The five 2018 New Practices New York winners

Five up-and-coming architecture practices were selected as winners in the AIANY's 2018 New Practices New York portfolio competition, which takes place every two years. With the 2018 theme of Consequence, the competition sought architecture firms who “constructively and actively engage with their city, their society, and their context”, present new modes of thinking, and create opportunities for thoughtful architecture — during a time of political, social, economic, and cultural uncertainty. 

The competition brief asked entrants to consider, “How are you shaping your practice to have consequence?“ as well as how their work is transforming the built environment, and how they define their role and in what context.

The jury selected the following firms as the winners:

Agency-Agency

About the firm: Founded by Tei Carpenter, the practice seeks out an expanded agency for architecture’s role in society, engaging both buildings and the systems beyond buildings. The practice is currently involved with three types of design work: non-profit, client-based built projects; competition-winning speculative designs; and self-initiated sponsored research fueled by a sense of optimism and the possibility for public engagement. Methodologically, the practice combines research, teaching, and design to engage in discussions within the discipline and more broadly.

MABU + Matt Burgermaster

MABU’s work focuses on the material, spatial, and environmental leftovers of others. Both by choice and by coincidence, much of the firm’s work re-imagines buildings produced by a modernity that has exhausted itself. The things we discard don’t just go away, nor are the trash heaps of history only filled with old junk. In this new era where everything has been altered by human activity, the MABU chooses to recognize old buildings as material and cultural resources.

N H D M / Nayhun Hwang + David Eugin Moon

NHDM is a collaborative practice for design in research in architecture and urbanism, founded in 2010 by Nahyun Hwang and David Eugin Moon. The practice strongly believes in the agency of architecture to articulate and address complex social, political, cultural, and environmental issues. Contemporary cities and their extended geographies serve not only as subjects of investigation but as sources of critical inspiration and fertile testing grounds for experimentation and transformation.

Only If

Only If is a design practice for architecture and urbanism founded in 2013 by Karolina Czeczek and Adam Frampton, AIA. Their work is based on an intimate engagement with construction processes, local policies and conditions, and cultural and community organizations. The firm translates urban techniques to an architectural scale to rethink qualities of duration and change. Only If believes that, rather than imposing additional complexity, the role of the designer is to envision simple gestures and forms to impose structure, coherence, and identity.

P.R.O. – Peterson Rich Office

Founded by Miriam Peterson and Nathan Rich, P.R.O. advocates for an expanded role for design that crosses disciplinary boundaries. P.R.O. believes that design professionals are able to play the role of imaginative mediator, consensus builder, and trusted ally to multiple stakeholders simultaneously. This privileged role, one often overlooked by traditional firms, is not easily played by those outside of the practice.

As part of the award, the winners will receive a stipend for an installation and exhibition at the Center for Architecture, which will open on April 12.

The 2018 jury included: Beatrice Galilee, Daniel Brodsky Associate Curator of Architecture and Design, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Dan Howarth, US Editor, Dezeen; Jeffrey Inaba, Principal, Inaba Williams; Andrés Jaque, Founder, Office for Political Innovation; Hilary Sample, AIA, Principal and Co-founder, MOS Architects; and Rosalyne Shieh, AIA, Partner, Schaum/Shieh.