Dong-Ping Wong of Family Architects based here in New York City spoke last Friday at The Feast conference about starting a studio in the worst recession in over a decade and how to make it in architecture based on skills beyond design of excess and luxury.
My favorite example, pictured here, the Plus Pool is a project by Dong-Ping Wong and his studio that is being developed as a product instead of a commissioned structure or concept. Which Dong-Ping explained as being a unique attempt by recession struck architects to design outside status quo.
The Plus Pool would use a unique series of filtration layers in it’s skin to actually filter water as it passes in and out of the pool and into the existing water source. The ability to interact with our cities waterways and engage other members of our community has serious merit, and the design thinking that Family Architects have employed to arrive at this solution is unique and inspiring. Many of their other projects employ engineering and futuristic technologies on a level that seems so simple you might want to bash yourself on the head over it. This approach sets them apart in their field and also gives them a head start in the race to see what architecture will become in the future.
