NOUNS 
People Making Places and Things

NOUNS is an architecture and design practice. It has undertaken a range of projects in the United States, Canada and Portugal, including residences, offices, retail spaces and furniture. Current projects include the rehabilitation and expansion of a mid-century modern house in Los Angeles, a retail space for a clothing company in Beverly Hills, and a portfolio of infill housing projects for American cities.

NOUNS is led by Emmett Zeifman (R.A., NY). He holds an M.Phil in Architecture from the University of Cambridge, an M.Arch from the Yale School of Architecture, and a B.A. in English Literature from McGill University. He teaches in the Sustainable Architecture and Engineering and Urban Studies programs at Stanford University. Previously, he taught at the Harvard GSD, Columbia GSAPP, and SCI-Arc. 

Recent critical and curatorial projects include the essay “The Five Points of Lacaton & Vassal,” published in Log 58, and the exhibition “Towards a Newer Brutalism” at the Harvard GSD. 

Prior to founding NOUNS, he was a founding editor of Project: A Journal for Architecture and a founding principal of Medium Office, with Alfie Koetter. He also worked on a number of mixed-use and super-tall projects in Asia and the United States with Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates. His work has been widely exhibited and published, and has been supported by the Graham Foundation.

Notes on a Practice

1. Turn Houses into Housing
2a. Make Specific Objects for Non-Specific Uses 
2b. Make Non-Specific Objects for Specific Uses
3. Put One Thing Above / Beside / Below Another
4. Infill America
5. Keep It Simple

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