Dec 1, 2026
LOT-EK lectures at RIT Vignelli Center, Rochester
about:
LOT-EK is a team of designers, thinkers, and makers. We come together around our love for people, the objects we make, and the ones we dismiss. We focus on upcycling. We make sustainable, soulful spaces through the transformation of industrial infrastructural objects and systems. We work with the ordinary
our projects range from sculptural/functional objects; to installations with artists; to houses for families; to work places and play spaces; to cultural buildings for communities, institutions, and museums. Our practice has completed projects from our hometown of New York around the world, from Queensland, Australia, through Huangshan, China to Johannesburg, South Africa
our team is a tight knit group of designers, we each bring our voice, sensibility, and heritage to our common project. LOT-EK’s founding partners are Ada Tolla and Giuseppe Lignano, we live and work in New York; grew up in Naples, Italy; have been practicing together since 1993; and teach at Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation - GSAPP
our work has received awards and accolades, from the Emerging Voices from the Architecture League to the AIA Honor Awards, and it is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim. LOT-EK’s latest monograph, in collaboration with Thomas de Monchaux, is O+O: Objects + Operations, published by The Monacelli Press
email:
employment:
we are currently not hiring and will not be able to reply to employment requests
open positions will be posted as they become available, here and on our instagram @lot_ek / thank you!
New York:
620 East 9th Street / storefront
New York, NY 10009
USA
+1 (212) 255-9326
Napoli:
via Posillipo 66
80123 Napoli
ITALY
highlights:
exhibitions (solo):
2001
URBANSCANNER , Parsons School of Architecture / New York
2001
LITE-SCAPES, Henry Urbach Architecture / New York
1998
TV-LITE, Chateau Marmont / Los Angeles
1997
SURF-A-BED, Gramercy Art Fair / New York
exhibitions (group):
2024
CONTAINER, LWL Museums of Industrial Heritage / Waltrop
2023
DRAWING AS PRACTICE, National Academy of Design / New York
2020
ARCHITECTS FOR BEIRUT, Design Miami
2018
WINNIPEG’S NUIT BLANCHE, Winnipeg Architecture Foundation
2017
CONTAINER, National Maritime Museum / Sydney
2014
CONCEPTIONS OF SPACE, MoMA / New York
2012
MEDAGLIA D’ORO ALL’ARCHITETTURA ITALIANA, Triennale di Milano
2011
RE-CYCLE, MAXXI / Rome
2011
CONTAINER ARCHITECTURE, NRW-Forum / Düsseldorf
2010
GEOGRAFIE ITALIANE, PAESAGGI DI ARCHITETTURA, MAXXI / Rome
2010
CONEMPLATING THE VOID, Guggenheim Museum / New York
2010
SCL2010, Chile Bicentennial / Santiago
2008
OUT THERE, ARCHITECTURE WITHOUT BUILDING, Venice Architecture Biennnale
2005
ESTRANAMENTE FAMILIARES, MARCO / Vigo, Spain
2004
2004
STRANGELY FAMILIAR, Musee De l'Hospice Comtesse / Lille
2004
STRANGELY FAMILIAR, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art / Arizona
2003
SÃO PAULO ARCHITECTURE BIENNAL, American Pavilion, São Paulo
2003
CONCEPTS FOR THE SNOW SHOW, Venice Art Biennale
2003
CROSSED LINES, Center for Contemporary Culture / Barcelona
2002
NEW WORLD TRADE CENTER, Venice Architecture Biennale
2002
LIVING IN MOTION, Vitra Museum / Weil-am-Rhein + Berlin
2002
SYNTHETIC, Galerie Zürcher / Paris
2002
RE_IMAGINING GORUND ZERO, National Building Museum / Washington, DC
2000
EXPERIMENTS IN ARCHITECTURE, SF MoMA / San Francisco
2000
DESIGN TRIENNIAL, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum / New York
1994
HELLO AGAIN! Recycling for the Real World, Museum at F.I.T. / New York
1993
TRANSIENT DÉCOR, Roger Smith Hotel / New York
publications (monogrpahs):
publications (books):
2015
2008
EX-CONTAINER, by Yasutaka Yoshimura / Graphic-sha, Tokyo
2004
2003
2003
METROPOLIS, by Instituto de Arquitetos do Brasil, São Paulo
2003
THE SNOW SHOW VENICE, by Lance Fung / Zing LLC, New York
2002
INTERNATIONAL 2002 , by Livepool Biennial of Contemporary Art
2001
publications (periodical):
2025
INTERNI, On a Journey by Antonella Boisi
2022
INVENTARIO, Sopraelevazioni by Fulvio Irace
2020
DWELL/November-December, True Believers by Anna Gibertini
2020
CORRIERE DELLA SERA/October 17, La Rinascita ‘Smart’ di un Container by Laura Ragazzola
2020
ARQUITECTURA VIVA, Reciclaje Social, Driveline Studios
2020
CASA BRUTUS, JR + LOT-EK, by David Imber
2020
ASHAI SHINBUN + CHUNICHI SHINBUN, LOT-EK exhibition reviews, L Gallery, Nagoya
2020
WA - WORLD ARCHITECTURE, Drivelines Studios
2019
BLAUVELT, International Urban Project Award 2019
2019
PLATFORM, Contemporary Drivelines by Concetta Tavoletta
2019
AMC, Drivelines Containers Habités by Christophe Hespel
2019
BOB MAGAZINE, Clipping Drivelines Studios by Joonyong
2019
ABITARE, Metropoli Novissima by Fondazione Annuali dell’Architettura e della Citta’
2018
PASAJES ARQUITECTURA, LOT-EK [Selected Projects]
2018
SCHÖNER WOHNEN, Upcycling in Keilform, Carroll House
2017
CAMERA CRONICA #16, In Defense of The Vele: A Visit by Ada Tolla
2017
CONCRETE QUARTERLY, Flooring It, Irving Place Carriage House
2016
À VIVRE, Coleurs En Bias by Nadége Mevel
2016
BOB magazine , Irving Place Carriage House
2015
KNACK WEEKEND, Container Als Thuishaven by Mien De Vriendt
2014
BEAUX ARTS , C-Home, Ecolo-Chic by Celine
2014
ARCVISION, Women and Architecture
2014
CASA BRUTUS/January, Band of Outsiders Tokyo by M. Yoshida; D. Imber
2013
OCULUS/Winter, A Tale of Two Piers by Jonathan Lerner
2013
VOGUE France/November, Glamour en douce by Carole Sabas
2013
DBZ/August, Modulares Bauen
2011
ABITARE/January, Le case di marca by Lucia Tozzi
2011
MARK/December-January, Point Me In A New Direction by Yen Ping Chua
2011
FRAME/March, Turkey
2011
DWELL/May 19, Sneak Peek LOT-EK's Pier 57 by Jamie Gross
2011
CASA BRUTUS/August 2011, New York by Mika Yoshida
2011
OCULUS/Summer, Honor Award, APAP OpenSchool
2011
ARCHITECTS NEWSPAPER/January, Watch Out, Swimsuit Models by Isadora Mullion
2011
DWELL/November, Tunnel Vision by Miyoko Ohtake
2011
OCULUS/Fall, The Lure of Pop-ups by Claire Wilson
2010
ARCHIWORLD/October, APAP Open School
2010
FRAME/November-December, Re-Use APAP Open School
2010
WIRED/April, Felici e Container by Chiara Alpago-Novello
2010
DWELL/April, Village people - Weiner Townhouse by Geoff Manaugh
2010
ARQA/January-February, Puma City, Portos do Mundo
2010
X-KNOWLEDGE HOME/No. 14, Puma City-LOT-EK
2010
CASA BRUTUS/March, Sink Wall by Mika Yoshida & David Imber
2009
BLUEPRINT ASIA, Puma City by Eunice Loh
2009
PERSPECTIVE/March, Shipshape Storage by Patricia Nelson
2009
TRAVEL + LEISURE/March, 2009 Best Retail Space, PUMA City
2009
BIENES RAICES/February, Convierten Restos Industriales by V. Montes de Oca
2009
WOUND/January , In-The-Box PUMA City by LOT-EK by Olympia Kazi
2009
CAPITAL/January , Les Idees Du Mois, PUMA City
2008
SPECCHIO+/December, by Lucia Tozzi
2008
MONITOR/December, Sanlitun North & South Mixed-Use Buildings
2008
ARQ/December, The Bohen Foundation by Patricio Mardones
2008
PEN/December, Puma Volvo Ocean Race
2008
INTERNI/December, Archicontainer by Danilo Premoli
2008
IL SOLE 24 ORE/December 10, PUMA City by Paola Pierotti
2008
ELLE DECORATION/October, La Deuxiemeviedes Conteneurs by Daniele Gerkens
2008
*MUST/September, Self Made People by Mircea Masserini
2008
MARK/April-May, View Point, Shipping News by David Sokol
2008
INTERNI/April, Greenenergydesign: Gel-Bulb di LOT-EK con Technogel
2008
ARQUINE/Spring, La Nueva China by Gabriela Solis
2008
METROPOLIS/April, LOT-EK Ships to Beijing by Alex Pasternack
2008
ARCHITECTS NEWSPAPER/February 2, International Arrivals by Jeff Byles
2008
IL SOLE 24 ORE/February 2, Sanlitun North by Paola Pierotti
collections (institutional):
Guggenheim Museum,
New York
Whitney Museum,
New York
collections (private):
Bloomberg LP / Leonardo Bonanni / Tyler Brule’ / Amy Cappellazzo + Joanne Rosen / Beth DeWoody / Norman Dubrow / William Floyd / Beverly Foster / Jacqueline + Steven Frankel / Stephen Gamson / Ann Hatch / Sara Meltzer / Steven Miller / Agnes Gund / Catherine Gund / Tom Healy + Fred Hochberg / Massimo Lauro / David Leiber / David & Bella Macmillan / The Rubell Family Collection / Mayer Rus / Maurice Russell + Jorge Fontanez / Michael Rush / Gilbert & Lila Silverman / Manon Slome / Mr & Mrs Jerome Stern / Sherri Wolf
awards:
2018
Best in Sport Category, ARCHIMARATHON Awards, Milano
2012
Premio Medaglia d’Oro all’Architettura Italiana (finalist), Triennale di Milano
2009
International Architecture Award, IAA
2009
Best Environments - Honorable Mention, I.D. Magazine
2009
Design Awards - Best Retail, Travel + Leisure
2009
Lumen Awards, IESNYC
2005
Best of Interactive Design / with Inbar Barak, I.D. / Annual Design Review
2002
National Endowment for the Arts grant, National Endowment for the Arts
2002
American Center in Paris grant , Foundation for Arts Initiatives
1991
Visiting Scholar , Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture
talks:
2026
DRURY UNIVERSITY, Springfield, MO - this is design, this is not design
2026
2025
Dipartimento Architettura - Universita’ Federico II, Napoli - TEMP
2025
Dipartimento Architettura - Universita’ Federico II, Napoli - la cura dell'ARTIFICIALE
2024
Carbonella at SOM, New York
2023
F.O.A.N., Napoli - Living Lab
2022
Center for Architecture, New York - Exactitude
2022
University of Toronto - PREFAB with Laurie Hawkinson
2022
Summer School, SS Trinita’ delle Monache, Napoli
2022
Florida University, Miami - UPCYCLE, from 1 to 1,000
2022
Structural Engineers Association of New York – Triangle Stack with Nat Oppenheimer
2021
IN/Arch Piemonte, Torino - Italiani all’estero
2021
PARSONS, New York - STACK/CUT
2021
University of Chicago - The Black School
2021
DISLOCAL, talk 06
2021
University of Chile, New Concepts of Housing
2021
University of Cyprus - from 1 to 1000: UPCYCLE as Prefabrication
2021
Dipartimento Architettura, Universita Federico ll - Upcycle as Shelter
2019
Rural Studio, Auburn University, Newbern, AL - STACK/CUT
2019
Universita’ della Basilicata, Matera - Object+Operations
2019
Columbia University School of Professional Services, New York - Master in Sustainability
2018
University of Technology, Sydney - Object+Operations
2017
Taliesin West, Symposium: Refuge, Redefining Shelter
2017
Center for Architecture, New York - African Modernism(s): Past/Present/Future
2017
Politecnico - Universita’ Federico II, Napoli - Object+Operations
2017
GSA, University of Johannesburg - Object+Operations
2016
PARSONS, New York - Emerging Voices Pechakucha
2014
CORNELL UNIVERSITY, Ithaca NY – Spolia Symposium
2014
UNIVERSITA DI PAVIA – Objects+Operations
2014
UNIVERSITA DI BRESCIA – Objects+Operations
2014
HANLEY WOOD, Washington,DC – Reinvention Symposium
2013
NYIT, New York - Objects+Operations
2013
DEMANIO MARITTIMO KM278, Senigallia - Objects+Operations
2013
BLOOMBERG BUSINESS WEEK DESIGN, San Francisco - Keynote
2012
MIT / ARCHITECTURE, Cambridge - Objects+Operations
2012
ASPEN ART MUSEUM - Objects+Operations
2012
TEXAS A&M, College Station - Objects+Operations
2012
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN / TAUBAMN COLLEGE – Risk Symposium
2011
CORNELL UNIVERSITY / ARCHITECTURE, Ithaca - Objects+Operations
2010
SCL2110 – Santiago - Chile Bicentennial Symposium, keynote
2010
UNIVERSITA' FEDERICO II / ARCHITETTURA, Napoli - Objects+Operations
2010
UNIVERSIDAD IBEROAMERICANA, Mexico City - Holcim Forum on Sustainability
2009
APAP, Anyang, Korea – Public Art Symposium, keynote
2009
KYOTO INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY – Objects+Operations
2008
U.I.A., Torino - Transmitting Architecture Symposium
2008
PRATT INSTITUTE, Brooklyn – Objects+Operations
2008
ESQUINA NORTE DESIGN FORUM, Tijuana - Keynote
2007
ARCELOR MITTAL CONFERENCE, Madrid – UrbanScan
2007
FMGxtreme, Fiorano Modenese – UrbanScan
2007
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON – UrbanScan
2007
UNIVERSITAD DE MONTERREY - Universal Forum of Cultures, keynote
2007
SOM, New York – UrbanScan
2007
BALL UNIVERSITY, Indiana – UrbanScan
2007
CENTER FOR URBAN PEDAGOGY, Brooklyn – The Box, with M. Levinson
2007
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, Chicago – UrbanScan
2006
7th ARQUINE SYMPOSIUM, Mexico City - Keynote
2006
CCA, San Francisco – UrbanScan
2006
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY, South Carolina – UrbanScan
2006
COOPER UNION, New York – UrbanScan
2006
HARVARD UNIVERSITY / GSD, Cambridge – UrbanScan
2006
LAWRENCE TECH UNIVERSITY, Detroit – UrbanScan
2005
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY / GSAPP, New York – UrbanScan
2005
TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY, Lubbock – UrbanScan
2005
UNIVERSITY OF SYRACUSE, NY – UrbanScan
2005
UNIVERSITA’ LA SAPIENZA, Roma– UrbanScan
2005
WITS UNIVERSITY, Johannesburg – UrbanScan
2005
TULANE UNIVERSITY, New Orleans - UrbanScan
2005
CARLETON UNIVERSITY, Ottawa - UrbanScan
2004
ALASKA DESIGN INSTITUTE, Anchorage+Fairbanks - UrbanScan
2004
92nd STREET, New York – UrbanScan
2004
WHITENY MUSEUM, New York – UrbanScan
2004
TOKYO DESIGNERS BLOCK, Keynote
2004
RYERSON UNIVERSITY, Toronto – UrbanScan
2003
WOODBURY UNIVERSITY, San Diego – UrbanScan
2003
CENTRO CULTURAL LA LINEA , Tijuana – UrbanScan
2003
IUAV, Venezia – UrbanScan
2003
SCIARC, Los Angeles – UrbanScan
2003
NEOCON, Chicago – UrbanScan
2003
STANFORD UNIVERSITY, Palo Alto – UrbanScan
academic:
2003-present
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - GSAPP, New York / adjunct professors
2012
MIT - Graduate School of Architecture, Cambridge / visiting professors
2005
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY - School of Architecture / visiting professors
2000-2003
PARSONS SCHOOL OF DESIGN - Architecture Department, New York / adjunct professors
1990-1991
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - GSAPP, New York / visiting scholars
team:
