Inside Studio Gang, a 2024 Best of Practice Winner for Architect (XL firm) – Midwest (Tom Harris)
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More and more, the architecture and design community has been exploring the business of being a designer. Increasing conversations about unions, B Corp certifications, and employee-owned models point to a growing collective interest in investigating what a practice can and should look like. The Architect’s Newspaper chronicles this advancement in our annual Best of Practice Awards.
The Best of Practice Awards commend the overall operations and structures of companies within the AEC community. It’s an ambitious task, yet nevertheless, a jury of experts and professionals guided their reviews based on aesthetic excellence, social impact, and internal culture at the company. This year’s winners not only ticked all the boxes, but they also displayed a commitment to demonstrating studio values through every level of the company, from design language to studio structure. What is preached is what is practiced.
The jury deliberation and its results underscore the changing tides in how people are thinking about work and the higher standards with which it is being met. Scroll down to view the winners, honorable mentions, and editors’ picks of 2024’s Best of Practice Awards and hear from the jury about why the selection was made.
“I thought DIALOG was a well-rounded practice and the submission was strong. It demonstrated all of the criteria around community, well-being, environmental responsibility, and a participatory, interdisciplinary approach to design.”—Stephanie Lin
“A few things that impressed me about Studio Gang are how quickly it has grown to its current size while maintaining an extremely high standard of execution. That deserves a lot of credit. Additionally, the firm’s ability to preserve an R&D studio culture within a larger practice is highly commendable and extraordinarily difficult to achieve at scale.”—Robert Yuen
“I like Dattner’s civic-mindedness. It’s a third generation, female-owned practice. It continues to be public-minded, and that’s very hard with city contracts.”—Jonathan Marvel
“I like the scale jumping that it can do, from bus shelters to higher education and community service. It felt like a great place to work and the quality of the work feels authentic.”—Jonathan Marvel
“The practice chose to show the things that it’s been prioritizing in this chapter of the firm, which are larger scale buildings, or taking on a different technology or material systems. I appreciate the evolution of the firm as its priorities continue to advance.”—Wendy Dunnam Tita
“I was appreciative that RIOS is doing great design work but also dealing with the human condition and an urban condition. I think that combination and impact is worth recognition.”—Wendy Dunnam Tita
“I appreciate Moriyama’s community focus within civic and institutional work. The quality of and consistency across the projects that is represented is also really admirable.”—Stephanie Lin
“A lot of firms talk about research and innovation, but I think that KieranTimberlake is a firm that really does commit to it. It has also evolved as a firm; the ability to shift to a larger and more complex scale in the last 10 to 15 years is exciting to see.”—Wendy Dunnam Tita
“I found the tensions between the buildings and the locations, the boldness and the architecture in the sites, in Oppenheim’s work visually inspiring.”—Dori Tunstall
“I like the work and it looks like a place that as a practice, you would want to be a part of in terms of commitment to the next generation, commitment to the practice of architecture, all these sorts of things that reaffirm what the present future possibilities of architecture could really be.”—Dori Tunstall
“There’s a lot of original thinking there and different building types, and scale, and a point of view that brings design to a high level.”—Jonathan Marvel
“I really appreciated this work—it wasn’t precious, but it was interesting, and some of the things the firm did were compelling and worth recognizing.”—Wendy Dunnam Tita
“The complexity of the projects that the firm has engaged in over the last few decades has been extraordinary. The Chicago waterfront is a huge transformation of the city and the quality of the execution is really high.”—Susan Jones
“Bernheimer Architecture made an impression in this category as it is one of the first private architectural worker unions, which was voluntarily recognized. I think that being a recognized union probably has a big effect on their practice.”—Emily Conklin
“The practice feels a very strong responsibility to communities—and the work is beautiful. The work actually showed the philosophy, and it didn’t have to try very hard to do it either.”—Wendy Dunnam Tita
“The research that LEVER’s done over the years has been extraordinary for mass timber and the pushing forward of it. I think it’s doing enormous things.”—Susan Jones
“Latent, led by Katherine Darnstadt, is making significant contributions in Chicago. The firm advances urban design through projects like the Fresh Moves Mobile Market and YMCA Meta Media. Latent’s leadership in design activism sets the tone for conversations around equity gaps in the profession. Its social impact has greatly impressed me.”—Robert Yuen
“I was super impressed by the caliber of the work for such a small firm. The body of work, the depth of the work, the culture of the community, the culture of the office: How did eight people do all this work?”—Dori Tunstall
“The firm communicates an important focus on working in open spaces at suburban edges, which speaks to a very specific demographic and type of community work.”—Stephanie Lin
“The approach and the inventiveness regarding new materials like cross laminated timber and 3D printing…the progressiveness of that helps find ways to change construction industries to a more sustainable profile.”—Susan Jones
“The book [Designing the Forest and Other Mass Timber Futures by founding principal Lindsey Wikstrom] is a huge jump in the pool of mass timber. She’s a good person to have in the mix.”—Susan Jones
“This is a really strong start to a new practice with an impressive amount of realized work. They’re leveraging limited resources to enhance public and daily life.”—Stephanie Lin
“I am impressed with Digifabshop’s expertise and range of workable materials. The shop has delivered components for architects like Kieran Timberlake. It takes skilled craftspeople to translate from design intent to completed installation.”—Jack Murphy
“The studio takes a fresh, inclusive approach to design. They are articulate about supporting a healthy office culture and employee development through multiple avenues.”—Stephanie Lin
“SWA was one of the first design firms to implement an ESOP [employee stock ownership plan], which shows they have interest in firm ownership, equity, and retention. This has clearly been successful, as they’ve celebrated 70 years of practice.”—Emily Conklin
“The office approaches its work with humility and a concern for health and relationships. The mix of intentional community and well-designed landscapes is something every firm should strive to achieve.”—Jack Murphy
“I think it’s a note of commendation to see the consistency of his eye in all of these images. Every single one of them has that quality of the dark, peering out to the light—that’s impressive.”—Susan Jones
