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What makes a place memorable? MODU designs across disciplines—crafting an interplay between architecture, urban spaces, and interiors.


 

Architecture That Shapes Lives


Architecture, as new buildings or transformations of existing ones, navigates between physical structures and immaterial atmospheres. Design that integrates visual expression with atmospheric conditions—such as light, temperature, and sound—strengthens connections between people, architecture, and their surroundings. These connections, essential to bioclimatic design, encourage interactions with the environment within energy-efficient, low-carbon buildings.




Cities in Climate Transformation

Urbanism, encompassing urban design and planning research, can activate a city’s public realm and strengthen its communities. Designing urban systems that integrate with landscapes fosters resilient, accessible spaces. Incorporating extensive data—such as environmental conditions—is essential for creating data-rich experiences, as understanding existing resources play a key role in a restorative urban future that promotes healthier cities for everyone.  





Interiors Connected to Nature

Interior design creates multi-sensory experiences by connecting tactile, sustainable materials with interior atmospheres. Interiors can connect people to nature, even indirectly, by incorporating immaterial design elements such as light and air. Where possible, direct physical connections between indoor and outdoor spaces improve health and well-being of inhabitants. This environmentally focused approach to interiors establishes a unique visual identity while minimizing environmental impact.



Awards

Architecture & Interiors Award (Promenade), Architect magazine (2024)
Design Award (Mini Tower One), AIA New York (2024)
Design Award (Promenade), AIA Brooklyn (2023)
Professional Development Fund, Rhode Island School of Design (2021)
NYSCA Grant, New York State Council on the Arts (2021)
World Changing Ideas (Honorable Mention, Spaces, Places, and Cities), Fast Company (2020)
Emerging Voices, The Architectural League of NY (2019)

Entrepeneur Impact Program, Autodesk (2018 - 2020)
US-Japan Creative Artists Program, National Endowment for the Arts (2017)
Founders Rome Prize in Architecture, American Academy in Rome (2016)
New Practices New York Award, American Institute of Architects NY (2016)
Urban Shade Competition, Design Museum Holon (2014) 5th China Intl. Architecture Biennial, Beijing Olympic Park Committee (2013) Marfa Dialogues New York, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation (2013) Dumbo Arts Festival (Selected), Two Trees Management Company (2013) 21 for 21 Award (Commendation), World Architecture News (2013) Lexus Design Award (Finalist), Lexus (2012)
NYSCA Grant, New York State Council on the Arts (2012) Interior Design Best of Year Award (Honoree), Interior Design (2011)
Core77 Design Award, Core77 (2011)
Barge 2011 Competition, SHIFTboston (2011) Oceanfront Competition, Art Basel Miami Beach and Creative Time (2010) 


Press

AN Interior (June 2024)
Dezeen (June 2024)
Architectural Record (April 2024)
New York Magazine (March 2024)
Metropolis (February 2024)
Fast Company (June 2023)
Houston Chronicle (August 2023)
New York Magazine (March 2021)
Fast Company (May 2020)
CNN (Feb. 3, 2020)
Jerusalem Post (Feb. 13, 2020)
The Architect’s Newspaper (Feb. 11, 2019)
Contract (February 8, 2019)
Archinect interview (April 2017) DomusWeb interview (January 2017)
The Architect’s Newspaper (June 24 2016)
Architecture Record (April 2 2016)
Metalocus (February 11 2016)
Interior Design (September 2015)
Archinect (September 2015)
DesignBoom (September 2015)
Frame (September 2015)
Dezeen (August 2015)
Landscape World (August 2015)


Design Milk (March 2014)
Bustler (December 2013)
Complex: Art and Design (December 2013)
World Architecture News (November 2013)

The Architect's Newspaper (November 2013)
BBC (June 2013)
Interior Design (December 2011)
Boston Globe (5 May 2011)
The Architect’s Newspaper (20 April 2011)
DomusWeb (April 2011)
Icon (February 2011)
DomusWeb (18 December 2010)
The Art Newspaper (1 December 2010)
Financial Times (1 December 2010)
The Miami Herald (1 December 2010)
FastCo Design (30 November 2010)
HuffingtonPost (24 November 2010)

News



08.05.24: Promenade Wins 2024 Architect magazine’s Architecture & Interiors Award
Promenade is recognized with an award in the Mixed-Use category. A juror commented “ I thought there was bravery in the whole team, from the owner to the architect”


05.07.24:  Phu Hoang Lectures at AIA Columbus
Presents MODU’s recent work and our book, Field Guide to Indoor Urbanism, in their Design Lecture Series.


04.12.24: Mini Tower One Wins AIA New York Design Award
Mini Tower One is recognized with an award in the Projects category, for its Innovation in Micro-Architecture and Planning. Founding Directors Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem receive the award.


03.20.24:  Phu Hoang Lectures at the Ohio State University, Knowlton School 
Presents MODU’s recent work and our book, Field Guide to Indoor Urbanism, in the school’s Baumer Lecture Series.



03.1.24: Phu Hoang Lectures at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
Presents MODU’s recent work and our book, Field Guide to Indoor Urbanism, in the school’s Hearst Lecture Series.


02.15.24: Rachely Rotem Lectures at Syracuse University
Presents MODU’s recent work and our book, Field Guide to Indoor Urbanism, in the school’s lecture series.

02.09.24: MODU Featured on Cover of Metropolis magazine
Profile of MODU includes a book review of Field Guide to Indoor Urbanism and and overview of recent design projects and research.

02.09.24: Field Guide to Indoor Urbanism in the collection of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Museum Design Library
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum’s Library is a branch of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries and contains more than 100,000 volumes.

12.06.23: Promenade Wins AIA Brooklyn Design Award
Promenade is recognized with an award in the Architecture category. Founding Director Rachely Rotem and former Senior Designer Tom Sterling receive the award.


12.22.23: Field Guide to Indoor Urbanism Selected as One of the Best  Architecture-related Books of 2023
Book is part of a list of ‘Monograph Mayhem’ -- “ The year brought another strong crop of publications which focus on a single project or office”. 

11.17.23:  Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem Gives Book Talk at Columbia University
Presents MODU’s recent book, Field Guide to Indoor Urbanism, in conversation with curator and educator Sean Anderson.


11.13.23:  Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem Gives Book Talk at Cooper Union
Presents MODU’s recent book, Field Guide to Indoor Urbanism, in conversation with professor and architect Michael Young.

11.8.23:  Phu Hoang Lectures at the University of Cincinnati
Presents MODU’s recent work and their book, Field Guide to Indoor Urbanism.

10.16.23: MODU Launches Book, Field Guide to Indoor Urbanism
Book Launch in New York’s Rizzoli Bookstore, with Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem in conversation with professor and architect Enrique Walker. 


09.28.23: Phu Hoang Lectures at the University of Illinois Chicago
Presents MODU’s recent work and our book, Field Guide to Indoor Urbanism.


09.14.23: Rachely Rotem Lectures at California College of the Arts
Presents MODU’s recent work and our book, Field Guide to Indoor Urbanism.

09.09.23: Phu Hoang Interviewed on Matter of Fact by Soledad O’Brien
Interview highlights MODU’s Promenade project and the development of the ‘self-cooling walls.’

11.12.21: MODU Awarded Grant from Rhode Island School of Design
The grant from the professional development fund will support MODU’s upcoming book, Field Guide to Indoor Urbanism, to be published by Hatje Cantz Verlag in 2022.


05.27.21: Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem lecture at University of Newcastle
The lecture “Second Nature” was combined with a workshop for students. The events were part of the school’s “Visiting Architects and Experts” series. 

02.17.21: MODU Awarded a NYSCA Independent Projects Grant
The grant will support MODU’s upcoming book, Field Guide to Indoor Urbanism, to be published by Hatje Cantz Verlag in 2022. More about the book here.
08.15.20: Phu Hoang Serves on AIA Virginia Design Awards Jury
Annual award
recognizes work that “contribute to the built environment and are clear examples of thoughtful, engaging design”.


04.28.20: MODU Awarded Honorable Mention from Fast Company
MODU’s Second Life initiative has been awarded an Honorable Mention in Fast Company's 2020 World Changing Ideas Award in the Spaces, Places, and Cities category. Now more than ever, we need to be creative entrepreneurs, proactively designing for the “separate, yet together” environments that will emerge from the global COVID-19 pandemic. More about Second Life here.
03.09.20: Rachely Rotem Joins Panel at Center for Architecture
Rachely Rotem will take part of the “Leaning Out VII” panel discussion amongst distinguished colleagues shining a light on women in architecture. The event will take place at New York’s Center for Architecture starting at 6pm.  


02.25.20: MODU Lectures at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem and Eric Forman will give a talk Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum. The discussion will be about the process of designing for public art installations, with a focus on the Heart Squared project organized by Times Square Arts and exhibited in Times Square.


11.6.19: MODU and Eric Forman Studio Win Design Competition! 
MODU and Eric Forman Studio are winners of the 2020 Times Square Heart design competition. The invited competition is organized by Times Square Arts and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Heart Squaredis an urban anamorphic projection—a large mirror array creates a pixel “emoji” heart from hundreds of reflections. More about Heart Squared here.


10.29.19: Phu Hoang Joins Panel Discussing Housing on Small Lots
Phu Hoang will join a panel discussing the Big Ideas for Small Lots competition, abandoned properties and imaginative revitalization strategies. The event is on October 29th at New York’s Center for Architecturem at 6pm.


05.16.19: Phu Hoang Joins Panel During NYCxDesign Week
Phu Hoang will join the "Designing Cities for People" panel organized by Lyft to discuss urban design and transportation. The event will be on May 16th at 7pm. He will present "last mile"  transportation through MODU's idea of indoor urbanism. How can we use design to shape the "last mile" boundaries between indoor and outdoor spaces?



02.08.19: MODU Interviewed in The Architect’s Newspaper
Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem have been interviewed in the Architect's Newspaper on occasion of their 2019 Emerging Voices award: "Through discourse and design at scales both large and small, MODU’s indoor cities and outdoor rooms ultimately ask one question: How can we live better?"

02.08.19: MODU Awarded 2019 Emerging Voices Award
MODU is honored to be recognized with the Emerging Voices award from the Architectural League of New York. For over 30 years, the award has been given to “North American firms and individuals with distinct design voices and significant bodies of realized work.”

01.31.19: Lecture at Japan Society in New York
MODU will present their work in New York's Japan Society. Their talk, "Inside-Out / Outside-In," will connect recent research in Japan with current projects at MODU. The event will be moderated by Beatrice Galilee, Associate Curator of Architecture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.


07.02.18: Lecture in Japan
MODU will be lecturing at the International House of Japan in Tokyo. The lecture is part of Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem’s US-Japan Creative Artists Progam award. It is on July 2nd at 7pm and it will be simultaneously translated into English. 
04.26.18: MODU Awarded Autodesk Entrepeneur Impact Grant MODU has been awarded a grant from Autodesk for our entrepeneurial work. The grant provides Autocad’s expertise, support and software for practices that “lead the way with sustainable, forward-thinking business practices.” More about the grant program here.

09.29.17: Lecture in Atlanta MODU will be lecturing at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. The lecture will be on September 29th at 3:30pm. 

08.02.17: National Endowment for the Arts Award Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem have been selected for the 2017-18 National Endowment for the Arts’ US-Japan Creative Artists Program. They will conduct research on the link between contemporary Japanese architecture and vernacular “weather rooms.”
06.05.17: Open Studios at the American Academy in Rome Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem will exhibit the past nine months of work at the American Academy in Rome's Open Studios this Thursday, June 8th from 6pm-9pm. More about the Open Studios here.
06.05.17:  Interview in ArchinectPhu Hoang and Rachely Rotem has been interviewed in the online magazine Archinect. The interview discusses progress that they made as the Rome Prize Fellows at the American Academy in Rome, including the idea of “scaling across disciplines.” Read the interview here.
05.30.17: Lecture in Barcelona
MODU will be lecturing at the IAAC architecture school in Barcelona. The lecture will be on May 30th at 7:30pm. More about the lecture here.
05.18.17: Lecture in Athens MODU will be lecturing at the Patras University of Athens in Athens and Patras. The lecture will be on May 23rd at 7:00pm. More about the lecture here.
04.18.17: Lecture in Madrid MODU will be lecturing at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (ETSAM) in Madrid. Recent work from Rome will be presented on April 19th, at 12:30pm. More about the lecture here.
02.11.17: Exhibit at the American Academy in Rome On February 14th, Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem will present "Indoor City," a collaborative project with several Fellows at the American Academy in Rome. Jonathan Berger (Music Composition), Hussein Fancy (Medieval History), Jack Livings (Literature) and Matthew Null (Literature) will evoke the sounds and voices of the "Indoor City," with Christoph Meinrenken providing climate data. More about the exhibit here.
01.11.17: Lecture in Rome
On January 16th, Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem will present their work-- including ongoing work while in Rome-- at the American Academy in Rome. The lecture will begin at 6:30pm in the AAR Lecture Room and can be watched with this live stream. Lecture information here.
01.05.17:  Interview in Domus Magazine Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem has been interviewed in the Italian magazine Domus, which includes a discussion of the work that they are doing as the Founders Rome Prize Fellows at the American Academy in Rome. Their work uncovers Italy’s contemporary ruins; unfinished projects in various states of weather modification. Read the interview here.
09.12.16: Rome Prize Fellowship Begins Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem have begun their fellowship at the American Academy in Rome. Over the next eleven months, they will research and develop work based on their proposal, “The Mutating Weathers of Rome’s Ruins.” The proposal reframes Italy’s incomplete structures as social and thermal opportunities, following a long history of transforming ruins in the country. More about the Academy here.
09.02.16: Phu Hoang Awarded a Teaching Prize from Architect Magazine Phu Hoang’s graduate studio at Columbia University GSAPP has been awarded the Sloan Prize by Architect magazine. The work of his students in the studio “School Without Classrooms: Micro-Weather Futures of Education Technology” were selected from over eighty schools in architecture. Congratulations to all the students! 
07.15.16: MODU Recognized as One of “10 Best Architecture Startups in 2016” The studio has been selected as one of the best architecture startups of the year by Archipreneur magazine. The award is based on the idea that “startups exemplify the most experimental aspects of the profession, and push the envelope when it comes to business models, marketing strategies and design innovation.” Read about the award here.
06.07.16: Phu Hoang's essay "Can You Believe the Weather We're Having?" Published in Climates Book
Phu Hoang's essay, "Can you Believe the Weather We're Having? The Politics of the Weather Report" is published in the exciting new book "Climates: Architecture and the Planetary Imaginary," published by Columbia Books on Architecture and the City and Lars Muller Publishers. The book will launch at the Venice Bienale on May 27th in the Central pavilion.  Read the essay here or purchase the book here.
04.21.16: Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem have won the 2016-2017 Founders Rome Prize in Architecture!
We are honored that the American Academy in Rome has awarded Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem with the 2016-2017 Founders Rome Prize in Architecture. Their proposal, "The Mutating Weathers of Rome's Ruins," will be developed over an eleven month fellowship at the Academy. The Rome Prize ceremony will be at The New School (66 W. 12th Street, NY) on April 21, 2016 at 6:30pm. More than 900 applicants nation-wide applied to the 11 disciplines supported by the Academy. The award, now over 100 years old, “represents the leading edge of contemporary American scholarship and creativity.” More about the Rome Prize here.
01.28.16: MODU is Selected as One of the 2016 Winners of the AIA New Practices New York Award!
We're honored to be selected as one of the winners of the biannual AIA New Practices New York award. The award recognizes architecture firms in their first 10 years of practice. The award is accompanied by a public lecture and exhibition of our work. We will present our work in a lecture (6:30pm on April 6, 2016) at Cosentino (A&D Building, 150 E. 58th St, Suite 399) as well as an exhibition at New York City's Center for Architecture (Opening 6:00pm on May 12, 2016).