Architecture and design firm dedicated to building beautiful and practical spaces and to preserving the natural world. Serving residential, museum, and commercial clients from NYC to the Hamptons, Martha's Vineyard to Cambridge, and Vermont to Maine, AO Architecture & Design is full service firm led by Harvard- and Yale- educated Zander Auerbach and Emily Ottinger.

- Designer of a New Museum Building, linking 1740 and 1820 buildings and housing a collection of 19th Century murals. - Developer of $1M art project in Malmo Sweeden. Award-winning public art project that connects audiences to the natural world: a robotic climate chamber to house a clone of the 9,500 year-old Norwegian Spruce tree, “Old Tjikko.” - Director of a team of engineers and viticulturalists in developing Xotwires, an infrared grapevine heater system to accelerate the ripening… Show more - Designer of a New Museum Building, linking 1740 and 1820 buildings and housing a collection of 19th Century murals. - Developer of $1M art project in Malmo Sweeden. Award-winning public art project that connects audiences to the natural world: a robotic climate chamber to house a clone of the 9,500 year-old Norwegian Spruce tree, “Old Tjikko.” - Director of a team of engineers and viticulturalists in developing Xotwires, an infrared grapevine heater system to accelerate the ripening of grapes in a frost- and mildew-prone region of California. Show less

Led R&D and horticultural research at the MIT Media Lab. Built climate simulators to identify the ideal climates for 59 subspecies of hazelnut true. Managed a team of 25 engineers, scientists, and agronomists from MIT, Wageningen University, and leading food company Ferrero SpA, solving waste and climate resilience in the $2B hazelnut industry.- Worked on increased yield & profit, reduced waste, and gained market advantage for Ferrero SpA through the development of novel… Show more Led R&D and horticultural research at the MIT Media Lab. Built climate simulators to identify the ideal climates for 59 subspecies of hazelnut true. Managed a team of 25 engineers, scientists, and agronomists from MIT, Wageningen University, and leading food company Ferrero SpA, solving waste and climate resilience in the $2B hazelnut industry.- Worked on increased yield & profit, reduced waste, and gained market advantage for Ferrero SpA through the development of novel, state-of-the-art climate chambers for juvenile and mature hazelnut trees.- Created unprecedented crop modeling, suitability mapping, and insights for cultivation and land selection. - Recreated climate from northern Canada to South Africa with an unprecedented -35 to 145 degree temperature range, 0.5 degree temperature control, and innovative horticultural lighting. Show less

Designed and taught an experience-based science curricula for 95 students in chemistry, physics, earth sciences, and citizen science. Wove together seemingly disparate topics like demographics and density, meditation and neuroscience, astronomy, and environmentalism.- Led students to build machines and utilize software for a hands-on approach to scientific inquiry. - Mentored students to embrace complexity, design thinking, and iterative project development to solve hard problems… Show more Designed and taught an experience-based science curricula for 95 students in chemistry, physics, earth sciences, and citizen science. Wove together seemingly disparate topics like demographics and density, meditation and neuroscience, astronomy, and environmentalism.- Led students to build machines and utilize software for a hands-on approach to scientific inquiry. - Mentored students to embrace complexity, design thinking, and iterative project development to solve hard problems and develop independence. Show less

Part of the Senior Management Team directing the construction, engineering, design, and financial decision-making of building a ground-up 250,000 square foot apartment building in midtown Manhattan. Resolved conflict among a 400 person team, favorably negotiated multi-million dollar contracts, and streamlined a large, complex project to meet timelines and budgets. - Saved millions of dollars and months of delay through effective communication and collaboration.- Favorably negotiated… Show more Part of the Senior Management Team directing the construction, engineering, design, and financial decision-making of building a ground-up 250,000 square foot apartment building in midtown Manhattan. Resolved conflict among a 400 person team, favorably negotiated multi-million dollar contracts, and streamlined a large, complex project to meet timelines and budgets. - Saved millions of dollars and months of delay through effective communication and collaboration.- Favorably negotiated $90M of contracts and overcame regulatory hurdles from city, state, and national agencies with in-house legal counsel and cost estimating teams. - Met urgent deadlines by aligning the workflows of 40 different subcontractors. Show less

Created homes, masterplans, and schools that connect people to the natural world by blurring the boundary between indoors and outdoors, with modern, elegant, and environmentally responsible design. - Led a $5M residential project from schematic design to construction set, managing roadmaps and budget. - Leveraged the value of the clients, preservationists, zoning officials, conservationists, landscape architects, school administrators, and school staff to build consensus amidst… Show more Created homes, masterplans, and schools that connect people to the natural world by blurring the boundary between indoors and outdoors, with modern, elegant, and environmentally responsible design. - Led a $5M residential project from schematic design to construction set, managing roadmaps and budget. - Leveraged the value of the clients, preservationists, zoning officials, conservationists, landscape architects, school administrators, and school staff to build consensus amidst tight regulation.- Developed through traditional apprenticeship with a deep love for learning, including architectural visioning, drafting, modeling, master-planning and presentation to divergent stakeholders. Show less