Design is a positive act, capable of realizing our ideals. With this forward-looking perspective, we approach each project by weaving different spheres of expertise to rethink conventions that foster sustainable, social, and cultural spaces.
Founded by Amelia Gan and Sean Nakamura Dolan, the studio operates internationally with diverse perspectives from their experiences in Japan, Malaysia, USA, and Europe.
The ambition for spheres is to be a planetary practice, where we design for the different -spheres—from the lives of humans to the life cycles of materials in the biosphere; from the buildings for habitation to the signals for communication in the technosphere— we bring together the various areas of knowledge, to design for the longue durée.
By operating between and within spheres, we design a spectrum of mediums, from civic to domestic architecture, interior design and furniture, art pieces and craftworks, materials research and digital tools, all working together to create unique experiential qualities for living and being.
Amelia Gan is a designer and researcher with an interest and expertise in bio-based materials and human-computer interactions. She was most recently the Irving Innovation fellow at Harvard Graduate School of Design. She holds a Master in Design, Mediums (Technology) from Harvard GSD, where her Open Project, Place-Time: From Waste to 3D CAD was awarded the Digital Design Prize. She also holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University, where she received the Dean’s Citation for Excellence and Crown & Wise-Marcus Award for her architectural thesis, titled Speculative Spoliation: Instrument of Locus Making and Identity-Mediation. Her works have been published in ACADIA, eCAADe, ACII and various others. Her prior professional experience includes positions at ALLTHATISSOLID, YTL, Lehman Smith McLeish (LSM), and Höweler and Yoon Architecture.
Sean Nakamura Dolan is an architectural designer and researcher with an interest in thermal material temporality and perception. He holds a Master of Architecture at Harvard Graduate School of Design and a BA in Architecture at UC Berkeley with Highest Honors. He was a Dean's Merit Scholar at the GSD and has received the Eisner Prize in Architecture, and twice received the Raymond Watson Best Project Prize. He was an instructor and taught a studio at Harvard GSD's design discovery program and has also held monthly lectures and workshops at a general contractor firm in Japan. He has practiced and researched with offices including Kengo Kuma and Associates, IwamotoScott Architecture, Milliøns, Mohsen Mostafavi, and Alex Spatzier Architects.
Thank you!