ABOUT
MABU is an architecture, design and research office whose work is motivated by a commitment to quality in the built environment. We we specialize in adaptive reuse and undertake projects that re-imagine the constraints of limited resources as design opportunities. This work seeks new forms of creative resourcefulness and critical practice focused on how the re-making of “as found” objects and spaces can act as a vehicle to help us collectively and publicly transform traditional notions of change, value, and waste.
PRINCIPLES. However small or large, public or private, new or old we believe that a well-designed building or environment can have a positive impact on the people and places that it is designed for. Each project offers a unique opportunity to creatively solve challenging problems by working with our clients and collaborators to find “outside the box” solutions that synthesize design excellence, environmental stewardship, and social context. This integrative approach aims to create meaningful places for living, working, and playing that seamlessly integrate with their surroundings and thoughtfully enhance the quality of life of their inhabitants. We aim to create projects that are as beautiful as they are useful and as well-crafted as they are adaptable over time. Understated elegance and lasting significance are recurrent interests.
PROCESS. Architecture can be found in unexpected places and ways. We are committed to the idea that design quality can emerge from ordinary situations, complex constraints, and limited resources. Bigger does not mean better. Real value is created when a design achieves a maximum effect with minimal means. One size does not fit all. Every project has its own particular circumstances. Our process is hands-on and collaborative. We aim to create designs that are well-tailored to each project’s goals and developed through an open, exploratory, and methodical working process. Our experience includes residential, educational, commercial, and arts-related project types for public and private clients, ranging in scope from a room to the city. Many of these projects have involved working with historic structures, culturally significant places, and environmentally sensitive landscapes.
RECOGNITIONS. Our projects have received numerous design awards from leading professional and academic organizations, including the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and American Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA). Noteworthy recognition for our design excellence in the area of adaptive reuse includes the AIA’s New Practices New York, an award program that platforms the emerging body of work of young, innovative firms in New York City and a fellowship from MacDowell, a nationally renowned arts institution.
AWARDS
2026 ACSA Faculty Design Award, American Collegiate Schools of Architecture
2024 AIA/Tri-State Design Award, American Institute of Architects / NJ-NY-Pennsylvania Chapters
2023 AIA/New Jersey Design Award, American Institute of Architects / NJ Chapter (Built - Small Projects)
2023 AIA/New Jersey Design Award, American Institute of Architects / NJ Chapter (Unbuilt)
2019 MacDowell Fellowship, The MacDowell Artist Residency
2019 AIA/New Jersey Design Award, American Institute of Architects / NJ Chapter
2019 AIA/ME Design Award, American Institute of Architects / Maine Chapter
2018 Maine Mass Timber Competition Award, University of Maine + Maine Huts and Trails
2018 New Practices New York Competition Award, American Institute of Architects / New York City Chapter
2016-17 ACSA Faculty Design Award, American Collegiate Schools of Architecture
2015 AIA/New Jersey Design Award, American Institute of Architects / NJ Chapter
2014 Boston Society of Architects Design Award, Unbuilt Architecture and Design
2014 Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Jury Selection for “To Be Destroyed”
2013 Builder’s Choice + Custom Home Design Award, BUILDER Magazine
2011-12 ACSA Faculty Design Award, American Collegiate Schools of Architecture
2010 Journal of Architectural Education, Jury Selection for “Diacritical / Dialogical”
2009 McKinley Home Competition Award, American Institute of Architecture / Buffalo-WNY Chapter + Buffalo Public Schools