OpenForm Arch Co is an interdisciplinary design practice primarily engaged in transposing contemporary architectural concepts into built work. We eagerly seek challenging projects and are driven to deliver the most sophisticated and relevant solutions possible. The work ranges in scale from building design and interiors to landscaping and project feasability.

The studio was founded with the intent of producing discourse around well-designed objects and buildings. Our experience reveals that only through collaborative efforts can lasting work materialize and have an impact on our lives. Design does not take place in a vacuum; instead, it’s an evolution of thought influenced by many factors and involves a complicated exchange of ideas between its reciprocal disciplines. Our work responds to these conditions by focusing on rigorous design, and research protocols formulated to build an aesthetically robust world. Sensitivity to form and its material expression stems from a belief that the built environment can surprise and inspire.  Architecture requires a scrutable evaluation of balancing program driven design and aesthetic sensibilities. Recognizing how modes of theory, history, research and the digital workflow coalesce back into driving design principles, and ultimately built projects, is an endeavor that defines our work.

Through partnerships and collaborations, the studio has evolved from exclusively residential projects to expanding our scope of work into more diverse building typologies. With roots in academia, the projects employ tested theoretical propositions that are meant to influence and invigorate buildings. With past experience in managing complex, high-end residential and commercial projects, we are adept to difficulty, and managing large teams from concept to completion. We believe in open-book ideas for design, industry proven approaches to construction and establishing trust and transparency throughout the design team. OpenForm Arch Co always strives to bridge the gap between formal sophistication and structural integrity, both of which are fundamental elements to the realization of our projects.

The studio is a collaborative effort with various contributors depending on project.

Garet Ammerman, AIA

Principal

Garet is a licensed architect in Texas and California, and has practiced professionally on residential projects, interior renovations, commercial and international design competitions in for the past 18 years.  He holds a Master of Science in Architecture with Distinguished Recognition from the post graduate Design Theory and Pedagogy program at SCI Arc, a Master of Architecture with Graduate Thesis Exhibition invitation at SCI Arc and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Texas at Arlington. He is an Associate Professor at the University of Texas San Antonio, and previously taught at Cal Poly Pomona and the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI Arc). Editorial and published works include contributions as co-editor of Offramp 13: Guise, Offramp 12: Tolerance, Archinect, Spaces podcast, and interviews in Delirious LA with the LA Forum.