The in-between spaces are where sisters Anda and Jenny French thrive—between practice and academia, between two and three dimensions, and between conventional project types. Their academic and professional backgrounds have paved the way for a housing-focused firm that balances social considerations with formal choices, resulting in high-minded designs with quirky personalities.
Before coming together in 2012 to launch French 2D, the Boston natives had brief stints at other studios. “We were looking to gain specific practical skills to deploy later,” says Anda, 39, the older sibling, “and trying to find models that might work for us to stay in conversation across academia and practice, rather than becoming part of another office’s pedigree.” For inspiration about balancing design and teaching, they looked to leaders in the field like Sarah Whiting, who was Anda’s thesis advisor at Princeton, where she earned her M.Arch.; Karen Fairbanks at Barnard College, Anda’s undergraduate alma mater; and Mack Scogin, with whom Jenny studied at Harvard for her M.Arch.
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