LOT-EK is a design studio based in New York. Founded in 1993 by Ada Tolla and Giuseppe Lignano, it has been involved in residential, commercial and institutional projects in the US and abroad, as well as projects for major cultural institutions and museums, including MoMA, the Whitney Museum, the Guggenheim and the MAXXI.
PARTNERS
LOT-EK’s founding partners, Ada Tolla and Giuseppe Lignano, have a Master Degree in Architecture and Urban Design from the Universita’ di Napoli, Italy (1989), and have completed post-graduate studies at Columbia University, New York (1990-1991). Besides heading their professional practice, they also teach at Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation in New York and lecture at major universities and cultural institutions throughout the US and abroad.
In December 2011, Ada and Giuseppe were recognized as USA Booth Fellows of Architecture by United States Artists (USA).
RELEVANCE
LOT-EK has achieved high visibility in the architecture/design/art world for its sustainable and innovative approach to construction, materials and space through the upcycling of existing industrial objects and systems not originally intended for architecture. LOT-EK is also recognized for the use of technology as an integral part of architecture, for addressing issues of mobility and transformability in architecture and for blurring the boundaries between art, architecture and entertainment. Its projects are published in national and international publications, magazines and books, including The New York Times, The London Times, Herald Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, Domus, A+U, Mark Magazine, Wired, Dwell, Metropolis, Vogue, and others.
LOT-EK’s first monograph, Urbanscan, was published by PAP in February 2002. LOT-EK Mixer, by Edizioni Press, was issued in 2000, and MDU Mobile Dwelling Unit, published by DAP, was printed in June 2003.
The current monograph, with Monacelli Press, is scheduled to be released Spring 2017.
SUSTAINABILITY
LOT-EK’s sustainable approach to construction through the adaptive reuse of existing industrial objects and systems has been the basis of projects at all scales. Committed to ecologically-responsible, intelligent methods of building, our team takes advantage of the technological properties of existing industrial objects resulting from decades of expert development, to create architecture. We not only upcycle the objects themselves, we also recycle the intelligence that went into their development. Beyond the inherent sustainability of our design methodology, LOT-EK is committed to researching and implementing innovative ways of conserving materials and energy. As with all technological elements, we are interested in highlighting sustainable technologies visually, as ingredients to emphasize overall design concepts.
