The winners of the 14th Architizer A+Awards are live! Discover a global cohort of architects shaping the future of design, and subscribe to our Awards Newsletter for future program updates.
You can usually tell when an architect really knows a place. It shows up in the details: how a building responds to climate, which materials make sense, what local construction traditions have to offer, and what the landscape allows or demands. None of these things are particularly flashy on their own, but together they can make a building feel like it could only have happened there.
That kind of local knowledge makes this year’s Best Local Firm winners particularly interesting. From Indonesia and Iran to the Rocky Mountain West, Brooklyn, Shanghai and Switzerland, these practices take very different approaches, but all look closely at the places where they work before deciding what comes next.
K-Thengono Design Studio
Jury Winner, Best Local Firm, 14th Architizer A+Awards
Kencana Valley Compound by K-Thengono Design Studio, Indonesia
Porosity from Above by K-Thengono Design Studio, Indonesia
Firm Location: North Jakarta, Indonesia
Founded: 2019
Based in Indonesia, K-Thengono Design Studio has built its practice around paying close attention to where a project comes from. Established in 2019, the integrated architecture and interior studio looks to a site’s environmental conditions, cultural identity and local traditions before deciding how a project should take shape. Natural light, ventilation and access to water are recurring concerns, while locally sourced materials and vernacular construction techniques connect contemporary spaces to Indonesia’s architectural heritage. Historical research and conversations with clients help guide the process, with contractors and consultants involved as the work moves toward construction. Local craftsmanship is an important part of that process, giving the studio’s projects a strong sense of place.
Martín Martín arquitectos
Popular Choice Winner, Best Local Firm, 14th Architizer A+Awards
Loé emocional by Martín Martín arquitectos, Spain
Loé emocional by Martín Martín arquitectos, Spain
Firm Location: Granada, Spain
Founded: 1980
For Martín Martín Arquitectos, the story of a project begins with what is already there. Landscape, existing structures and the memories attached to a site all become part of the design process, alongside a close understanding of the people who will inhabit the finished building. The studio works with a restrained architectural language, allowing proportion, natural light and materiality to shape the experience. Inside and outside are considered together, while orientation, ventilation, solar control and existing vegetation contribute to environmental performance and comfort. The same attention carries through the process of making, with the studio treating the site, client and construction as part of an ongoing conversation rather than separate stages of the work.
NextOffice
Finalist, Best Local Firm, 14th Architizer A+Awards
The Nedarag Guesthouse by NextOffice, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran
The Poet’s House by NextOffice, Tehran, Iran
Firm Location: Tehran, Iran
Founded: 2004
From its base in Tehran, NextOffice approaches contemporary Iranian architecture through the particular circumstances of each project. Climate, culture, social and economic conditions all play a role in determining how a building takes shape. The practice works across an unusually broad range of scales, from single-family houses and residential buildings to commercial and mixed-use complexes and urban master plans. Rather than carrying one fixed architectural language from project to project, NextOffice allows each commission to respond to its own site and program. Its work therefore sits in an interesting space between Iran’s architectural traditions and the realities of contemporary life, using context as a way to shape a distinctly present-day approach to Iranian architecture.
Love Schack Architecture
Finalist, Best Local Firm, 14th Architizer A+Awards
Freja House by Love Schack Architecture, Whitefish, MT, United States
Meadow House by Love Schack Architecture, WY, United States
Firm Location: Jackson, WY | Driggs, ID | Bozeman, MT
Founded: 2015
Working across the Northern Rocky Mountain region, Love Schack Architecture is an architecture and design firm with headquarters in Bozeman, Montana, Driggs, Idaho, and Jackson, Wyoming. The practice works across residential and commercial architecture, with a focus on spaces rooted in natural building materials and net-zero energy consumption. As Certified Passive House Consultants, the firm brings building performance into its approach to design, while considering the environmental conditions of the region. Its work is grounded in site-specific solutions, combining practical performance with a strong connection to the landscapes of the Rocky Mountain West.
EERI (Everyday Essentials Research Institute)
Finalist, Best Local Firm, 14th Architizer A+Awards
Cafe at Teatown by EERI, Hubei, China
Spark Lodges at YDD Resort by EERI, Hunan, China
Firm Location: Shanghai, China
Founded: 2019
Founded in Shanghai in 2019 by HOU Rui and ZHU Lijin, EERI (Everyday Essentials Research Institute) is a multidisciplinary design studio working across architecture, interior design and installation design.
Both founders studied architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, earning M.Arch degrees before gaining experience at several internationally recognized architectural practices. Today, the studio brings those different areas of design together, approaching projects across multiple scales and disciplines.
reBuild Workshop
Special Mention, Best Local Firm, 14th Architizer A+Awards
Java Haus by reBuild Workshop, Brooklyn, Kings County, NY, United States
Java Haus by reBuild Workshop, Brooklyn, Kings County, NY, United States
Firm Location: New York City, NY
Founded: 2015
Brooklyn-based reBuild Workshop has spent the past decade working with one of New York City’s most recognizable forms of housing: its historic row houses. The architect-led design-build practice has completed more than 50 townhouse projects, developing a particular focus on bringing contemporary design and high-performance energy standards to century-old masonry homes. Deep retrofits allow the buildings to meet new energy demands while retaining the character of their existing architecture.
That approach can be seen in Java Haus, a Greenpoint wood-frame row house retrofit featured in The New York Times, and Fillmore Place, a Passive House retrofit of a landmarked 1860 brick row house in Williamsburg.
McLeod Bovell Modern Houses
Special Mention, Best Local Firm, 14th Architizer A+Awards
Liminal House by McLeod Bovell Modern Houses, West Vancouver, Canada
Firm Location: Vancouver, Canada
Founded: 2008
McLeod Bovell has spent much of its residential work looking closely at what happens when a house meets difficult terrain. The 16-person collaborative practice, founded in 2008, has particular experience with steep and irregular sites, where dramatic views can easily become the dominant consideration. Instead, the studio looks at what the terrain itself makes possible, using changes in level and unusual spatial sequences to create more varied relationships between the house and its surroundings. The process begins with the client as well, through an ongoing dialogue that considers both clearly expressed needs and the things left unsaid. Those conversations help shape projects that respond to the particular character and spatial experiences of each home.
Beck Oser Architects
Special Mention, Best Local Firm, 14th Architizer A+Awards
Anbau Im Wygaertli 18. Hofstetten, Switzerland, CHE, Beck Oser Architekten, Switzerland, CHE © Boerje Mueller Photography
Kindergarten Rodersdorf by Beck Oser Architects, Rodersdorf, Switzerland
Firm Location: Basel, Switzerland
Founded: 2001
Beck Oser Architects approaches each project holistically, with the individual and their needs at the center of the design process. The studio focuses on the essentials, using carefully selected materials to create a timelessly modern architecture intended to retain its value beyond the present moment. Its involvement continues from planning through completion, allowing the practice to oversee the work closely and maintain a high level of architectural quality throughout the process.
The winners of the 14th Architizer A+Awards are live! Discover a global cohort of architects shaping the future of design, and subscribe to our Awards Newsletter for future program updates.
