ikon.5 architects is an award-winning design firm with offices in Princeton, New Jersey, and New York City with a portfolio of projects serving higher education, non-profit organizations, cultural institutions and business corporations.
In 2023, they have been awarded an Honorable Mention in International Architecture Awards by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Center for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
Joseph G. Tattoni, one of the three principals at ikon.5 architects, imparts his extensive expertise in architecture and design philosophy during an enlightening conversation with Pavlos Amperiadis, the publisher of Global Design News.
Good design is not optional, our design process inventively integrates sustainable approaches to advance the architectural metaphor and theme of a project
With a national practice, the firm has been recognized with more than 75 international, national and state design awards for creative solutions that contribute to the enrichment of the built environment.
The firm’s mission is to bring design excellence, to design sustainably to conserve the earth’s resources, and to improve the built landscape in which we live.
Each of their projects is rooted meaningfully in its place and informed by the ideas, values and traditions of the people with and for whom they work.
We jumped overboard and started ikon.5, a frightening, yet very rewarding experience
Working with ikon.5 architects is an enjoyable and gratifying experience that collaboratively engages you in the design process.
The architects are committed to personally building a warm relationship which results in a unique solution that meets all the client’s goals.
One of the firm’s principals leads every project and is your direct day to day contact. They are supported by a highly talented and dedicated staff that make up the project team and stay with the project until its completion.
Alfred, New York
Creativity and practicality are interwoven in the design process
GDN: Can you tell us about your journey to become an architect and eventually a principal? What motivated you to pursue this career?
Joe: I suspect my journey to becoming an architect is similar to many. No one in my family was in any of the design professions, so being a youngster who enjoyed thinking about ‘making things’, like houses, building, bridges, etc. I did not have anyone to turn to for guidance. When I was in high school, my parents arranged for me to meet with a civil engineer because they were convinced that I was going to be an engineer. After about 5 minutes into the conversation with the engineer he said to me “you don’t want to be an engineer, you want to be an architect”; and he told me to get a pamphlet from the American Institute of Architects that they published at the time called: “Do you want to be an Architect?”.
After reading it, I knew that I wanted to pursue this career. It was in college that I really began to understand the importance of the built environment and how important it is to the quality of life. In College I began to realize that architecture has a vocational calling or obligation to improve people’s lives and being an architect, in my view, is one of the most important professions because what we make effects everyone.
Becoming a principal at ikon.5 architects was a circumstance of external conditions. My partners and I chose to start ikon.5 twenty years ago when our former architectural firm, where we were employees for about 15 years, was being bought out by a larger international multi-disciplinary firm. Our design and business philosophy did not seem to sync with the new firm, so we jumped overboard and started ikon.5, a frightening, yet very rewarding experience.
Newark, New Jersey
GDN: What is your design philosophy and approach? How do you balance creativity with practicality in your architectural projects?
Joe: Our design philosophy is born out of the belief that architecture is storytelling using the language of landscape and built form. It tells the story of the values of a particular people or institution in its place and time. Like poetry and prose, architecture relies on metaphor to convey an expression that is lasting and timeless. Our architectural solutions reflect the regional traditions of the areas in which we build and seeks a timeless expression that eloquently tells our client’s stories.
In this way, our work is a-stylistic, with no preordained aesthetic expression, and inspired by thoughtful, economic, and efficient solutions that are meaningful to the public who inhabit and enjoy our buildings. The diversity of our work results from a consistency of approach and ideation, which when tempered by setting and client needs produces a rich variation of response. Our work is at once situational, inextricably bound to the specifics of place and program, and universal in its broader aspirations to locate itself within the canon of modern architecture.
I think we are fortunate to remain a top tier firm and receive recognition for our efforts because everything we do is focused on design excellence
Our work is united in its commitment to design excellence, social and environmental responsiveness. We believe there is an opportunity for design excellence in all projects, irrespective of size and budget. Good design is not optional. Our design process inventively integrates sustainable approaches to advance the architectural metaphor and theme of a project. Green design elements are integrated in the design to advance and support the architectural experience and composition and to create a healthy environment that is operationally sustainable.
Early in the design process, we will conduct a sustainability workshop with the design committee to determine the appropriate approach for a particular project. During this workshop, we will evaluate the benefits and difficulties associated with each approach taking into consideration up front first time costs, operating expenses, schedule, maintenance and durability.
We incorporate sustainable design into every project in an effort to reduce the energy it takes to build a building, reduce the waste in its fabrication and the energy it takes to maintain and operate a building. Creativity and practicality are interwoven in the design process. One of the first tasks we undertake on a project is establishing a cost model that sets a parameter for achievement. It is an important factor just like the existing site conditions and the program in establishing a creative response that will be realized.
New Windsor, New York
Clients, nowadays, are expecting three-dimensional representation of nearly every space in and around a project
GDN: Could you highlight an Ikon5 project that you are particularly proud of? What were the challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?
Joe: The Student Union at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University is a project we are particularly proud of because it successfully captures the ethos of the mission of the university and the personality of the student body in its architectural form. To deliver a project that so expressively represents flight and aerospace technology we had to overcome a number of challenges posed by the location in Florida such as hurricane zone requirements and intense sun and heat.
The large overhanging ‘wing-like’ forms of the roof invoke the idea of flight, but more practically, they shade the floors below from intensive heat gain. These overhangs presented another challenge due to wind uplift during a hurricane or high wind event, so we incorporated the exterior diagonal structs extending from the tip of the roof overhang back to the structure to restrain wind force uplift.
Each system is chosen to enrich the experience of the building
We designed these structural elements to be apart of the expressive language of building incorporating a structural solution into the architectural experience. Another challenge was the incorporation of a 200’ long glass skylight down the middle of the building. At the start of the project, we engaged with the students on campus who told us repeatedly how much they enjoy being outside looking up skyward and dreaming of flight.
This represents the fearless character of most students who study space and aeronautics, so we decided to incorporate a skylight in the middle of the building that permits students to gaze upward to the sky while inside. Our challenge was to prevent intense sun glare and heat gain from entering the building while giving students visual access to the sky day and night for gazing. We met this challenge through researching glass technologies, working with glass manufacturers and developing a multi-layer glazing unit of reflective coatings and ceramic frit to minimize heat gain and maximize visible light.
Brentwood, New York
The Charleston Branch Library of The New York Public Library is the first net zero / LEED Gold operating library in New York City
GDN: How do you stay at the top tier of architectural firms and get awarded every year by The Chicago Athenaeum and other institutions?
Joe: I think we are fortunate to remain a top tier firm and receive recognition for our efforts because everything we do is focused on design excellence. There are many pressures on the development of projects these days related to escalating cost, delivery dates, expectations for high performance sustainable and resilient buildings that all could have a debilitating effect on the overall final design.
However, we try to maintain an authentic approach to design excellence that requires nothing to get in the way of excellence. This is only achievable when you have a dedicated talented staff of architects committed to excellence at every level. We remain a top tier firm and are awarded for our efforts because of the architects in our studio seek excellence everyday as projects are conceptualized and developed and that is not easy.
Staten Island, New York
GDN: Sustainability and environmental considerations are increasingly important in architecture: How do you integrate sustainable practices into your projects?
Joe: Every project we work on achieves some level of significant sustainable and environmental achievement. Our design process inventively integrates sustainable approaches to advance the architectural metaphor and theme of a project. Green design elements are not added to a building solution. They are integrated in the design to advance and support the architectural experience and composition and to create a healthy environment that is operationally sustainable. Each system is chosen to enrich the experience of the building.
For example, the Charleston Branch Library of The New York Public Library is the first net zero / LEED Gold operating library in New York City. The distinctive civic features of the stainless-steel portal and louvered screens on the exterior are integrated elements that give the building its distinctive character that advances its meaning while assisting us in achieving a net zero operation. Its distinctive roman brick façade relates to the masonry traditions of this historical brick manufacturing community while allowing us to achieve a very high-performance R value for the vertical surfaces of the building. The building is an all-electric non-carbon fuelled facility with photovoltaic roof cells that provides its energy for operation.
Early in the design process, we will conduct a sustainability workshop with the design committee to determine the appropriate approach for a particular project. During this workshop, we will evaluate the benefits and difficulties associated with each approach taking into consideration up front first time costs, operating expenses, schedule, maintenance and durability. We incorporate sustainable design into every project in an effort to reduce the energy it takes to build a building, reduce the waste in its fabrication and the energy it takes to maintain and operate a building.
Ithaca, New York
GDN: How do you approach the balance between preserving existing structures and creating new, innovative designs?
Joe: Philosophically, we believe architecture is a physical record of man’s belief and values through time. As such, it is important that existing structures, particularly non-obsolete and useful ones, be retained for historical record as well as an appropriate sustainable approach. When dealing with significant historical or important structures we often use the guidelines established by the United States Department of Interior for Historic Structures. In summary, its intent is to make clear the difference between an existing structure and new structure. This is so the historical record can be preserved and understood throughout time.
We also believe its important when designing in a historic context to not only distinguish the new structure from the existing, but to contextually make the new structure belong to the language of the place. At the National Purple Heart Hall on Honor in New Windsor New York, we developed an innovative museum that presented a monumental edifice to the visitor that was civically appropriate to the efforts of the military women and men that it honours; yet comfortably fits within the rustic small scaled cabins of this historic American Revolutionary cantonment where it is located. A weathered steel arcuated portico allowed us to innovatively preserve the context of the existing cantonment while creating a monumental expression for veterans and their families.
Daytona Beach, Florida1
My advice to aspiring young architects starting out is to learn and master the craft of architecture
GDN: The digital landscape is evolving rapidly: How has technology, such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) or virtual reality, influenced your design process and communication with clients?
Joe: Two digital formats that have influenced our relationships with our clients have been 3D illustration formats (BIM, Rhino, etc) and Zoom or other virtual meeting formats. Since the pandemic, we find ourselves communicating more often with our clients and more often virtually because of their comfort with virtual meeting formats. We don’t necessarily think this is the best way to communicate, especially, when you are dealing with non-technical softer issues of design.
We still prefer face to face in person meetings so we can more accurately read body language. We also have found recently that clients are expecting three-dimensional representation of nearly every space in and around a project. Their comfort and trust of reading a two-dimensional plan or section, which is quite abstract, is no longer accepted, they want to see almost every place illustrated and presented in three dimensions.
GDN: Architecture often interacts with the culture and history of a place: How do you incorporate local context and community needs into your designs?
Joe: Architecture is storytelling in built form and like poetry and prose it relies on metaphor to convey a deep and lasting meaning. The story of the buildings we design seek to express the ethos of the community we build for. We incorporate local context by first researching and understanding the historical and contemporary cultural context of the place or institution. Then we imagine how that context or understanding could be physical and concrete with built and landscape forms and spaces.
For example, the student union building at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University express a bird in flight through steel and glass; the Charleston Branch of the New York Public Library is fashioned as a textured roman brick vessel containing print and digital information and recalling the historical brick manufacturing community of Charleston and the student center at Georgetown University is a built abstraction of their Latin motto ‘Hoya Saxa’ meaning living stones.
Daytona Beach, Florida
Not only distinguish the new structure from the existing, but to contextually make the new structure belong to the language of the place
GDN: What advice would you give to aspiring architects who are just starting their careers?
Joe: My advice to aspiring young architects starting out is to learn and master the CRAFT of architecture. You know and will always know how to be inventive and creative, but you must learn how to take those innovative creative ideas and make them real physical structures that retain the power of their conceptual ideas.
This is the craft of architecture, and it must be mastered; otherwise, every thought remains a conceptual idea and never matures into an inspiring and timeless piece of architecture. I would advise that you learn the craft from older architects, engineers and contractors who have the battle scars of their career to learn from.
Daytona Beach, Florida
All images & videos are courtesy of Ikon5. Architects