This text is a part of our collection of profiles on The Architectural League of New York’s 2024 Rising Voices winners printed within the March/April challenge of AN. The total checklist of winners will be discovered right here.
The purpose of panorama structure and concrete design agency TEN x TEN is to not be taught, however to unlearn. “We like to start with the concept of unlearning as an energetic follow, which permits folks to pay attention to biases and eliminate preconceived notions,” stated Maura Rockcastle, TEN x TEN principal and cofounder.
Rockcastle based the follow in 2015 alongside fellow principal Ross Altheimer, and at present they’re 18-people sturdy. They bought their begin reworking a historic mill web site in Pittsburgh right into a high-tech district—its third section was accomplished final 12 months—and since then the follow has expanded nationally and internationally.
Experimental strategies permit the agency to combine neighborhood wants: Cataloging an area, utilizing clay to get a way of a web site’s tactile really feel, and making cyanotypes are only a few of the unconventional strategies the agency makes use of to tackle modern, delicate work. This may be seen in TEN x TEN’s latest design for the Louise B. Miller Memorial and Freedom Backyard at Gallaudet College, a hard-of-hearing college in Washington, D.C., that honors Miller’s battle for the rights of Black deaf youngsters throughout her 1952 go well with in opposition to the Division of Training. A winding sensory backyard strikes by 5 phases of the Black deaf expertise. Benches permitting customers to name consideration to these sitting on the opposite finish with out the usage of sound have been deliberate with Black, deaf codevelopers, although they don’t seem to be but below development.
The agency’s work construction continues its inventive method. In describing its “flex flat” mannequin, Rockcastle defined: “Inside challenge groups we’ve got leaders and designers, however folks play completely different roles in several initiatives. You is likely to be a challenge chief on one after which a designer on one other.”
The dream is to advocate for a brand new kind of architectural work and numerous purchasers. As Altheimer places it, TEN x TEN desires “to have expertise and data that we are able to leverage on different communities’ behalf.” In some ways, the follow has already arrived at its vacation spot.