History of AMLGM
AMLGM is an award-winning Architecture and Design studio with headquarters in San Francisco, California. The Studio was founded in 2014 by principals M. Chad Kellogg, AIA, and Matthew Bowles, AIA, LEED, AP.
AMLGM is well-known for its unique designs for a variety of buildings. They infuse every project with their inventiveness, creativity, and skill at handling every facet of the construction process. It is a small company made up of 5 architects including the co-founders: Chad Kellogg, Matthew Bowles, Luna Yue Zuo (Junior Architect), Ling Sha (Architectural Designer), and Joe Schollmeyer (Architect).
AMLGM applies architectural design thought’s philosophy and strategies across scales of architecture, product design, art, and urban planning. They specialize in architecture, design, residential, commercial, and institutional.
M. Chad Kellogg, Co-Founder of AMLGM
Award-winning architect Martin Chadwick Kellogg, AIA, holds licenses in Oregon and California. Chad obtained his Bachelor’s Degree from UC Berkeley and his Master’s Degree in architecture from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.
His experience spans more than fifteen years, encompassing both public and private projects, such as art museums, upscale residences, and schools in developing nations.
Matthew Bowles, Co-Founder of AMLGM
Having graduated from U.C. Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design, Matthew Bowles, AIA, is a licensed Architect. Many reputable publications, including The Atlantic, Metropolis Magazine, and the New York Post, have featured his work. Matthew’s love of design began at a young age in an industrial design studio where he was taught craftmanship and how to solve difficult problems with sketches and models. His career spanning over a decade, including formative work in the cultural, commercial, and residential vanguard, was propelled by this early introduction to design. Mr. Bowles’s creative and enterprising spirit propels a practice that strikes a balance between exciting, yet functional, built work and ideas for the future of the built environment.
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Company Culture at AMLGM
Being a forward-thinking company, AMLGM approaches every project as unique. They aim to evoke emotion through space, pursuing not only beauty but also the story behind it. AMLGM are both technicians and artists; they take pleasure in the process of bringing complex concepts to life.
We are passionate about designing the present to create an optimistic future.
Their hope is to positively transform the physical environment by making it more efficient, dynamic, beautiful, and inclusive. AMLGM’s belief is that practicing architecture demands both resilience and empathy, and their keen sense of hearing and love of their work influences each project’s design.
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Architect-US is proud to work in close contact with AMLGM and to be able to ensure the firm gets to know and work with amazing young architects like Candelaria Gassiebayle and Álvaro Lucas Guillén Bastante, whom we helped process their J1 Visa and get a place at AMLGM through our Job + J1 Visa Program!
Candelaria Gassiebayle
Argentinian Architect Candelaria Gassiebayle was an Architect-US Pool of Candidates member, J1 Visa Program participant, and also took advantage of Architect-US Portfolio Report Plan! Her Trainee Program with AMLGM took place from 7 Feb 2022 to 7 Feb 2023.
She received her Bachelor of Architecture Degree from Facultad de Arquitectura, Diseño y Urbanismo (F.A.D.U) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 2020 Candelaria participated in Buenos Aires’ Government Competition for «Costa Salguero» where she presented her schematic design for the project.
Candelaria has a varied and expansive work experience despite her young age. Besides her time at AMLGM, she was a Junior Interior Designer at RL Interior Design where she worked on Project Design, Documentation and Execution Management. Candelaria was also a Junior Architect at Oromi-Burgos Landscape Office where her responsibilities included Project Design and Plantation Plans.
Álvaro Lucas Guillén Bastante
Spanish Architect Álvaro Guillén was an Architect-US Pool of Candidates member and a J1 Visa Program participant! His Trainee Program with AMLGM took place from 25 Sep 2018 to 25 Mar 2020.
Álvaro graduated in Architecture from Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Madrid, Spain and achieved a Master in Creativity and Architectural Expression. During his time at University he also received a number of awards including the Honors graduate in extra-academic subject Politics, Sociology and ethics I, II, Developing essay faculties, as well as the “Cultuhippismo, Reservoir of San Juan” – Chosen project among the three best projects for Winter Jury, 2013 at the UFV.
His professional experiences is expansive, with his first internship being in 2013 at Andrés Jaque Architects. Office for Political Innovation where he took part in the creation and discussion team of the projects “Superpowers of ten” – project presented to Lisbon Architecture Triennial, and “Parliament City” – dwelling competition in Upplands Vasby, Sweden. Álvaro also worked for NH Hotel Group as a Junior Architect as part of the Projects & Construction Department, which was responsible for the NH Hotel Group hotels product innovation, interior design and architectural design. He was also involved in the definition of the client brand experience.
AMLGM‘s Selected Projects
Urban Alloy Tower Concept – New York
Urban Alloy proposes a residential typology based on the remnant spaces around transportation infrastructure intersections such as elevated train lines and freeway interchanges. AMLGM seeks to optimize a diverse and intricately interconnected collection of living environments while securing the air rights above these systems through the use of the suggested design and materials.
Densification strategies based on urban renewal are no longer appropriate for modern cities due to rising land prices and increased urban migration. Urban Alloy is a symbiotic re-purposing of New York’s air rights above transportation corridors. Urban Alloy suggests advancing this concept by situating the system right at the intersection of surface and elevated train lines. Urbanists have long praised the advantages of higher housing density close to public transportation hubs.
A combination of floor plate geometries that change from cylindrical to triangular from each tower’s base to top were inspired by the abundance of programmatic options available. This combination, along with site-specific constraints, results in a complex geometry that necessitates a novel facade optimization paradigm. To maximize the performance of a skin where each point is exposed to a different environment, a composite or alloy of multiple flexible systems is needed. The system is set up on a grid that corresponds to the surface’s geometric directionality. The normal of the surface is compared to its ideal solar shading and daylight transmitting requirements at each grid intersection.
Photos by AMLGM
Pearl Mosque – Dubai Creek Harbour
The Pearl Mosque is a parametric interpretation of traditional Islamic elements such as the dome, Muqarna, and Mashrabiya patterns. A large sphere divided into rectangles makes up the base geometry. This produces a form that is elevated off the ground and circular in shape. Parts of the larger spheres are removed by the intersection of five smaller spheres. Through a contemporary interpretation of the traditional Muquarnas, these voids act as entrances and let light in. The structure is supported by five structural pillars, which also house the dome’s overhead program. Additionally, each pillar has useful components like mechanical equipment, elevators, and staircases. The main entrance is located in the shaded courtyard beneath the dome, atop a spacious and artistic spiral staircase.
By situating the open-air courtyard beneath the vaulted building and the elevated prayer hall in an accessible covered courtyard, the design improves the traditional relationship between the entrance courtyard and the prayer hall. The prayer hall is raised into the building’s spherical volume and rotated so that the Qibla Wall faces Mecca to create the public courtyard. This move makes it possible to create a covered gathering area beneath the dome entrance. This is a community meeting place that can also be used as extra space for prayer if necessary. In the end, it permits the building’s axis—which runs beneath the Dubai Creek Tower and into the park—to weave through the mosque and into the surrounding context.
Photos by AMLGM
Observation Tower – Hanzhong, China
The «Three Kingdoms» Observation Tower, which is situated in the center of Xing Yuan New Town Park, is a notable landmark and a symbolic allusion to a significant historical era in the lengthy history of the Han people. A load-bearing engineered lumber exoskeleton made up of 35 timber fins expresses the tower’s form. The fins taper and twist as they climb the tower, turning a full ninety degrees as they reach the top. The fins are wide at the base of the tower so that they connect to form a solid surface. At this point, they are fully open, allowing unhindered views outside. The tower’s core is made of steel and concrete, and it has two egress stairs and a high-speed elevator.
360-degree views of the new town, the lake, and the distant mountains can be seen from the upper five stories. The upper floors will house a cafe, bar, gift shop, and observation deck.
Photos by AMLGM
We will be posting more projects by AMLGM in the upcoming weeks and months, so keep an eye out for more of their incredible work! Every Friday we will be posting a new Featured Company, so join us again next week!
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