Our research interests include, among others, food and energy systems, community-building, technology integration and sustainable cities. Through practical application of research-based design intelligence we push each project beyond established solutions and propose new modes of engagement with the built environment. We do this via fresh unbiased inquiry, extra-disciplinary investigation and creative open-source collaboration.
The partners of ARExA draw on years of experience within the design services environment and leverage unique insights and broader interests gained within the industry as well as in academia. The three principals each held leadership roles at established New York practices SOM (Skidmore Owings & Merrill), Woods Bagot Architects, and JPDA (Jordan Parnass Digital Architecture). Their cumulative knowledge of the industry is built on many years of design experience and combines diverse disciplines such as workplace, education, and environmental research, as well as brand experience, digital design and urban agriculture.
RIK EKSTROM was a founding member of the Woods Bagot New York Studio, where he served as the design team leader for Education and Research projects. He spearheaded the feasibility / visioning study for Rutgers University’s Institute for Food, Nutrition & Health as well as design of Cornell University’s Marriott Student Learning Center. At SOM, Rik worked on international projects ranging from infrastructure to mixed-use master-planning, including the National University of Singapore’s University Town development.
DARRICK BOROWSKI has worked on architecture, design and branding projects worldwide from offices in New York, London, Seattle and Chicago. As Creative Director at JPDA he led projects for well-known brands including Apple, American Apparel, Harley Davidson and O2 and his work has been widely published. Darrick received his Master of Architecture with Distinction from the Architectural Association in London and teaches a design studio at SVA.
SEAN KARNS is a curious and inquisitive student of the world of design, with architectural projects ranging from corporate campuses, international retail rollouts and city-block scale multi-unit housing. His curiosity also extends to adaptive and innovative techniques in the building sciences to include designed efficiency not only from an energy use perspective but also from an efficiency of use for the occupants, inhabitants and general users of his spaces through an extensive pre-design research and survey process.
An Infrastructure for Restorative Justice is a design studio founded by ARExA principals Darrick Borowski and Rik Ekström in 2020 in collaboration with the School of Visual Arts in New…
Despite several decades of progress, outdoor air pollution in the Pittsburgh area remains a significant public health burden. An increasing variety of health threats are being identified at concentrations previously…
We had a great couple of days touring projects, sharing meals, and discussing the mutual opportunities and challenges of housing a growing urban population in the increasingly competitive housing and real estate…
We’re thrilled to be invited to be a part of this years STHLMNYC Conversation series, where we’ll be talking solutions to the global housing crisis with our colleagues from Stockholm & NYC….
Big thanks to the AIA and the Center for Architecture for the great opening Friday night, and for putting together a fantastic exhibit showcasing projects featuring creative reuse of old buildings from around New York City. Make sure…
Check us out in the the Fall 2016 issue of Oculus Magazine! Architectural historian and journalist, Janet Strong, spent some time at WeLive Wall Street talking with the ARExA team about…
Join us at the Center for Architecture on Friday, September 30 for the opening of Authenticity and Innovation and the launch of Archtober 2016! Authenticity and Innovation explores the preservation and resue of…
Today, NoVo Foundation & Goren Group announced the finalists and winner of the The Women’s Building International Design Competition. The ARExA | Spacesmith | Davis Brody Bond team made it…
The team of ARExA | Spacesmith | Davis Brody Bond has been selected for the shortlist of 12 candidates to submit a design for The Women’s Building. The competition calls for the…
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For employment inquiries, please send a single PDF containing your ARExA application, cover letter (addressed to ARExA), CV, and work samples via email to info@are-a.net. Please put only your name in the subject line. ARExA does not accept hand-delivered or couriered applications. No phone calls, please. ARExA does not accept offers for unpaid internships. This practice devalues our profession and provides lawbreakers an unfair market advantage.
