Exaptive Design Office (EDO) develops theories, methods and protocols for revaluing—and reimagining a future with—that which already exists. Established in Brooklyn, NY, in 2010 by Simone Ferracina, and currently based in Edinburgh, Scotland, the practice investigates alternative design potentials, technical platforms, and modes of architectural authorship—with a focus on reuse, repair, and repurposing.
Simone Ferracina is a Lecturer in Architectural Design/Detail at the Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA), The University of Edinburgh. He is the author of Ecologies of Inception: Design Potentials on a Warming Planet (Routledge 2022); the co-editor, with Rachel Armstrong, of Unconventional Computing: Design Methods for Adaptive Architecture (Riverside Architectural, 2013); and the Director of ΠCase Files, a punctum books series on experimental and transdisciplinary design research (2021); amongst other publications. Simone holds a Diploma of Architect (USI AAM 2003) and a PhD in Philosophy, Art & Critical Thought (EGS 2020). His work, both independently and with the Experimental Architecture Group, has been exhibited and published internationally. Prior to joining ESALA, Simone was a researcher in Living Architecture at Newcastle University and, for over a decade, a project manager and project architect at Richard Meier & Partners Architects in New York City, with award-winning projects in Italy, Czech Republic and Taiwan.