LAN Architecture
Umberto Napolitano wanted to be a musician, and Benoit Jallon, a doctor. Years later they both turned to architecture, and are now into their seventh year as co-principals of Paris-based, 20-person firm LAN Architecture.

Photo courtesy LAN Architecture

Studio Urnod: Urban nomads refine their craft in New York City
Thirty somethings Koray Duman and Laith Sayigh may have found similarities in their Middle Eastern roots, but both say it’s their belief that big ideas can come from a small, focused practice that really keeps their New York City based firm Studio Urnod (the name comes from a merging of urban and nomad) busy.

Photo courtesy Studio Urnod

Burton Baldridge Architects: No detail is too small
What is an architect to do when he wants complete control over the construction and details of every project he designs? Start his own construction company, of course! At least, that was the answer for Burton Baldridge, principal of three-year-old, Austin, Texas, design firm Burton Baldridge Architects and construction firm BBA-DB.

Photo courtesy Burton Baldridge Architects

Tacklebox: Finding the tools to create enticing environs for the art and design world, and then some
Growing up in Roanoke, Virginia, Jeremy Barbour says architecture was never on his radar. Now the principal of three-year-old New York City—based firm Tacklebox, as well as a teacher at Columbia’s School of Architecture (where he received his master’s) and Parsons The New School For Design, he lives and breathes it.

Photo courtesy Tacklebox

Wilk Salinas: Filling Berlin’s lost spaces with realized vision
“Stupid projects.” The phrase comes up repeatedly in conversation with German-born Gil Wilk and Spaniard Ana Salinas, whose eponymous studio is based in Berlin. “It is something that is fun for us,” Wilk explains, but he adds, “These are projects that everyone says will not work.”

Photo courtesy Wilk Salinas

Gage / Clemenceau Architects: Making their Mark(c)s
While many emerging architects feel they wear their hearts on their sleeves, Mark Foster Gage and Marc Clemenceau Bailly display theirs in Times Square. Commissioned to design a Valentine to the famous intersection, Gage and Clemenceau created an intricate, 12-foot tall stainless steel and luminescent Corian heart.

Photo courtesy Gage / Clemenceau

Pb Elemental: A portfolio full of built work and no boundaries
At 32 and 30 years old, Seattle-based Pb Elemental's founders skipped the typical young firm's rights of passage, and now have dozens of projects built around Seattle and several under construction around the world.

Photo courtesy Pb Elemental

Rodriguez Studio: Designing the lines, then coloring within them
Carlos Rodriguez went from studying architecture to accounting before coming back to architecture with a vengeance. Now the principal of New York City based Rodriguez Studio, he puts all his training to good use.

Photo courtesy Rodriguez Studio

SPINE Architects: An architectural backbone in a challenging land
It’s probably safe to say that most architects get into the business of architecture because of a creative urge, not because of the money. Amelie Chai and Stephen Zawmoe Shwe, principals of SPINE Architects, took that reasoning to another level when they moved to Shwe’s home country of Myanmar and began their firm in 2003. “We’re not here to make money,” says Chai. "We’re here to build a lot."

Photo courtesy SPINE Architects

Maggie Peng Studio: Flexible, and in fashion
Maggie Peng says that her old employers, LOT-EK, influenced her work because, as she puts it, "the office is interested in designing for flexibility. Whether it's using modular systems or preexisting units, it's about tapping into the built-in intelligence of preexisting products. And that is very much something I still work with."

Photo courtesy Maggie Peng Studio

Hierve Diseñeria: Boiled Over by Design
Alejandro Villarreal named his Mexico City firm Hierve, the Spanish word for "boiling.” It was an apropos decision for a firm that brings an ebullient mix of social responsibility, functionality, and spirituality to its projects.

Photo courtesy Hierve Diseñeria