OBRA Archi tec t s was founded by Pablo Cas t ro and Jenni fer Lee in the year 2000 in New York Ci ty. The projec ts under taken by OBRA Archi tec t s span a wide range of programs and s i zes yet cons is tent l y seek to evoke invent ion and interes t through explorat ions of mater ial , s t ruc ture, s i te and exper ience. Thei r prac t i ce and thei r wor k seek to chal lenge and expand the range of metaphors in which archi tec ture f inds i ts meaning. OBRA cons iders each and ever y projec t to be int imatel y bound to i ts sur roundings , ex tending af ield into s i te and lands cape the conceptual under s tanding of the archi tec tural work . As a resul t many of our proposal s and bui l t wor k s inc lude outdoor components and integration into the natural or urban landscape. Cur rent wor k inc ludes a v i l la in Ordos , Inner Mongol ia, a caf é in Soho, a pr i vate eco- res idence in Cos ta Ri ca, and spec ial inv i tat ion to par t i c ipate in the IBA Hamburg Smar t Pr i ce Houses compet i t ion. OBRA Archi tec t s was selec ted for thi s inv i ted compet i t ion in an inte at ional jur ied proces s along wi th 15 other inte at ional l y renowned archi tec tural prac t i ces f rom around the wor ld. IBA Hamburg is a bui lding expos i t ion whi c h wi l l showcase c reat i v i ty, oppor tuni ty, cont ras t s and tens ions , in developing solut ions wi th a spec i f i c focus on economi cal innovat ion. The goal is to c reate resul ts that t rans cend the purely exemplar y, new models for the future of the met ropol i s . The f i rm has recent l y completed a 13,250 s f res idence i n Southampton, New York with guesthouse, poolhouse and garage, as wel l as a ful l -s cale protot ype emergenc y hous ing shel ter on di splay at the Nat ional Ar t Museum of China in conjunc t ion wi t h a s ympos ium on emergenc y shel ter rel ief response sponsored by the UNDP. The wor k of OBRA has been exhibi ted at the Nat ional Ar t Museum of China, the Museum of Mode Ar t , PS1 Contemporar y Ar t Center, Rhode I s land School of Des ign, the Chicago Athenaeum, as wel l as at the Univer s i ty of Minnesot a Col lege of Des ign, Fordham Univer s i ty ’s Center Gal lery, and the Center for Archi tec ture, New York . They are inc luded in the 50t h Anni ver sar y exhibi t of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opening in February. OBRA Archi tec t s was named one of 2005 Emerging Voices by the Archi tec tural League of New York . OBRA is the winner of the 2006 PS1/MoMA Young Archi tec t s Program compet i t ion and lec tured in MoMA’s Conversat ions wi t h Contemporar y Ar t i s ts ser ies in February of 2007. Thei r work has been honored wi th a 2008 AIA New York Honor Award, a 2008 ID Magaz ine Annual Des ign Rev iew Award, and two Amer i can Archi tec ture Awards by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Archi tec ture and Des ign. The wor k of OBRA has been publ i shed in a monograph by the Uni ted As ia Ar ts and Des ign Cooperat ion in Bei j ing, China as wel l as in publ i cat ions such as Young Amer i cans : Neue Archi tek tur in den USA (DOM Publ i shers , Ber l in) and Young Archi tec t s Amer i cas (daab Publ i shers , Cologne) . They have been featured in A+U, Summa+, Archi tec ture, Archi tec tural Record, The New York Times , The Inte at ional Herald Tr ibune, Concept Magaz ine (Seoul ) , and I l Gio ale Del l ’Archi tet tura. Thei r second monograph i s i n progres s and wi l l be publ i shed by DAMDI Pres s in Seoul , Korea l a t e r t h i s year.
OBRA Archi tec t s was founded by Pablo Cas t ro and Jenni fer Lee in the year 2000 in New York Ci ty. The projec ts under taken by OBRA Archi tec t s span a wide range of programs and s i zes yet cons is tent l y seek to evoke invent ion and interes t through explorat ions of mater ial , s t ruc ture, s i te and exper ience. Thei r prac t i ce and thei r wor k seek to chal lenge and expand the range of metaphors in which archi tec ture f inds i ts meaning. OBRA cons iders each and ever y projec t to be int imatel y bound to i ts sur roundings , ex tending af ield into s i te and lands cape the conceptual under s tanding of the archi tec tural work . As a resul t many of our proposal s and bui l t wor k s inc lude outdoor components and integration into the natural or urban landscape. Cur rent wor k inc ludes a v i l la in Ordos , Inner Mongol ia, a caf é in Soho, a pr i vate eco- res idence in Cos ta Ri ca, and spec ial inv i tat ion to par t i c ipate in the IBA Hamburg Smar t Pr i ce Houses compet i t ion. OBRA Archi tec t s was selec ted for thi s inv i ted compet i t ion in an inte at ional jur ied proces s along wi th 15 other inte at ional l y renowned archi tec tural prac t i ces f rom around the wor ld. IBA Hamburg is a bui lding expos i t ion whi c h wi l l showcase c reat i v i ty, oppor tuni ty, cont ras t s and tens ions , in developing solut ions wi th a spec i f i c focus on economi cal innovat ion. The goal is to c reate resul ts that t rans cend the purely exemplar y, new models for the future of the met ropol i s . The f i rm has recent l y completed a 13,250 s f res idence i n Southampton, New York with guesthouse, poolhouse and garage, as wel l as a ful l -s cale protot ype emergenc y hous ing shel ter on di splay at the Nat ional Ar t Museum of China in conjunc t ion wi t h a s ympos ium on emergenc y shel ter rel ief response sponsored by the UNDP. The wor k of OBRA has been exhibi ted at the Nat ional Ar t Museum of China, the Museum of Mode Ar t , PS1 Contemporar y Ar t Center, Rhode I s land School of Des ign, the Chicago Athenaeum, as wel l as at the Univer s i ty of Minnesot a Col lege of Des ign, Fordham Univer s i ty ’s Center Gal lery, and the Center for Archi tec ture, New York . They are inc luded in the 50t h Anni ver sar y exhibi t of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opening in February. OBRA Archi tec t s was named one of 2005 Emerging Voices by the Archi tec tural League of New York . OBRA is the winner of the 2006 PS1/MoMA Young Archi tec t s Program compet i t ion and lec tured in MoMA’s Conversat ions wi t h Contemporar y Ar t i s ts ser ies in February of 2007. Thei r work has been honored wi th a 2008 AIA New York Honor Award, a 2008 ID Magaz ine Annual Des ign Rev iew Award, and two Amer i can Archi tec ture Awards by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Archi tec ture and Des ign. The wor k of OBRA has been publ i shed in a monograph by the Uni ted As ia Ar ts and Des ign Cooperat ion in Bei j ing, China as wel l as in publ i cat ions such as Young Amer i cans : Neue Archi tek tur in den USA (DOM Publ i shers , Ber l in) and Young Archi tec t s Amer i cas (daab Publ i shers , Cologne) . They have been featured in A+U, Summa+, Archi tec ture, Archi tec tural Record, The New York Times , The Inte at ional Herald Tr ibune, Concept Magaz ine (Seoul ) , and I l Gio ale Del l ’Archi tet tura. Thei r second monograph i s i n progres s and wi l l be publ i shed by DAMDI Pres s in Seoul , Korea l a t e r t h i s year.