As part of the 100th anniversary of the PAA, Home Is Where You Hang Your Hat was an exhibition that incorporated newly commissioned works by five Philadelphia-based design/build firms—Austin + Mergold, ISA, Moto Designshop, Plumbob, and Qb3—to create five separate but interrelated installations based on the history of the Wetherill Mansion as well as the contemporary concept of the “house.” Each firm took into account the ideological meanings associated with the history of domestic architecture, the original function of the building as a residence, and the physical features of the first and second floor galleries of the Art Alliance. 

 

Austin + Mergold has extensive experience in a multitude of disciplines including architecture and landscape, graphic and interior design, development, and construction. They see their work process as one they term “slow architecture.” Their practice is focused on solving design problems around multiple obstacles through available materials and long-established local methodologies. Looking for ways to rethink material applications has resulted in a variety of projects, including the use of alternative materials for roofing and siding as seen in several residential projects located in central PA, which was subsequently used in a public artwork on Governors Island,  NY, and later used in a recent exhibition commemorating the 500th anniversary of Andrea Palladio.

 

ISA is a design and research office that is a cross-platform environment for
architectural design, experiments, special initiatives, and teaching which inform one another to produce innovative solutions, as well as create possibilities for design impacts at-large. Brian Phillips is founding Principal of ISA and directs the design trajectory of the office. Their research has been published in 306090, CITY, and in a recent book from the Delft School of Design. Members have lectured widely on the impacts of telecommunications on cities, affordable housing, and their own work. Several members teach in the Architecture Department at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design where they conduct design studios focused on urban housing and seminars on various topics. Team: Brian Phillips, Kara Medow, Deb Katz, Matt Huffman, Jason Jackson, Tyler Wallace, Alexandra Gauzza, Julia Lindgren, and Pat Corrigan.

 

Established in 2003, Moto Designshop grew out of an independently funded design/build and real estate development company. This humble beginning allowed the studio founders to learn from compressed budgets and the importance of designing efficiently. To them, design value is not only found in expensive materials, but also in how you design with and augment the qualities of the available. Moto’s projects have appeared in various national and international publications, and their design efforts have received notable honors, including the 2010 Philadelphia Emerging Architecture Prize, several Builder’s Choice awards and have been recognized by the AIA with multiple honor, merit and ‘Divine Detail’ awards.

 

 

PLUMBOB has been practicing in Philadelphia as developers, architects and builders since 1997. The intent of their collective has been to seamlessly integrate the process by which their ideas about architecture, the city and sustainable development go from construing to constructing. As such they continue to explore and experiment with, not “green”, but intelligent approaches to the way in which buildings manage their own resources and create communities that sustain themselves. Principals: Patrick
McDonald, Timothy McDonald, Howard Steinberg, and John McDonald. Team: Ted Singer, Dan Magno, Christina Davis, Dan Addis, Lizzie Rothwell, and Cheng Zhang.

 

Qb3 is an award winning Philadelphia design studio, specializing in architecture, graphic design and product design. Their work explores the individual qualities of each design discipline while finding commonalities between them. Their design philosophy is to reveal the essence of each situation; making objects and spaces that convey a sense of simplicity, humanity and permanence. The project team includes Kevin Angstadt, Patrycja Doniewski, Stephen Mileto, and Justin Proudly.