Interview: Young & Ayata

In 2008, Kutan Ayata and Michael Young co-founded Young & Ayata with a commitment to experimentation and a dedication to “explor[ing] novel formal and organizational possibilities in architecture and urbanism.” The Brooklyn-based partnership views “the reality of contemporary building as a provocation to the progression of experiments in form, material, and technology.” The firm’s work consists of commissions and experimental research, engaging with “contemporary cultural issues that influence and are influenced by our environment.” Recent projects include the competition scheme for an opera house in Busan, South Korea, and a conceptual master plan for the Aalto University Campus Center in Helsinki, Finland.

In the interview above, Ayata and Young describe their installation for the Overlay exhibit as a process of rethinking and reframing their work as their practice has matured.