actual . . . . . . . pertaining to action, not merely potential
/ (slash) . . . . . can punctuate separation (black/white), or simultaneity (blue/green)
office . . . . . . . a post to which certain responsibility are attached; an assigned or assumed task
In a name, actual / office frames an attitude toward the practice of architecture. The freedom to actualize hidden potentials, bringing the previously unimagined into focus, is alternately separated from, and simultaneous to, the weight of responsibility and authority. The studio purposefully drifts between unencumbered speculations and tough realities. a/o takes on a wide variety of work including residential, exhibit design, furniture design, and research projects. a/o has won awards for theoretical research and architectural projects including Second Place in the American Architects 2017 Building of the Year Competition and an A'Design Gold A' Design Award.
Adam Dayem is the principal of actual / office. He received a Bachelor of Arts in architecture from the University of California Berkeley and a Master of Architecture from Columbia University where he was awarded the McKim Prize honoring the year’s most outstanding graduate in Architecture. He subsequently worked at Bernard Tschumi Architects as a senior designer on competitions and projects including the New Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece, the Blue Condo Tower in New York City, and the Alesia Museum in Alesia, France. Dayem is currently a Lecturer at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he teaches architectural design studios and representation classes while also serving as Director of Summer Career Discovery Program and Director of Publications for the school. His current research focuses on the nature of representation in contemporary architectural design and its evolving capacities to produce conceptual and formal novelty. He has previously taught architecture and design at the University of Pennsylvania, The New School for Design, and Columbia University. He is a registered architect in New York State.
