Architects in Cambridge

Early in their practice when clients asked Jinhee Park, AIA, and John Hong, AIA, LEED AP, to design a house with 600, 000 pounds of steel and concrete salvaged from Boston’s Big Dig highway project, the duo produced an aggressive yet beautiful 4, 300-square-foot home that was widely published. It’s the kind of out-of-the box sustainable thinking upon which the young firm built its reputation.

With offices in New York, Boston, and Seoul, Korea, SsD has moved on to bigger projects, but it still applies the same logic to its work. “We started [Big Dig] not as a house, but as a research project on the potential of the materials, ” Park says.

SsD specializes in modern design—“minimum form takes maximum effect, ” it believes—that blends architecture, landscape, history, social systems, and sustainability. “Design should use minimum means to create maximum effect, ” Park explains. “We call this ‘sustainable minimalism.’”

SsD is working on micro-unit housing in Seoul, an early education center, and a vegetarian food network with hubs, restaurants, and food trucks, but residential work is important to the firm. “The impact of the client’s involvement is critical in residential projects, ” Park explains. “We are always excited to draw out unexpected exciting design solutions through the collaboration with clients.”

years in practice: 9 / projects completed in 2011: 3 / firm size: 7 / areas of interest: single-family, multifamily, commercial, research, museums, education