ORE
/ôr/, noun:
1. Analogous natural systems, technology transfer from adjacent industries and burgeoning research refined into design solutions.
Thomas Kosbau is the Founder and Principal Architect of ORE Design and Technology, based in Brooklyn, New York.
Thomas’ design work balances his experience developing proprietary clean-tech with the project management rigor involved the delivery of award winning buildings.
Thomas created the first scheme for a building powered by algae panels winning an international “Energy Revolution” Award in 2003 from the Royal Institute of Architects for Photosynthetic City; Thomas created the first scalable, zero-energy atmospheric water generator named VENA in 2008, which spun off into the clean-tech companies Grow Energy and VENA Water. ORE was founded as a holistic design firm, reaching beyond its foundational architectural services to create new technologies and products that can pave the way for a better future.
Thomas specializes in lateral thinking with common technologies and materials, striving use these to bring health into the everyday experience and beauty into sustainability. ORE’s architectural practice engages in residential, commercial, and urban design, in which Thomas incorporates an integrative building design process to use building systems as that push the boundaries of today’s urban typology.
ORE’s work includes 275 South Street Mixed Income Housing (ULI Award for Excellence in development) DeKalb Market, Riverpark Farm, and Square Roots: a hydroponic farm incubator; GrowNYC’s community, food-education center called Farmhouse. Dekalb Market won the 2012 NYC Design award and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce’s “Building Brooklyn Award,” the Riverpark Farm won the Municipal Arts Society of New York’s “City Livability Award”, an Architizer “A+” award and was the Financial Times/Citigroup Ingenuity Award runner-up for “Revolutionary Civic Infrastructural Design”.
ORE’s forward leaning projects have been receiving accolades as well. ORE took first place in the IIDA Awards competition with a proposal to replace Incheon, Korea’s infrastructure of conventional asphalt roads with organically grown sandstone streets. Thomas took first place in the California AIA “Drylands Competition” with a proposal to re-engineer Los Angeles’ fresh water supply system pioneering a zero-energy desalination system.
Thomas recently won design: retail’s 40 under 40 award for his entrepreneurial incubator work in urban neighborhoods, and was named New Talent 2018 by Metropolis Magazine.
Thomas is an integral member of the Sea20 initiative – – an international group made of industry leaders and heads of state with the mission to remediate Oceanic/Global pollution via a civic/sea interface redesign.
Thomas has lectured at universities around the world, including Columbia, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, University of Stuttgart, and the University of Oregon. He’s been the keynote speaker at the Biennial Oregon AIA Convention, the Verge Green Technology Conference, and Dubai’s Innovation Week.
Thomas is honored to have been nominated for the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum’s 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and the 2020 National Design Award for Architecture!
