About

Ji Otterson Studio is an emerging innovative architectural practice based in Seoul, South Korea and Boston, USA. Recently, the practice has been celebrated as the winners of the 2023 Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism’s prestigious Biennale Award, a tied top-prize winner of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s 2024 Seoul Station ideas competition, and 2nd prize-winner of Seoul’s Banpo Han River Connection Park Competition, together with renowned architect Byoungsoo Cho’s BCHO Architects, Transsolar KlimaEngineering, HEA Landscape Architects, and Whitby Wood Mills Engineers. The office is a collaboration between Yewon Ji and Ryan Otterson, combining both international work experience under influential practices, and shared architectural tenets focusing on projects dealing with energy and materials. Ji/Otterson is dedicated to creating spaces that resonate with people and enhance the quality of life for all who experience them. They are located in Boston, USA and Seoul, South Korea.

Our Background

Prior to founding Ji Otterson Studio, Ryan and Yewon worked for 9 and 8 years respectively at Behnisch Architekten, specializing in sustainable design and construction. During their tenure with the company, they held key roles in designing and overseeing construction of high-performance building envelope systems, Living Building Challenge certified interior spaces, and worked on major international design competitions. The values, skills, and design philosophies from this period continue to color our work today. Our contributions from this time can be seen in the new Harvard University Sciences and Engineering Complex, the University of Pennsylvania Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology, The Karl Miller Center at Portland State University, and the Agora Cancer Research Center in Lausanne, Switzerland.

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Ryan Otterson, RA

Ryan Otterson is an architect, researcher and educator based in Boston, USA, who explores architecture and design as tools for constructing ecology, climate, and new typologies.

Ryan graduated with Distinction from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design with an M.Arch II degree in Architecture in 2014, and a M.Arch from the University of Kansas in 2012, earning the Thayer Medal for design. Ryan also studied in Copenhagen. He has held teaching positions at Cornell University AAP and Northeastern University and has given lectures at universities internationally. He is registered as an architect in Massachusetts.

Yewon Ji

Yewon Ji is an architect interested in the use of ecological/sustainable materials, and particularly in addressing the complex challenges of climate change, especially as they relate to housing and urban redevelopment.

She worked in Boston for eight years on high-profile higher education projects after earning an M.Arch from the University of Kansas with Distinction. Yewon also studied at the Universität Stuttgart, where she worked at the Institut für Leichtbau Entwerfen und Konstruieren (ILEK).

All work published on this website is property of Ryan Otterson and Yewon Ji, or as noted with shared collaborators, and may not be copied or redistributed without permission.