About
pod, noun: an enclosure organic to its surroundings
pod architecture + design (pod a+d) is a full-service, award-winning, non-traditional architecture firm located in the heart of historic Chapel Hill Carrboro, NC, and licensed in five states.
Who and What:
pod architecture + design (pod a+d) is owned and operated by design principals Youn Choi and Doug Pierson. Doug (AIA, LEED AP, BD+C), is an award winning architect, master planner, and Professor of Practice at NC State University’s College of Design, School of Architecture. He is also a member of AIA Triangle’s Board of Directors. Youn is a highly accomplished experiential graphics designer and concept master-planner. Together, they preside over an integrated design studio providing services in Architecture, Interiors, Environmental Graphics, and Master planning.
A hybrid, non-traditional firm: Yet there’s much more to our alliance than two professionals with integrated areas of expertise collaborating on projects. It’s what makes pod a+d a hybrid, non-traditional design firm. We work in mutual symbiosis on every pod a+d project, which is why we have successfully completed large, multidimensional projects that needed inventive and fully researched master planning – prescient planning that’s far beyond pragmatic land planning. Sometimes that plan envisions a greater impact than the client anticipated.
The “X” factor: We call our X factor “co-dependency” – in a positive sense. Along with our extremely talented staff, we are more than just the cumulative talents, skills, and work of individuals. We are a cohesive, co-dependent team of designers with a distinct firm culture. And the impact on our work and our clients is far greater than it would be if our talents and skills were not so strongly intertwined.
Full service: Licensed in five states and staffed with team members who bring LEED AP and BD+C credentials to the table, pod a+d provides all architectural services from concept design and, when required, visionary master planning through construction administration. Our projects demonstrate our ability to work closely and consistently with our clients, engineers of all disciplines, general contractors, the finest crafts and trades people, and, when necessary, civic leaders and other stakeholders.
Methodology: We practice an innovative approach to the design process that involves both 3D and physical models for a wide variety of building types. By understanding form and space in this manner, we better understand how the project's form and space may, in the future, affect its inhabitants. As Winston Churchill once said, “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.”
Integration and clues: We believe in the integration of architecture and other design disciplines throughout our projects, providing all architectural design services that connect building, environment, and identity. Exteriors, interiors, engineering, furnishings and finishes, equipment, financial feasibility, scheduling, construction, and the environmental context and impact – these are the contributing elements that inform our integrated approach to each project’s design.
History, tradition, and cultural considerations also provide important clues for inspiration and contemplation as we develop a design and master plan. Regardless of origins, pod a+d tills the contextual field for such elements and pursues a unified, cohesive design that is as inspirational as it is reflective of our client’s vision.
Bottom line: pod a+d creates expressive contemporary, contextual, and cultural/multi-cultural architecture that is environmentally, spatially, and formally engaging. Our work also provides operational efficiency for end users and for the contexts they inhabit, from urban and suburban to rural and industrial, and more.
Dear clients, colleagues, and friends,
pod architecture + design (pod a+d), the award-winning design firm previously located on Main Street in Carrboro, has moved. Our multi-disciplinary studio is now located at 210 North Columbia Street in downtown Chapel Hill in preparation for future growth.
A few years ago, we relocated our firm and home from Los Angeles to North Carolina’s thriving Triangle region. We’ve been working in the converted 1882 Depot in Carrboro almost every day since then.
We’ve thoroughly enjoyed the historic Depot (especially its location next to Weaver Street Market). But two issues have concerned us. One is the need for more space as the firm grows This move will accommodate growth.
Also, pod a+d is licensed in five states because our work takes us from here to California by way of Brooklyn, NY, Louisville, KY, and other project sites in between. And more often than not, whenever we tell out-of-state clients that our firm is headquartered in Carrboro, the look on their faces makes us add quickly, “right next door to Chapel Hill.” Like Duke University in Durham, UNC-Chapel Hill has given the town a national reputation, especially the hospital and, of course, the UNC Tar Heels.
Ultimately, it made sense to us to align our firm with that distinction. So on August 21, we loaded a moving van at the Depot, drove a few blocks north east, then unloaded the van at 201A North Columbia Street.
As soon as all of the boxes are empty, the computers, work stations, and conference table set up, and we’re happily ensconced in our new studio, we’ll venture out and about to get to know our new neighbors and enjoy the vibe and vibrancy of the downtown district in “the southern part of heaven.”
We invite each of you to drop by any time to check out the new space!
With gratitude for the part you’ve each played
in the evolution of our non-traditional practice,
Youn Choi and Doug Pierson
founders | designers | partners,
pod architecture + design
Services
Programming and Concept Development
Analysis of Program, Site, and Budget
Schematic Design
Design Development
Construction Documents
Construction Administration
Project Management
Interiors
Experiential Graphics
Signage and Wayfinding