The Library is Open: Phu Hoang, Rachely Rotem

Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem, co-founders of MODU, participate in the third edition of “The Library is Open” with a presentation of their book A Field Guide to Indoor Urbanism (Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2022). Response by Sean Anderson (Cornell).

Published by the interdisciplinary design studio MODU, this “field guide” explores threshold spaces between the interior and the exterior. What are experiences between architecture and the environment? Where can the boundaries between the interior and the urban be drawn? What role does the climate crisis play in this? For their research and design projects, Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem look at three major cities on different continents: New York, Rome, and Tokyo. MODU leaves behind the binary idea of inside and outside and rather understands architecture as an extension of the environment. Thus, it imagines a hybrid of urban space, architecture, and interior space. The book explores the different geographic locations and presents their own design projects.

SPEAKERS

Phu Hoang is a Founding Director of the interdisciplinary architecture and design practice MODU and Head of Architecture section at the Knowlton School of the Ohio State University and the Robert S. Livesey Professor of Architecture. He has directed numerous projects, notably the Exhale art park and the Promenade mixed use center. Along with Rachely Rotem, he was awarded the Founders Rome Prize in Architecture (2017), since 1897 a prize for ”the highest standards of excellence in the arts and humanities.” He has also been awarded the Emerging Voices award from the Architectural League of New York (2019) and the US-Japan Creative Artists fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts (2018). Phu holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master of Architecture degree from Columbia University. Phu is a fellow of the American Academy in Rome, President of its Society of Fellows, and a licensed architect in New York and Texas.

Rachely Rotem, Founding Director of MODU and studio futurist, has led MODU since its founding in 2012. Rachely directed the design of many projects in MODU, including the Cloud Seeding plaza pavilion and the Heart Squared public artwork. Along with Phu Hoang, she was awarded the 2017 Founders Rome Prize in Architecture, since 1897 an annual prize to those “who represent the highest standards of excellence in the arts and humanities.” She has also been awarded the Emerging Voices award from the Architectural League of New York (2019) and the US-Japan Creative Artists fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts (2018).

Rachely holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree (Cum Laude) from Technion in Haifa and a Master’s in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University. She currently teaches at the Rhode Island School of Design and recently at MIT. Rachely is a fellow of the American Academy in Rome, a licensed architect in Israel, and a LEED Accredited Professional in Building Design and Construction.