Architecture Research Office is the New York City firm led by Stephen Cassell, Adam Yarinsky, and Kim Yao. ARO’s work spans from strategic planning to architecture to urban design. Research and analysis drive design that unites the conceptual and the pragmatic within a strong, coherent vision. Since 1993, ARO has worked with leading universities, cultural institutions, global corporations, government agencies, and international fashion labels. From a 1,000-square-foot low-income sustainable housing prototype to a proposal to reinvent the role of ecology and infrastructure in New York City, ARO uses design to elevate the quality of our world.

The firm’s notable projects include New Urban Ground, a proposal that appeared as part of MoMA’s exhibition Rising Currents (2010); Union Square North Comfort Station and historic Pavilion, a renovation and expansion of the historic New York City park (2010); R-House, an ultra-efficient affordable housing prototype in Syracuse, NY (2010); Five Principles for Greenwich South, a strategic framework and urban vision created with the Alliance for Downtown New York (2009); the School of Architecture Addition at Princeton University (2007); the Susan P. and Richard A. Friedman Study Center at Brown University (2007); the Prada New York Epicenter Store, designed with Rem Koolhaas/OMA, (2001); Qiora Store & Spa (2001); the US Armed Forces Times Square Recruiting Station (1999); and Colorado House (1999).

Architecture Research Office received the 2011 Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Award for Architecture, and, last year, the American Academy of Arts and Letter honored founding principals Cassell and Yarinsky with their 2010 Academy Award for Architecture. The firm’s work on climate change’s impact on New York City has appeared on exhibit as part of MoMA’s Rising Currents exhibition and was featured at the U.S. Pavilion of the 2010 Venice Biennale. ARO: Architecture Research Office (Princeton Architectural Press) collected the first decade of the firm’s work.