Mission
Through the work of LEADinc, we expect to contribute significant value to the built environment, while reducing cost and ecological footprint.
We engage in a variety of project types, ranging from the temporary installations to permanent built structures. We have developed expertise and gained experience in various building types – residential, multi-family housing, commercial, retail and office structures, institutional, libraries and laboratories, educational and public art and performance pieces. Through a winning competition entry, we have redefined the banality of the typical pedestrian bridge across the freeway as a living part of an ecological system. We have rephrased the nature of “temporary structure” through an international competition entry and questioned the traditional materiality of building elements through the design of walls as light transmitters.
Our explorations have created unique and prototypical design solutions that can have wider relevance due to their flexibility and adaptability in more than one situation. Crossbreeding of materials, methods and technologies from one building type to another have proven to be more beneficial and productive than the inbreeding of a monoculture expertise on experience gained from one building type.
We define our mission not by building types but by the potency and relevance of the questions that are inherent in a specific project. Even though the individual premise of each project gives rise to uniquely suited questions, there are basic questions that must be considered throughout all projects. For instance, the question of duration of a built object can guide the appropriate responses in terms of materials and methods of construction, technology, formal and conceptual considerations. The question of environmental impact of a new building, economically and ecologically, forces us to ponder whether in a specific situation one needs to build in the first place. The question of value, and economic balance between quality and quantity, guides our response to a balanced approach to smart building of great economic value in a living environment.
Our firm functions as a laboratory for research, conceptualization, experimentation and construction of prototypical constructs. In this laboratory, we emphasize collaboration rather than heroism in design. Currently, composed of four partners who are trained architects and educators and one student-intern, we engage in work that transcends geographical boundaries. Global in its origins (the partners originate from India, Iran, Norway and the United States), and thinking we also possess the fluidity of digital technologies, so we can locate where our work is. This diversity of up-bringing, training and life experiences enriches our practice. Currently, our practice exists in Minneapolis and Norway due to the location of our projects. The partners of LEADinc share the work of every project and possess experience in all areas of project design and documentation. However, we bring in the expertise demanded by the project in the form of collaborators. On number of projects, we have collaborated with builders, landscape architects, urban ecologists, engineers, horticulturalists, entomologist, sustainability specialists, dancers, performance artists, photographers, theater directors and actors, public artists and more. It is the responsibility of the partners at LEADinc to ensure that the most pragmatic functional needs of our clients are met while; never losing sight of the poetics that can profoundly enhance the lives of all.