ATLAS is a group of multi-disciplinary designers based in Beijing. The studio is rooted in the discipline of architecture but undertakes projects that utilize multiple disciplines of design, as well as research, curation, strategy, and social engagement. Their shared interest in culture, history, and place leads them to mine various contexts for unexpected stories, details, or overlooked materials and techniques. In addition to an investigation of place, they take a process-based approach to design that aims to capture the both marks of time and technique as well as the experimental potentials of materials. Each project the studio undertakes is an opportunity to articulate a contemporary narrative that bridges between cultures, histories, and contexts. 

ATLAS was founded by Ahti Westphal, Jenny Chou, and Catherine McMahon. The trio met at the Rhode Island School of Design while studying in the department of architecture. Later, each went on to do advanced research at various institutions, Westphal in Sustainable Design at the University of Minnesota, Chou in Urban Design at Columbia University, and McMahon in the History, Theory, and Criticism of Art and Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These studies, grounded in a foundation of artistic and architectural thinking, and combined with a wealth of real-world experience, set an expansive trajectory for the studio— allowing it to take on a variety of projects that address critical issues in contemporary culture. 

The studio has shown work both in China and internationally, including at the 2018 Venice Biennale of Architecture, the 2016 International Architecture Biennale in Rotterdam, the 2016 Shanghai Art & Design Biennale, Design Shanghai, and Beijing Design week 2016, 2015, and 2014. They have won numerous awards including being put on Architectural Digest’s China 100 list in 2019 for their contributions to public architecture, being included in the top 10 emerging China-based design studio platform by Architectural Digest in 2016, and winning the award for best food and leisure space in 2019 by Elle Decor. They have also been written about and published internationally in publications such as The New York Times, CNN, Icon, Demo, Wallpaper, Architectural Digest, and Elle Decor, amongst others.