present, we strive to advance the architectural discourse of Chicago. The existing mid-western vernacular can be restructured to embrace the future opportunities in our city and region.
Our approach to everything we do is to listen to the client and community first and provide creative solutions that respond to these needs. We put people first so we can serve them best.
Do you have a new or memorable project you can share with our readers? Completed or in progress?
The vision behind Bella Noir Community Wellness Hub is the belief that everyone should have equal access and opportunity to be successful in today’s society. Bella Noir, currently under design, consists of 27 residential units, ground floor commercial space, a full-size basketball court, mental health services, and non-profit office space. The black corrugated facade allows moments of color to break down the perceived scale of the building. The exterior terraces allow outdoor access to engage with nature at every level of the building design.
How would you define your practice within the greater context of architecture firms in the Northeast?
At Studio Fei, we strive to offer a unique viewpoint by considering each architectural creation not merely as a structure but as a vessel of spirituality. It is our fundamental belief that architecture possesses the capability to transcend the physical realm and awaken deep contemplation, ideas, memories, connections, and emotions among those who experience it. This conviction sets us apart from other architectural practices in the Northeast.
What is unique about the architecture in your city/region in particular?
As a young studio based in New York City, we view the city's architecture to be a perfect embodiment of capital, ambition, and technological progress. The bustling streets, teeming with residents and tourists, breathe life into public parks, hidden gems, cafes, libraries, shops, and museums. The interplay between the city's illustrious history and its boundless future aspirations make New York City the epitome of global prominence.
What are some of your favorite practices you follow in your city/region?
We hold great admiration for the works of renowned architectural firms such as SO-IL, MOS Architects, REX, SHOP, and KPF.
Do you have a new or memorable project you can share with our readers? Completed or in progress?
We recently completed a conceptual design for the transformation of an 18th-century townhouse into an urban art complex. This project seeks to create a palimpsest of physical building layers, blending the needs of a contemporary art museum with the preservation of the original structure's authenticity. Instead of merely adding spaces to accommodate contemporary art, our approach involves carefully curating a sequence of sensory experiences.
How would you define your practice within the greater context of architecture firms in the West?
Most architecture firms do not look to serve Black and brown communities/neighborhoods. offTOP's focused on serving Black homeowners/business owners while unearthing a Black architectural aesthetic that speaks to Black culture in Los Angeles.
What is unique about the architecture in your city/region in particular?
Los Angeles is very much a single-family home city. I love that even when you're in the heart of the hood, you can still see some beautiful homes/architecture. There is so much cultural architecture, Spanish, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Russian, etc. I love that most cultures are represented in the built environment, and I'm excited to do our part to ensure Black Americans are also represented in the built environment.
What are some of your favorite practices you follow in your city/region?
I'm not typically interested in practices/firms, but I am interested in individual designers and their work, such as Cory Henry, Natou Fall, and Kevin Sherrod are some of my favorite designers working/residing in LA.
Do you have a new or memorable project you can share with our readers? Completed or in progress?
One of the projects we have been really excited about is the virtual museum for "Our Genetic Legacy." OGL's mission is to create projects that expose and publish lost family legacies of BIPOC Americans in order to diversify, correct, and expand the current history of America to include all Americans. The "We The People" Museum will set the standard for creating spaces honoring Black, Indigenous, and People of Colors voices and stories beyond enslavement and trauma. The museum will be a landmark in digital historic preservation that will serve generations to come. This project was organized by Joshua Foster of JAFC Solutions and designed by offTOP and Kevin Sherrod.
Katherine is an LA-based writer and editor. She was Archinect's former Editorial Manager and Advertising Manager from 2018 – January 2024. During her time at Archinect, she's conducted and written 100+ interviews and specialty features with architects, designers, academics, and industry ...
Alexander Walter grew up in East Germany with plenty of Bratwurst. He studied Architecture and Media Design at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, Germany, and participated in foreign exchange programs with Washington-Alexandria Architecture Consortium in Alexandria, Virginia and Waseda University in ...
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