Muro
Between Brooklyn and Germantown — past, present, and future
Asymptote operates between two spaces — the working studio in Brooklyn and the Muro archive in Germantown, New York. Together they form a continuous dialogue between the practice's past and its future.
At Carroll Street in Brooklyn, the studio remains a site of active invention — where current projects take shape through digital modeling, material research, and collaborative design. In Germantown, Muro preserves over three decades of models, drawings, digital artifacts, and documents from the practice.
The two spaces are inseparable: the archive informs the work, and the work continually extends the archive. What emerges is a living record of a practice that has always operated at the frontier of architecture and technology.
Timeline
Timeline
SO/ Budapest Hotel
Opening of the SO/ Budapest Hotel on the Pest bank of the Danube — Asymptote's design for the repositioning of a landmark 350-room hotel overlooking the Chain Bridge, marking the firm's first completed hospitality project in Europe.
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Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture Inducted into the National Academy of Design
Elected as National Academicians in the 2024 class — among 28 artists and architects recognized for bold and visionary contributions to contemporary art and architecture in the United States, as the academy approaches its 200th anniversary.
Muro Archive Established
The studio establishes Muro, a dedicated physical archive in Germantown, New York — preserving three decades of models, drawings, digital artifacts, and documents from the practice.
Cicli Pinarello Factory & HQ
Design of the new headquarters and factory for Cicli Pinarello in Treviso, Italy — a high-performance building embodying the precision and dynamism of competitive cycling.
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Audi at Salone del Mobile
Design of an immersive installation for Audi at Milan's Salone del Mobile, blending physical architecture with digital interaction and automotive culture.
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Lise Anne Couture Appointed Professor in Practice, Columbia GSAPP
Lise Anne Couture is appointed Professor in Practice at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) — continuing the studio's deep engagement with architectural education that began with the Paperless Design Studios in 1991.
ARC River Culture Center
Completion of the ARC River Culture Multimedia Museum in Daegu, South Korea — an undulating form bridging landscape and architecture along the Geumho River.
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Hani Rashid Appointed Professor, Angewandte Vienna
Hani Rashid is appointed Professor and Head of Studio at the Institute of Architecture, University of Applied Arts Vienna (Die Angewandte) — establishing the Deep Futures Lab, a research studio exploring the intersections of architecture, technology, and speculative urbanism.
Yas Marina & Hotel
The landmark Yas Marina Hotel opens in Abu Dhabi — an icon of contemporary architecture with its LED-clad gridshell spanning both land and water over the Formula 1 circuit.
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Hani Rashid Appointed to the Aga Khan Award for Architecture Steering Committee
Hani Rashid serves on the Steering Committee of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for the 2005–2007 cycle — alongside His Highness the Aga Khan, Jacques Herzog, Glenn Lowry, Mohsen Mostafavi, Farshid Moussavi, and Billie Tsien.
Flux — Phaidon Press
Publication of Flux by Phaidon Press, the first Asymptote monograph — documenting the studio's investigations into parametric design, virtual environments, and the evolving language of contemporary architecture.
Venice Biennale — Metamorph
Asymptote was commissioned by curator Kurt W. Forster to design the complete exhibition architecture for the 9th International Architecture Biennale in Venice. Their work encompassed the transformation of 7,500 square meters within the Corderie dell'Arsenale, introducing a large-scale architectural intervention in the historic Giardini. Asymptote developed modular, digitally fabricated structures that disrupted the traditional central perspective of the space. Additionally, they created the event's brand identity, designed the exhibition catalog, and contributed to the curatorial strategy for the Metamorph exhibition.
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Non Standard Architectures — Centre Pompidou
Asymptote was one of twelve international practices invited by curator Frédéric Migayrou to present work in Non Standard Architectures at Centre Pompidou, Paris — a landmark exhibition exploring how computational tools and digital fabrication were reshaping architectural form and production.
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Frederick Kiesler Prize
Awarded the Frederick Kiesler Prize for Architecture and the Arts, recognizing contributions to experimental practice at the boundary of art and architecture.
Documenta XI
Asymptote exhibits Fluxspace 3.0, an immersive multimedia art installation, at Documenta XI in Kassel, Germany — one of the world's most prestigious contemporary art exhibitions.
HydraPier Pavilion
Completion of the HydraPier Pavilion in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands — Asymptote's first realized building and one of the first structures in the world designed entirely using parametric and computer-aided design tools from the onset.
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Asymptote Architecture Established
Upon receiving their first building commission — the HydraPier Pavilion — the studio pivots from Studio Asymptote to Asymptote Architecture, choosing the year 2001 as a deliberate nod to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Kubrick's work had been a profound influence on the studio's experimental investigations into virtual reality, cinematic space, and spatial installations.
Hani Rashid Represents the United States at the Venice Biennale
Presenting Fluxspace 2.0 at the 7th Venice Architecture Biennale — an immersive multimedia installation exploring the convergence of physical and virtual architectural practice.
Virtual Guggenheim Museum
Commissioned by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum to design the first virtual museum for the internet, redefining the relationship between architecture and digital space.
View Project →NYSE Advanced Trading Floor
Asymptote designs the Advanced Trading Floor and Three Dimensional Trading Floor for the New York Stock Exchange — a pioneering fusion of physical architecture and virtual reality. The command center later played a critical role in testing systems for the market reopening after September 11, 2001.
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Architectural League Emerging Voices
Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture are selected for the Architectural League of New York's Emerging Voices program — an annual distinction spotlighting architects and designers with a distinct creative voice and the potential to influence the discipline of architecture and urban design.
Univers Theaters
Completion of the Univers Theaters in Aarhus, Denmark — an early milestone in built work exploring computational geometry and cinematic space.
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Venice Architecture Biennale — Korean National Pavilion
Asymptote's Korean History Museum project is selected for exhibition at the Korean National Pavilion of the 6th Venice Architecture Biennale, curated by Hans Hollein under the theme "Sensing the Future — The Architect as Seismograph." The Korean Pavilion exhibition was curated by Seok-won Kang.
View Project →Hani Rashid Co-founds the Paperless Studios at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture
Co-founded with Greg Lynn and Scott Marble under Dean Bernard Tschumi at GSAPP, the Paperless Studios were a pioneering initiative replacing physical drawings with 3D modeling and digital techniques — transforming architectural education.
Asymptote Receives First Prize for the Steel Cloud LA Gateway Competition
Asymptote wins the Los Angeles West Coast Gateway competition with the Steel Cloud — a radical suspended structure spanning the Hollywood Freeway. The project generates worldwide media coverage and announces Asymptote as a new voice in architecture.
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Studio Asymptote Relocates to New York City
Hani Rashid is joined by Lise Anne Couture as partner, and together they establish the studio on Broadway in Manhattan.
Studio Asymptote Founded in Milan
Hani Rashid founds Studio Asymptote in Milan, Italy — establishing the practice that would go on to pioneer the convergence of architecture, technology, and virtual space.