RAAD specializes in creating spaces and objects that emphasize the process of construction — knowledge gleaned from close and continued collaboration with builders. This collaboration leads to clean, rich, imaginative designs that marry strikingly innovative thinking about function with a deep respect for the traditions of everyday living. A focus on the materiality, joinery and detail of design is apparent in all of RAAD’s work and is always considered within the context of the relationship between open space and cozy enclosure.
James Ramsey is the principal of RAAD — Ramsey Architecture And Design. James’ experience in design began at Yale University, where he won a Bates Fellowship to study cathedral design in Europe. He then went to work as a satellite engineer for NASA, where he was a part of the team that created the Pluto Fast Flyby and the Cassini
satellites. After his time at NASA, James gained large firm experience at DMSAS in Washington, DC and small firm knowledge, upon relocating to New York, at the boutique outfit, Penny Yates Architects. While teaching
architecture at the Parsons School of Design, James worked to put the pieces in place to start his own practice in 2004. RAAD has since built over a hundred projects, both in NYC and across the country. James Ramsey is the inventor of the Remote Skylight and the creator of the Delancey Underground, also known as the LowLine.