Smith & Architects

STUDIO OF IDEAS We have long been an activist architectural practice guided by ideas that have a positive impact on humanity. Several main ideas have emerged after over two decades of exploration: SECOND NATURE Second Nature begins with design that mimics the natural world and its positive impact on our mental health (also known as biophilic design), and is environmentally sustainable. Yet Second Nature goes even further: we create new types of environments that inspire the sublime, one of the core characteristics to our relationship to nature. By doing so, we create a direct and healthy relationship to our cities and our world. We do this by having the built environment be something that appears to be grown from nature itself. Our studio is out to build natural formations wherever we go. COMMUNITY WELLNESS Causing communities is a central activity of our office, and requires us to be activist architects. In a culture that is increasingly mediated and dispersed, we connect people through what we build. The principal task of architects is not radical form-making but a radical rethinking of community and how it can advance the human condition. Sustainable communities lead to sustainable lifestyles, lead to a sustainable relationship to the Earth. By focusing on how environments cause communities, we can directly impact the health and wellness of people. MAKERS AND DOERS We make things: it connects us to our creative power, and keeps us inspired. We make things algorithmically, handmade, or a hybrid of the two. We take delight in the depth of real materials, and the wonder of multichromatic palettes. We also create places for “making” – be that to make a living, a cultural artifact, or a home. By exploring what it is to make, as well as just doing it, we have unique insights into how to bring to life the richness of experience.