Design Vanguard 2010

In times of stress, new patterns often appear first at the edges — those places both geographic and metaphoric that are far from traditional centers of activity or thought. So it should come as no surprise that a small firm in Vancouver, Canada, is pioneering a form of practice that doesn’t depend solely on clients to generate paying work. Or that a pair of Harvard graduates decided Louisville, Kentucky, offered them the best chance to make a difference. Or that a Chinese firm is doing some of its most innovative work in Tibet and a firm from Switzerland is pushing boundaries in Inner Mongolia. Even in a large city such as London, some architects are working at the edge of the typical project life span, creating works that last just a few days or weeks. By definition, the emerging architects profiled each year in our Design Vanguard stand on the outside— of the profession, the economic system, the power structure — figuring out ways to break in or make the old centers irrelevant.

	Carmody Groarke From the ephemeral to the permanent, a London based firm is exploring the means and meaning of architecture in projects both public and private. Photo © Christian Richters
	Chenchow Little Architects A husband-and-wife team brings design out of the bush and into Australia's suburbs, where the great majority of the nation's population lives. Photo © John Gollings
	De Leon and Primmer Architecture workshop A pair of Harvard-educated architects find acceptance in Kentucky while drawing inspiration from the state’s tobacco barns and vernacular buildings. Photo courtesy de Leon & Primmer Architecture Workshop
	HHF Architects A trio of young architects just a few years out of school launch a practice with work around the world. Photo © Iwan Baan
	Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP Architects A Tokyo-based architect demonstrates a knack for handling materials and fitting buildings into their natural and urban contexts. Photo © Daici Ano
	L.E.FT L.E.FT distills politics into design at different scales, using utopian experiments to inform real-world projects from beleaguered Beirut to the turf wars in our own homes. Photo courtesy L.E.FT
	Iván Juárez & Patricia Meneses A pair of designers working from Spain and Mexico explore the intersections between art and architecture, shelter and clothes, and the human body and space. Photo © Iván Juárez
	Molo This multidisciplinary design and production studio based in Vancouver integrates architecture, craft, and industrial design with a unique entrepreneurial spin. Photo courtesy Molo Design, Ltd.
	Standardarchitecture This firm pursues multiple narratives in projects of very different scales, attitudes, and settings. Photo © Chen Su
	W.PA/Works Partnership Architecture An Oregon practice thrives by devising design-driven schemes that meet the needs of its developer clients. Photo © Stephen A. Miller

Past Awards

Design Vanguard 2009
Design Vanguard 2008
Design Vanguard 2007
Design Vanguard 2006
Design Vanguard 2005
Design Vanguard 2004
Design Vanguard 2003
Design Vanguard 2002
Design Vanguard 2001
Design Vanguard 2000