Justin Allen (MArch‘05), Allen Kaufmann Studio | Ishtiaq Jabir Rafiuddin (MArch‘06, BAED‘02), Undecorated

Thursday, March 10, 12:30 PM 

Justin Allen holds a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and a Master's of Architecture. In 2006 he worked for Steven Holl Architects in New York City and in 2009 he moved to Berlin and worked with von Gerkan, Marg und Partner, Barkow  Leibinger, and Ralph Appelbaum. In 2014 Justin Allen established ALLEN KAUFMANN STUDIO with Saskia Kaufmann in Berlin, which is a practice recognized for spatial and material sensitivity with a rigorous effort to embrace art, fabrication, and restraint in the context of architecture and design. Coming from a background in the Tool and Die and construction trades industries, Justin Allen continues to work with his hands. In 2015 he received an official patent for his invention of a unique joinery system with the German Patent Institution. Since 2017 Justin Allen and Saskia Kaufmann have been involved in establishing a second design studio and business called ALLEN KAUFMANN OBJECTS, which is committed to bringing “all-wood-only-wood” products and non-stigmatized Objects to the furniture market in the form of the Dado Shelf and Dado  X table and Dovetail series.

Ishtiaq Jabir Rafiuddin started UNDECORATED in 2017. Prior to UNDECORATED Ishtiaq co-founded a co-working space called Based In with Tomas Janka. Based In caters to creative professionals in Chinatown, New York City. Before Based In, Ishtiaq co-founded the visualization studio Mimaj in Istanbul and Beirut with partners Henrik Schulte and Guillaume Crédoz. At Mimaj, Ishtiaq provided services for Architects and Developers such as SANAA, Herzog & de Meuron, Solidere, and Benchmark. Between 2006 and 2014, Ishtiaq trained as a Designer at REX and OMA on projects of varying types and scales. Most notably with REX, Ishtiaq was project manager for the Vakko Fashion Center in Istanbul. Over the course of four years, Ishtiaq played a pivotal role from concept design to construction, relocating to Istanbul as REX's sole design representative during construction. Ishtiaq earned a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Design and a Master of Architecture from the School of Architecture and Planning at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. Ishtiaq is born in Bangladesh and immigrated to the United States at age nine. Ishtiaq has lived in Dhaka, New York City, Buffalo, Istanbul, and Detroit.