nArchitects has just received the 2023 National Design Award in Architecture from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. The award brings national recognition to the different forms of design that improve and enhance everyday life. In fact, the Architecture award selects a studio or individual for their holistic understanding of spatial experiences, and this year the committee picked nArchitects famous for their New York Micro-Apartment experiment, the cultural center A/D/O in Brooklyn, and many more interactive works.
Established in 1999 by Eric Bunge and Mimi Hoang, nArchitects aims to address pressing issues through design and architecture encouraging social engagement. With a focus on benefiting the public and optimizing social gal that connects communities, their schemes all center around these conversations. in 2016, the studio finalized Carmel Place, the first micro-unit residential building in New York City.
Additionally, they renovated and launched A/D/O, a culture hub dedicated to enhancing urban living through design. In 2018, the studio launched the NYS Equal Rights Heritage Center, a platform to bring social justice forward. Finally, the studio designed the Jones Beach Energy & Nature Center in 2020 to impart environmental stewardship and responsibility values to the new generation.
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See How New York’s Pilot Scheme of Modular Microhouses Was BuiltAt the core of the nArchitects’ work is their commitment to pioneering housing solutions, creating community hubs, and finding solutions for the individual and the collective to interact meaningfully. The firm has received multiple awards for its work, ranging from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in Architecture to the AIA New York State Firm of the Year or the AIA National Institute Honor Award. Finally, the studio was selected as the recipient of The Architectural League of New York’s Emerging Voices.
Recently, nArchitects has been chosen to provide architectural design services for New York City’s Department of Design and Construction alongside Snøhetta, Shop Architects, Studio Gang, and more. The studio received the 2017 AIA Institute Honor Awards for its work on Carmel Place, representing a new housing paradigm for New York’s growing demand. The details of its building and development for NYC competition entry can be viewed in this trailer, released by the studio, describing the ins and outs of this micro-unit scheme.
