Design Laboratories
Founders of Design Laboratories, architects Karen Frome and David Ruff, are based in New York City. Their work spans from theoretical investigations of culture to built projects. The firm creates spaces that reflect social conditions as well as offering multi-valent experiences. Das Boot presents three of their projects which are of particular interest to us, above left to right: "Life Forms" studies , The Cohen Loft and The Urban Ivy project.  Design Laboratories integrates advances in digital and mechanical technology into their work. Rather than express this technology formally, they are committed to the latent incorporation of technology to explore the established tenets of architecture. Their work seeks to use the most current procedures to create phenomenological experiences of materials, light and space. They are interested both in the use of new materials and building practices and in re-thinking conventional materials and techniques. In their built projects, they maintain an on site laboratory – a workshop – where the tools and resources for experimentation are readily available. While Design Laboratories engages in theoretical exploration, the firm believes that the act of building is an essential part of practice. Recent and current jobs in the office include a project for The Brooklyn Academy of Music; The John A. Reisenback Charter School in Harlem; The Peter Langner Atelier and Showroom in Rome Italy; Sol Restaurant In Brooklyn, and various residential projects in and around New York. Backgrounds: Ms. Frome holds a Masters in Architectural History and Theory from Princeton University where she is on leave from her doctoral studies. She has a Masters in Architecture from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Berkeley. Ms. Frome has been a Fulbright Scholar, a Guggenheim Fellow in Venice and received numerous grants and awards including a Graham Foundation Grant, John Labatut Fellowship and has published articles in a number of cultural publications. Ms. Frome has taught industrial design studio at the Rhode Island School of Design. Mr. Ruff holds a Masters in Architecture from Columbia University and a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Duke University. He has received a William F.  Kinne Fellowship to study Raymond Loewy. His proposal for the redevelopment of the Freshkills landfill was exhibited at the Graham Foundation in Chicago. Mr. Ruff has taught at Pratt Institute.

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