Archinect - Features

Brooklyn and New Orleans-based ALAO on Engendering Humanist Design With a Dispersed Team

2020-07-10T09:00:00-04:00

Operating as a networked outfit with offices in Brooklyn, New Orleans, and the Philippines, ALAO-founders Aya Maceda and James Carse and their team strive to create architecture that goes beyond four walls and a roof. Creating generous spaces filled with light as well as buildings that often work to advance social goals, the designers strive, as Maceda explains, to "work intimately with [the] clients and communities we serve" to produce human-centered designs. To which Carse adds, "Rather than seek a specific project-type we are always seeking clients and collaborators who are open to the idea that the legacy of an architectural project should be established by how it serves and inspires the community."

For our latest Studio Snapshot, we caught up with Maceda and Carse to learn more about how their office has navigated the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, how the firm is approaching acquiring new projects, and what they look for when adding to their team.

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Princeton Grad, Olga Zakharova, Considers Thesis "a Territory for One to Discover Future Areas of Research, Passions, and Career Interests"

2020-06-10T13:22:00-04:00

Olga Zakharova is a recent M.Arch graduate of Princeton University School of Architecture. Archinect was able to chat with Zakharova and learn about her experiences as a student who was graduating during the pandemic. Her exploration of urbanism and the historical organization of buildings, spaces, and landscapes emphasizes on the "industrialized past" of Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood.

Zakharova shares with us the focus of her thesis and the pivot points she made when adjusting her model-specific project to fit a digital narrative. One of the many students whose final year was impacted by the abrupt transition towards remote learning amid the pandemic, Zakharova offers a resilient perspective. "A thesis project is not just another studio project. I would say it is more of a territory for one to discover future areas of research, passions, and career interests."

Archinect's Spotlight on 2020 Thesis Projects: 2020 has been an extraordinarily challenging year for architecture g...

Architensions on Creating Architecture That “Exists Beyond the Logic of Capitalism”

2020-03-03T09:00:00-05:00

When Alessandro Orsini and Nick Roseboro teamed up to lead Architensions, it was, as Alessandro describes, a “sort of a re-birth” for the architectural design studio. Since then, the Brooklyn- and Rome-based practice has been committed to exploring ideas that challenge “the paradigm of architecture as a financial tool” by putting human-driven design at the center of all their work.

In this Studio Snapshot, Alessandro and Nick thoughtfully reflect on their journey and what they've learned, from the ongoing process of evaluating their identity as a practice, to the importance of agency and social responsibility in the architectural field, to the thrill of getting to design an art installation for Coachella 2020.

Abruzzo Bodziak Architects Embraces the Beautiful Complexities of Architectural Practice Through Optimism and Narration

2019-11-01T15:45:00-04:00

What happens if running a practice can be viewed as one long project? With this perspective and approach to establishing themselves as a formidable architecture studio, the Brooklyn-based duo of Abruzzo Bodziak Architects has continued to make their design imprint within the fabric of New York's diverse design community.

As practicing architects and academics involved in teaching and fellowship, Emily Abruzzo and Gerald Bodziak use their multidisciplinary approach to design solutions that work toward a built environment which "engenders belonging."

For this week's Studio Snapshot, Archinect connected with Abruzzo and Bodziak to learn more about their journey as a budding architectural practice and showcasing the "synthetic process" of the built form through narrative.

Deans List: Pratt's Dr. Harriet Harriss on Academia's Role in Preparing Architects of the Future

2019-06-24T12:07:00-04:00

The Deans List is an interview series with the leaders of architecture schools, worldwide. The series profiles the school’s programming, as defined by the dean – giving an invaluable perspective into the institution’s unique curriculum, faculty and academic environment.

For this installment, Archinect spoke with incoming dean Dr. Harriet Harriss. Deemed a trailblazer for her leadership and design innovation in architecture and academia, Harriss shares her vision for Pratt Institute's School of Architecture, and for academia's role in students' life, and the architectural community overall.

Brooklyn's Frederick Tang Discusses What It Means to Find Opportunities in Design by Learning to Say Yes and No

2019-01-07T14:49:00-05:00

For Frederick Tang, running a practice starts with remembering where opportunities for design freedom can occur. Channeling advice given to him during the early part of his career, the Brooklyn-based architect is reminded to never forget "architecture is a service profession." An attitude that Tang has carried throughout the growth of his practice, he focuses on fostering a team that encourages design humility while prioritizing collaboration.

For this week's Studio Snapshot, Tang discusses how making big decisions for his growing firm requires understanding what it means to say "yes" or "no." As his design practice Frederick Tang Architecture evolves, so does the opportunity for exploration.

Founded by Painter-turned-Architect Shane Neufeld, L/AND/A Blurs the Lines Between Art and Architecture

2018-04-23T09:00:00-04:00

L/AND/A (short for Light and Air Architecture), is an Brooklyn-based practice run by Shane Neufeld. An artist, writer, and an architect, Neufeld studied painting and literature before getting his Master's from the Yale School of Architecture. Founded in 2017, L/AND/A was Neufeld's opportunity to explore the intersections between the worlds of art and architecture. For this week's Small Studio Snapshot, we talk with him about the relationship between the two and his transition from one into the other.

What the Future Has in Store for Brooklyn-Based Firm, Future Expansion

2018-01-29T09:00:00-05:00

Future Expansion is a Brooklyn based architecture-and-design firm founded in 2011 by Deirdre and Nicholas McDermott. Shortly after starting, the practice won an open RFP from the Brooklyn Academy of Music for a large-scale public art installation. Since, the two have gone on to carry out projects for both private and public clients. They recently completed another winning installation, "Flatiron Reflection," for the fourth annual Flatiron Public Plaza Holiday Design Competition commissioned by the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership and Van Alen Institute.

For this week's Small Studio Snapshots, Archinect caught up with the firm to hear about some recent projects they are working on and find out what the future has in store.

S9 Architecture is Remaking the City and Suburbs Through Iterative Design

2017-05-02T12:14:00-04:00

S9 Architecture, a Manhattan-based firm, is involved in a plethora of projects that are not so much shaping the skyline of the city as quietly addressing the context of the city and the impacts of new spatial needs from the street and human scale. Their work has even attracted the likes of ‘starchitect’ Bjarke Ingels, who recently moved into a rustic, rusted penthouse in one of their Brooklyn buildings. A relatively young firm, S9 has a style and philosophy that has helped them secure a position at the forefront of a new market for vibrant mixed-use development in New York and its surroundings, with projects like the Dock 72 building in Brooklyn’s Navy Yard under construction—which has WeWork as a major tenant—to iterations on reviving and adapting the shopping experience in suburbia.

Small Studio Snapshots: Studio Modh

2017-02-20T12:17:00-05:00

In the words of this week's interviewee, running one's own practice is not for everyone! This gives us all the more reason to take a look inside the small studios that have found a way to make it work.

This week, we take a look at Studio Modh, a Brooklyn-based studio founded by Philip Ryan, formerly of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects.

Between art and design: rethinking function with Hand Job Gallery Store

2016-02-23T17:55:00-05:00

Google “art vs design” and you’ll find a slew of fairly common sense diagrams and articles. “Good art is a talent”, stipulates one, while “good design is a skill”. Or, similarly, “good art is interpreted”, whereas “good design is understood”. My favorite includes two identical images of a chair. Beneath one reads the caption, “a chair: design”, while beneath the second, “a tree: conceptual art”.

"This incredible, derogatory, racialized way people talk about the space": director Kelly Anderson's Cutting Room interview on gentrification and activism in her doc, "My Brooklyn"

2014-06-12T11:53:00-04:00

My Brooklyn takes a close look at the guiding forces behind Brooklyn’s gentrification, from the highly personal perspective of documentary filmmaker (and self-identifying gentrifier), Kelly Anderson. Pivoting around Anderson’s and producer Allison Lirish Dean’s investigation of redevelopment efforts for downtown Brooklyn’s Fulton Mall, the documentary carefully considers both the personal and historical factors behind gentrification’s economic shifts, outlining (if not simplifying) the complexity of the gentrification debate.

ShowCase: 253 Pacific Street by James Cleary Architecture

2013-02-11T14:20:00-05:00

ShowCase is an on-going feature series on Archinect, presenting exciting new work from designers representing all creative fields and all geographies.

We are always accepting nominations for upcoming ShowCase features - if you would like to suggest a project, please send us a message.