Arkitekt Office is an architectural design and research studio, based in New York City.
Our Approach
Cold Spring | Photo © Arkitekt Office
Environment is everything.
Our material choices affect both our health and the health of the planet. We avoid plastics and foams, choosing instead plasters, natural oils, papers, and natural fibers. We believe in, what we like to call, thick wall sustainability, an approach that starts with simple vernacular methods before turning to technological approaches. We work toward life cycle carbon neutrality and Passive House standards.
Gallery Renovation | Photo © Arkitekt Office
Clarity despite complexity.
We understand that when exhibiting art the challenge is to create a quiet backdrop, placing the art itself in focus. We achieve this through simple room geometries, beautiful yet subtle finishes, and the perfect lighting. Our team has experience creating exhibition spaces for the world’s foremost art collections.
Full renovation from systems to furnishings of a derelict Brooklyn three family home | Photo © Magda Biernat
Beauty in the details.
We consider in detail how our clients live, work and play, creating warm, light-filled spaces that positively impact mental, physical, and emotional well-being. We focus on conscientious selection of authentic materials, careful and minimal systems design, and thoughtful space planning.
Facade Renovation | Photo © Magda Biernat
Challenges are opportunities.
We have a special expertise in sustainable historic renovations. We love old buildings. When working with existing structures, we research deeply to understand a building’s histories and opportunities ensuring our work is both thoroughly modern and timeless.
Research Process | Photo © Arkitekt Office
Research first.
The practice is committed to research and to nurturing a thirst for inquiry in young architects. Our research and teaching focuses on representation, climate responsive building forms, and indigeneity as a resource for the design of sustainable housing solutions. We are committed to thoughtful urbanism, equity, holistic sustainability, and to understanding feminism’s implications for the built environment.
Malama Learning Center| Photo © Arkitekt Office
International recognition.
Our work has been recognized in international design competitions including for the Malama Learning Center in Kapolei, Hawaii and the New Holmenkollbakken in Oslo, Norway, has been shown in galleries throughout New York City as well as at Liljevalchs Contemporary Art Museum in Stockholm, Sweden, Sotheby’s in New York City, and is included in Soho House’s arts collection. Projects we’ve contributed to have been published in Wallpaper, Aperture, The New York Times, ArchPaper, and Architectural Digest among others.
Our Services
We work with individuals, business, and institutions on projects of all scales and for all conditions.
We have special expertise in shaping architectural responses to climate, working with historic structures, and creating spaces for arts exhibition.
Sometimes There Are No Words 2021 Oil on Canvas by Carrie Bobo
Design Process / How We Work
01. PROGRAM AND VISIONING
We believe time spent establishing program is essential. Through conversations, a personalized questionnaire, and consideration of reference project imagery, together we establish the project goals, program, and vision. We analyze budgets, timelines, and carefully consider project constraints. If needed we do initial surveys - measuring, photographing, and understanding site conditions. We then use all this to begin concept sketches, diagrams, and conceptual layouts. This is when our shared design vision is established.
02. DESIGN
We see the design phase as a time to collaborate with clients to refine our shared design vision for the project. We create drawings and likely build models, both real and digital. We source samples, finishes, equipment, furnishings, and materials needed to make the project become a reality. We research deeply, working to find the best design solutions. In this phase we ensure the design meets the initial project goals and all the details are artful and precise.
03. DOCUMENTS
As the design becomes more specific and refined we focus our efforts on Construction Documents. As designers and architects we create directly, not products and buildings, but a set of diagrams, texts, and drawings that allow our shared project vision to become reality, built by an artisan, fabricator, or construction team. We believe these drawings should express construction intentions with clarity and efficiency. We present these documents to the potential constructors, evaluate their proposals and act as guide during the cost review, selection, and contract process.
04. FABRICATION / CONSTRUCTION / INSTALLATION
The final phase of the project includes regular review of the fabrication / construction process and necessary coordination and adjustments based on inevitable unexpected conditions. We review payment applications, material and product orders, and respond to requests for additional information. We act as your representative with the constructor. If desired, as construction completes we work to furnish, style, and photograph the final project, handing over a product, home, or office space that you’ll love for years to come.
When do we start?
We provide the best service when brought on as early in the project as possible. We often provide Property Acquisition advising via pre-purchase walk-throughs and test-fits ensuring a potential property will work well for its intended use even before the contracts are in place.
How do we bill?
For architectural services we bill as a percentage of the final cost of construction. Work beyond the established scope and procurement services are billed hourly.
Are you interested in working together?
We’d love to hear from you. We can meet for coffee or come by to see your space or project.
Who We Are
Photo © Luzena Rose Adams
Arkitekt Office is a New York City based firm working across the fields of architecture and urban design in practice, pedagogy, and research.
Arkitekt Office, is at its core, a collaborative agency:
we collaborate with clients to shape galleries, homes, libraries, offices, and retail spaces,
we collaborate across disciplines to produce artistic research.
In a complex, chaotic, and too often disposable world we believe in shaping interestingly simple spaces that become more beautiful with age.
Arkitekt Office is led by Carrie Bobo. Carrie grew up in Oklahoma where her family raises bison on the open plains. After receiving a Professional Degree in Architecture she moved to New York City. There she worked with Eight Inc. designing retail experiences for Apple, Coach, and Nokia before pursuing a Masters in Fine Arts in Painting. After graduate school she worked with A+I creating office environments tailored to the needs of the world’s most successful businesses. Then she worked with Annabelle Selldorf gaining a breadth of experience in gallery, residential, and institutional projects, designing projects for, among others, Christie’s Auction House, Pratt, and Brown University before moving to Sweden to practice architecture, design, and city planning in a European context. It was there the idea of Arkitekt Office was born.
Contact Us
392 Stanhope Street
Brooklyn NY 11237
At Arkitekt Office we design spaces that provide respite from the devices we obsessively inhabit.
