All Things Urban

SO–IL is an award winning architectural design firm that envisions spaces for culture, learning and innovation. From their offices in New York, SO–IL partakes in the production of buildings, interiors, furniture and landscapes around the world. As a collective of diverse thinkers and makers, the office engages with the ever changing social, economic and natural environment through active dialogue that considers context, function, and opportunity. SO–IL believes that physical structures have the power to offer a sense of wonder and place. They serve as platforms of exchange, and create generous, sensorial and visceral experiences. SO–IL’s work is marked by a strong direction and purpose while leaving space for interpretation, change, and transformation. Every structure creates moments of contemplation and energetic engagement. Beauty and clarity in forms and surfaces are core to SO–IL’s practice. To achieve this vision, the office uses advanced digital tools in combination with traditional craft, model-making, physical testing, mock-ups and material innovation. Their efforts to date brought the firm extensive recognition and prizes, including the Emerging Voices award from the Architectural League, the MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program Award, and the AIA Young Architects Award. The office has received praise for many of their work including the design of Frieze Art Fair New York, and for their largest building to date, the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at the University of California at Davis. SO–IL was founded by Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu in 2008, and is currently led together with Ilias Papageorgiou.