We see our work process as slow architecture. Believing that it is preferable to rethink and repurpose existing resources than to tap new ones, we infiltrate existing systems that are responsible for built form, rather than reinvent the wheel each time. We explore local vernacular conditions to discover how an efficient (and economical) reconfiguration of available materials, forms and methods, informed by the latest advances in technology, can result in an improved quality of life for communities and individuals. For us, this is sustainable design—both vis-à-vis the environment and our own business—and it is particularly well-suited to the twinned economic and ecological crises that we face today.
Collectively, A+M has extensive experience in a multitude of disciplines (architecture and landscape, graphic and interior design, development and construction). We thrive on solving design problems around multiple obstacles: time and budget constraints, common (often, unglamorous) materials and long-established local methodologies. Working directly with clients and builders often means designing (and sometimes reworking) on the construction site, and requires quickness of thought and precision of communication. We often use our design projects as a laboratory, looking for ways to rethink material applications; as a result, roofing and siding from our residential projects in central PA ended up in a public artwork on Governors Island and later migrated to a recent exhibition commemorating the 500th anniversary of Andrea Palladio.