Architecture is bound to its situation. Our exploration of a site operates at different scales and durations, such that the idea of “site” takes on an expanded meaning. We begin each project with an analysis of its program and site, mining potential opportunities. It is through the intuitive study of these variables that an approach is conceived. During this phase, we explore subjective approaches to atmosphere, sound, heat and light. We see each project as its own manifesto.

Through the careful selection of materials and the design of details, architecture is imbued with a kind of poetry that is experienced through the senses. From the tectonics of a building facade, to the human scale of a door handle, we approach the architectural detail as a synthesis of material properties, design intent, craft, and environmental performance that can elevate the everyday experience of a building. We view the process of building, the translation of a design into physical space, as being central to our practice.

The phenomena of light in all its forms are essential to the visual experience, and environmental performance, of architecture. The ever-changing light of the sun renders a space in time. Brilliant sunlight, or diffuse light on a rainy winter’s day, or the shadows cast by passing clouds, alter one’s perception of time and space. We utilize the potential of light at every stage in our design process -  when orienting a building; when designing facades that serve as a filter for light; and when considering illumination within an architectural interior. When working in a dense urban environment, where access to daylight is constrained, the power of daylight to shape experience is at its most charged. Daylight is complemented by the integration of electric illumination, which registers the transition from daytime to evening and shapes the experience of interior space.

Architecture shapes our experience of daily life, from the private domestic room to the collective spaces of a society. We believe that all our projects have a responsibility to make a positive contribution to the physical, civic, and social context in which they are built, especially those that serve our collective need for learning, gathering, and cultural enrichment.

We view the responsibility of environmental stewardship as also offering opportunities for new ways of thinking about architecture and design that span the entire process of design and realization of a project, from initial concept, through completion, to the imagining of a future reuse of a building. Constraints inspire innovation, and at each stage of design we seek to reduce resource consumption, repurpose existing materials, and participate in the regeneration of communities and natural resources.

We view adaptive reuse as being more than an environmentally responsible design approach. Beyond the quantifiable measures of economic value and embodied carbon, existing buildings have cultural and emotional value in a society. They offer a continuity with the past, while suggesting  the possibility of alternative futures through their repurposing and adaptation for the needs of contemporary life.