Architecture at the Forefront: 2025 Design Vanguard Winners, Part II  

Projects, Perspectives, and the Journey of Building a Practice

Sponsored by The Ornamental Metal Institute of New York, The Steel Institute of New York, Think Wood, and Vitro Architectural Glass | Presented by Juan Sala and Douglas Harsevoort and Anthony Gagliardi and Dorian Booth

Live Webinar Airing on October 22, 2025 at 02:00 PM ET

Since 2000, RECORD has annually honored 10 leading young firms with the Design Vanguard award. Join managing editor Leopoldo Villardi for a conversation with two of this year’s winners: Almost Studio (Brooklyn, New York) and Sala Hars (Mexico City). The principals will share recent projects and work on the boards, as well as discuss their experience establishing an architecture firm.

Photo courtesy fo Ridofranz

Speaker

Douglas Harsevoort graduated with a Master of Architecture with Distinction from Harvard University, as well as studying at the Bauhaus University in Weimar, the ETH in Zürich and the University of Minnesota. He worked in the office of Johnston Marklee in Los Angeles, CA. Douglas is a founding partner of Sala Hars (2018). He currently manages projects in Mexico City, Paris, and the United States.

Juan Sala graduated with a Master of Architecture with Distinction from Harvard University. Previously he received a B.Arch. from the Pratt Institute. He worked in the office of Herzog and De Meuron and Toyo Ito. He has taught architecture studio at Harvard University. Juan is a founding partner of Sala Hars (2018). He currently manages projects in Mexico City, Paris, and the United States.

Speaker

Anthony Gagliardi is a registered architect and co-founder of Almost Studio. He is currently an instructor within the graduate program of the University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design and previously the Yale School of Architecture. Prior to this, Anthony co-coordinated the first-year undergraduate design studio curriculum at the Syracuse University School of Architecture. He has worked for firms including Eisenman Architects and Steven Harris Architects on projects ranging from urban master plans to site-specific residences. Anthony received a Master of Architecture from Yale University, where he was the Yansong Ma Scholar, and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture with Distinction from The Ohio State University. Go Bucks!

Dorian Booth is co-founder of Almost Studio. He is currently a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design and the Yale School of Architecture. He has also been a Visiting Assistant Professor at Pratt Institute in the Graduate Architecture and Urban Design program and an Adjunct Professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, where he taught design studio. Dorian has previously worked for FreelandBuck and LOT-EK in New York, as well as Joeb Moore & Partners in Greenwich, CT. Additionally, he led design and technology development at Grain Surfboards. He received a Master in Architecture from Yale University, where he was the recipient of the AIA Henry Adams Medal, and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania.

Originally published in Architectural Record

Originally published in September 2025

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
  1. Discuss the challenges and opportunities that arise when launching a new firm.
  2. Outline the trajectories of the three presenting offices and discuss how the firms push the boundaries of conventional practice. 
  3. Describe how experience in construction and experimentation with new materials can help diversify and enrich architectural practice.
  4. Discuss the value and importance of exploring a variety of program types and scales when launching a new firm.