Architecture Design

Office dA

The Architecture Design Award, recognizing work in commercial, public, or residential architecture, is awarded to Office dA, a Boston-based architecture and design firm established in 1991 by principal partners Monica Ponce de Leon and Nadar Tehrani. Distinguished by its interdisciplinary approach to architecture and innovative construction techniques, the firm has worked nationally and internationally on projects ranging from affordable housing to buildings for academic and cultural institutions. Commissions include the Villa Moda mixed-use building in Kuwait; the Tongxian Arts Center in Beijing; Northeastern University’s Multifaith Spiritual Center; Rhode Island School of Design’s Main Library; and most recently, the Macallen building, the first LEED-certified, environmentally sensitive, multi-housing building in Boston. Ponce de Leon and Tehrani have lectured and exhibited widely. Ponce de Leon currently teaches architecture at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. Tehrani is an Associate Professor of Architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.