Yuko Nagayama & Associates
A rising young architect manages her own successful practice—and family—breaking ground in design and as a professional woman.

Pictured: Urbanprem Minamiaoyama, Tokyo; Photo © Daici Ano

Gracia Studio
Jorge Gracia, who has located his office in the infamous town of Tijuana, is giving it a reputation for strong Modernist design.

Pictured: Endémico Resguardo Silvestre; Photo © Luis García

Envelope Architecture+Design
A San Francisco Bay Area firm deploys a minimal style to unsettle architectural expectations.

Pictured: Clipper Street House; Photo © Todd Hido

Vo Trong Nghia Architects
Applying Japanese training to the vibrant but chaotic conditions of Vietnam, a firm makes the most of two cultures.

Pictured: Stacking Green; Photo © Hiroyuki Oki

SsD
Jinhee Park and John Hong take on an age of austerity with a collection of carefully crafted projects that don't skimp on aesthetics.

Pictured: White Block Gallery; Image courtesy SsD /© Chang Kyun Kim

Trace Architecture Office
A busy firm layers a commitment to social and environmental issues onto its projects in many different parts of China.

Pictured: Gaoligong Museum of Handcraft Paper; Photo courtesy TAO

Easton+Combs
A husband-and-wife team has gone back to basics, studying the material and structural innovations of centuries past to create new systems for building.

Pictured: Changing Room; Photo © Barkow Photo

Hironaka Ogawa & Associates
A Japanese architect doesn't lose sight of his rural roots—integrating notions of the landscape and nature into his built work with skill and respect.

Pictured: Forest Chapel; Photo © Daici Ano

FRPO (Rodríguez & Oriol Architecture)
A pair of Spanish architects pulls apart programs, then assembles designs with repetitive elements that create rich compositions.

Pictured: OS House; Photo © José Hevia

MMX Studio
Four designers use context as a springboard and animate their projects with suprising material applications.

Pictured: Casa Santa Catarina; Photo © Yoshihiro Koitani

Record Design Vanguard Past Issues

Now available online a 5 issue collection of Record’s Design  Vanguard issues spanning  2003-2007.

Record’s Design Vanguard  annual selection of the world’s top emerging designers. With each issue  RECORD finds a diverse group of firms that are committed  to making architecture count.