About AR-MA
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Robert Beson and Gabriele Ulacco
Profile
AR-MA (Architectural Research – Material Applications) is an experimental architecture office based in Sydney, founded in 2011 by Robert Beson and Gabriele Ulacco. Robert and Gabriele met whilst studying undergraduate architecture at the University of Sydney, and continued to collaborate through additional studies and employment, ultimately founding AR-MA and establishing their first office in Chippendale. AR-MA currently resides on George Street in Sydney’s CBD.
AR-MA’s intent, or its intended point of differentiation to most architectural offices, is to integrate front- and back-end design decisions to produce architecture that comprehensively engages the means and methods of construction. This removes the necessitation for a process of translation following preliminary design, where design intent is compromised because it cannot feasibly be built. This translation is generally done by a builder or a developer, and may contradict the architect’s intentions. By engaging directly with fabrication and assembly processes, AR-MA is able to produce highly specific, intentional, and bespoke architecture that moves away from standardized building.
To enable this shift, AR-MA develops its own tools by writing custom software to aid the design process. This also differs AR-MA from the majority of architectural practice. AR-MA’s embrace of computational tools, including manufacturing tools, allows the practice to be more specific in the solutions it proposes, producing novel architecture on each project it’s involved in.
Biography
Robert Beson is a registered architect and founding director of AR-MA. Robert has led AR-MA as a transdisciplinary architectural practice, merging award-winning design with proven expertise in the delivery of challenging buildings. This mixture responds to changing supply chains affecting how we design, manage and manufacture buildings for construction.
Throughout his career, Robert has been involved in architectural research and teaching. He has taught at various architecture schools in Australia since 2006, and continues to lecture worldwide.
Robert studied architecture at the University of Sydney, where he received his Bachelor of Design (Architecture), and the University of Technology Sydney, where he received his Master of Architecture. Prior to studying architecture, Robert studied Classics (Latin and Greek) at the Colorado College. He wrote his thesis on the origins of the novel and received his Bachelor of Arts in 2000.
Gabriele Ulacco is a technical director at AR-MA. He has worked to articulate and develop this approach, and has collaborated with a range of leading artists and architects on projects ranging from public art to commercial high-rise building facades.
Gabriele specialises in creating collaborative workflows to design complex architectural projects that combine geometric rationalisation with environmental performance. This is achieved through the synthesis of computational techniques and an understanding of the design process.
Gabriele graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Architecture) from the University of Sydney. In recognition of his expertise in the field of digital fabrication, he was appointed Robotics and Digital Fabrication Coordinator at the Department of Architecture and Planning at USYD. In this capacity he facilitated academic research into the creative potential of combining industrial processes and machine tools with design thinking.
Philosophy
AR-MA work across project types at all scales to create innovative spaces that transform experience. We research and develop new organizational structures, material systems, fabrication methods,and design tools in order to create transformative spaces and innovative construction methods. We create our own design tools by writing code in order to explore innovative architectural forms, rationalise complex geometry, and reduce material use and time on site.
We maintain a global supply chain of leading material suppliers, manufacturers and fabricators in order to facilitate our design process. Design is a networked process of influence and decisions that happen in collaboration with our clients and partners.
We engage with construction through deep and ongoing relationships with contractors, manufacturers, and installers. We do not produce design intent. Rather we create comprehensively designed and engineered solutions that utilize local and global supply chains to produce innovative works of architecture.
We are young, dynamic, global and innovative. With 18 individuals from eight countries, AR-MA is a young, innovative office intent on creating transformative spaces.
AR-MA is a leader in the design and delivery of complex architectural projects. We couple state-of-the-art technology with the brightest young minds in order to design difference.
Robert Beson and Gabriele Ulacco
Profile
AR-MA (Architectural Research – Material Applications) is an experimental architecture office based in Sydney, founded in 2011 by Robert Beson and Gabriele Ulacco. Robert and Gabriele met whilst studying undergraduate architecture at the University of Sydney, and continued to collaborate through additional studies and employment, ultimately founding AR-MA and establishing their first office in Chippendale. AR-MA currently resides on George Street in Sydney’s CBD.
AR-MA’s intent, or its intended point of differentiation to most architectural offices, is to integrate front- and back-end design decisions to produce architecture that comprehensively engages the means and methods of construction. This removes the necessitation for a process of translation following preliminary design, where design intent is compromised because it cannot feasibly be built. This translation is generally done by a builder or a developer, and may contradict the architect’s intentions. By engaging directly with fabrication and assembly processes, AR-MA is able to produce highly specific, intentional, and bespoke architecture that moves away from standardized building.
To enable this shift, AR-MA develops its own tools by writing custom software to aid the design process. This also differs AR-MA from the majority of architectural practice. AR-MA’s embrace of computational tools, including manufacturing tools, allows the practice to be more specific in the solutions it proposes, producing novel architecture on each project it’s involved in.
Biography
Robert Beson is a registered architect and founding director of AR-MA. Robert has led AR-MA as a transdisciplinary architectural practice, merging award-winning design with proven expertise in the delivery of challenging buildings. This mixture responds to changing supply chains affecting how we design, manage and manufacture buildings for construction.
Throughout his career, Robert has been involved in architectural research and teaching. He has taught at various architecture schools in Australia since 2006, and continues to lecture worldwide.
Robert studied architecture at the University of Sydney, where he received his Bachelor of Design (Architecture), and the University of Technology Sydney, where he received his Master of Architecture. Prior to studying architecture, Robert studied Classics (Latin and Greek) at the Colorado College. He wrote his thesis on the origins of the novel and received his Bachelor of Arts in 2000.
Gabriele Ulacco is a technical director at AR-MA. He has worked to articulate and develop this approach, and has collaborated with a range of leading artists and architects on projects ranging from public art to commercial high-rise building facades.
Gabriele specialises in creating collaborative workflows to design complex architectural projects that combine geometric rationalisation with environmental performance. This is achieved through the synthesis of computational techniques and an understanding of the design process.
Gabriele graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Architecture) from the University of Sydney. In recognition of his expertise in the field of digital fabrication, he was appointed Robotics and Digital Fabrication Coordinator at the Department of Architecture and Planning at USYD. In this capacity he facilitated academic research into the creative potential of combining industrial processes and machine tools with design thinking.
Philosophy
AR-MA work across project types at all scales to create innovative spaces that transform experience. We research and develop new organizational structures, material systems, fabrication methods,and design tools in order to create transformative spaces and innovative construction methods. We create our own design tools by writing code in order to explore innovative architectural forms, rationalise complex geometry, and reduce material use and time on site.
We maintain a global supply chain of leading material suppliers, manufacturers and fabricators in order to facilitate our design process. Design is a networked process of influence and decisions that happen in collaboration with our clients and partners.
We engage with construction through deep and ongoing relationships with contractors, manufacturers, and installers. We do not produce design intent. Rather we create comprehensively designed and engineered solutions that utilize local and global supply chains to produce innovative works of architecture.
We are young, dynamic, global and innovative. With 18 individuals from eight countries, AR-MA is a young, innovative office intent on creating transformative spaces.
AR-MA is a leader in the design and delivery of complex architectural projects. We couple state-of-the-art technology with the brightest young minds in order to design difference.
MORE ABOUT AR-MA
