Clouds Architecture Office
Clouds Architecture Office is a New York-based architecture and design firm founded in 2010 that provides research-driven architectural design services for residential, commercial, public, and space architecture projects for institutional and private clients worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Clouds Architecture Office does
Clouds Architecture Office is a privately-held architecture and design firm founded in 2010 in New York City by Masayuki Sono and Ostap Rudakevych, with a current headcount of 1-10 employees. The firm provides architectural design, planning, and research-driven design services spanning residential, commercial, hospitality, public/cultural, and speculative space architecture projects. Its portfolio ranges from interior commissions such as Issey Miyake's NYC SOHO store, The Finch restaurant (which earned a Michelin Star in 2015), and St. Mark's Bookshop, to large-scale institutional work including the Staten Island 9/11 First Responders Memorial and the Seiryu Park Renewal in Fukuoka. The firm's core methodology centers on perception-based, research-driven design studies, and it has developed proprietary space architecture IP including the Mars Ice House (first-prize winner of NASA's 2015 3D Printed Mars Habitat Competition, now in SFMOMA's permanent collection), Mars Ice Home (co-developed with NASA Langley, selected for NASA's MISSE-11 ISS mission), and the Analemma Tower orbital skyscraper concept using a Universal Orbital Support System.
The firm operates as a sales-led professional services business, generating revenue through commissioned design fees and competition prize money. Go-to-market relies on direct client engagement, international design competitions, and institutional partnerships, with major clients including NASA, JAXA, ANA Holdings (AVATAR X Lab and avatarin robot), NYC Department of Transportation, Issey Miyake, Times Bridge Management, and Fukuoka City. Distribution channels are global in scope for space and competition work (USA, Japan, Middle East, Italy) and regional for private commissions. Marketing is conducted primarily through earned media — Architectural Digest, Dezeen, DesignBoom, GA Japan — and high-prestige museum exhibitions including the Venice Biennale 2025, SFMOMA, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Vitra Design Museum, Mori Art Museum, and MoMA PS1. The firm is entirely founder-owned with no disclosed external investors, venture funding, or M&A activity.
Clouds Architecture Office firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Clouds Architecture Office
- Legal name
- Clouds Architecture Office
- Website
- https://cloudsao.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Clouds Architecture Office is a New York-based architecture and design firm founded in 2010 that provides research-driven architectural design services for residential, commercial, public, and space architecture projects for institutional and private clients worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Clouds Architecture Office industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Architectural Design Services
- NAICS
- Architectural Services (541310), Interior Design Services (541410)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Space Planning & Workplace Design (BPAHAKAI)
Keywords
Where Clouds Architecture Office is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Clouds Architecture Office business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Architectural Design Services: Commissioned architectural design services for residential, commercial, public, and speculative projects. Revenue derived from design fees, competition prizes, and commissioned works for institutional and private clients.
- Competition Winnings and Prizes: Prize money and recognition from winning international design competitions such as NASA 3D Printed Mars Habitat Competition and various AIA awards
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Clouds Architecture Office product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Clouds Architecture Office is an architecture and design firm that delivers commissioned architectural design services spanning residential, commercial, hospitality, cultural, public, and speculative space projects. The firm combines rigorous design research with a perception-based methodology to produce high-resolution solutions for institutional and private clients, including NASA-backed Mars habitat concepts, orbital tower proposals, and built work in the USA and Japan. Revenue is earned through professional design fees and competition prizes.
Product overview
Clouds Architecture Office is an architectural design firm founded in 2010 in New York by Masayuki Sono and Ostap Rudakevych. The firm offers a diverse portfolio spanning residential, commercial, public facilities, and specialized space architecture. Their core approach is process-oriented, combining rigorous research and multi-faceted design studies. The product portfolio includes: Mars Ice House and Mars Ice Home (NASA-backed space habitat designs using 3D-printed ice technology for radiation shielding), Analemma Tower (orbital space tower concept), AVATAR X Lab (suspended research facility for space exploration), Tsunami Evacuation Shelter (disaster response infrastructure), Double Ring House (universal residential design), and various hospitality, retail, and cultural space designs including the 010 Building in Fukuoka, CRS Studio, St. Mark's Bookshop, and Yunosato Aquaphotomics Lab. The firm also engages in robotics design through avatar robot concepts for space applications. Their work ranges from speculative space architecture to grounded commercial and residential projects, unified by a research-driven design process.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- First Prize in NASA's 3D Printed Mars Habitat Competition (2015)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Clouds Architecture Office
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Clouds Architecture Office technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Clouds Architecture Office partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Fukuoka CitycoreFukuoka city selected Clouds AO's design proposal for Seiryu Park renewal in Hakata neighborhood. Groundbreaking occurred May 2025 with construction underway.
- Avatarin / ANA HoldingscoreClouds AO designed space avatar robot for Avatarin platform allowing ground-based users to view Earth from ISS in real time. Project presented at 2019 Shenzhen Biennale.
- ANA Holdings / JAXAcoreAVATAR X Lab is a partnership between ANA Holdings Inc. and JAXA for advancement of space exploration and development. Clouds AO designed the suspended research campus building floating above a moon-like crater in Oita Prefecture, Japan. The project is part of AVATAR X program for tele-operated remote construction using avatar robots.
- NASA (MISSE-11 Mission)minorMars Ice Home materials selected for NASA's MISSE-11 mission launching to ISS in Spring 2019 for one-year flight testing of space environment exposure effects.
- NASA / Space Exploration ArchitecturecoreCollaboration with NASA Langley Research Center and Space Exploration Architecture for Mars Ice House 3D printed habitat. Won first prize in NASA's Centennial Challenge Mars Habitat Competition. Project developed with multidisciplinary team including MIT, Caltech, and various space engineering experts.
- Atelier TecnoformminorExecutive architect for Yunosato Aquaphotomics Lab in Hashimoto, Wakayama, Japan. Also collaborated on mulberry paper light fixture exhibition at Gifu Mino-Washi Museum.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Clouds Architecture Office competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Heatherwick Studio: London-based design and architecture studio of similar size to Clouds AO, known for conceptually distinctive cultural, public, and commercial commissions. Comparable in studio scale, design-led brand positioning, and concentration on experiential, narrative-driven architecture.
- Snøhetta: Multi-disciplinary architecture and design studio working across cultural, civic, and experimental typologies with strong brand and museum presence. Comparable to Clouds AO in combining speculative/conceptual work, cultural-sector commissions, and an emphasis on perceptual experience in design.
- Kengo Kuma & Associates: Tokyo-headquartered architecture studio of similar size to Clouds AO with overlapping footprint in Japan and the US, working across cultural, commercial, and residential typologies. Comparable in scale, Japan-focused project pipeline, and craft-led design philosophy.
- SEArch+ (Space Exploration Architecture): SEArch+ was Clouds AO's actual multidisciplinary partner on the Mars Ice House project submitted to the NASA 3D-Printed Habitat Competition. Both firms are small, New York-affiliated studios specializing in space architecture and concept-to-prototype habitat design.
- Studio Gang: Mid-sized architecture studio with an exhibition-driven, research-oriented practice delivering cultural, civic, and ecologically focused projects. Comparable to Clouds AO in studio scale, conceptual rigor, and reliance on high-profile institutional commissions.
Broad incumbents
- Foster + Partners: Global architectural firm with its own NASA-commissioned Mars habitat concept (3D-printed pod for NASA Centennial Challenge) and a long track record across aviation, cultural, and experimental projects. Comparable to Clouds AO at the space-architecture intersection but at vastly greater scale and project breadth.
- BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group): Globally recognized architecture firm known for speculative, conceptually ambitious projects including Mars Science City and a range of cultural and residential work. Comparable in emphasis on provocative concept projects and international competition activity, though BIG operates at substantially greater scale.
- SANAA: Japan-based architecture studio of Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa known for institutional, cultural, and experimental museum-grade projects. Comparable to Clouds AO in Japan footprint, museum-collected brand reputation, and emphasis on perceptual spatial experience.
- MAD Architects: Beijing-headquartered architecture firm producing speculative, curvilinear, and conceptually ambitious projects across cultural and residential typologies. Comparable to Clouds AO in concept-led approach and museum-grade exhibitions, though at larger project scale.
- SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill): Global architecture, engineering, and urban design firm with deep institutional client base and a published space-architecture practice. Comparable to Clouds AO at the space-architecture intersection but operating at vastly larger scale with full engineering integration.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Clouds Architecture Office social profiles
Digital presenceClouds Architecture Office financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Clouds Architecture Office leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Clouds Architecture Office funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Clouds Architecture Office M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Clouds Architecture Office
What does Clouds Architecture Office do?
Clouds Architecture Office is an architecture and design firm that delivers commissioned architectural design services spanning residential, commercial, hospitality, cultural, public, and speculative space projects. The firm combines rigorous design research with a perception-based methodology to produce high-resolution solutions for institutional and private clients, including NASA-backed Mars habitat concepts, orbital tower proposals, and built work in the USA and Japan. Revenue is earned through professional design fees and competition prizes.
Is Clouds Architecture Office a public or private company?
Clouds Architecture Office is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Clouds Architecture Office founded?
Clouds Architecture Office was founded in 2010. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Clouds Architecture Office based?
Clouds Architecture Office is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Clouds Architecture Office make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Architectural Design Services are the primary driver. The others are competition Winnings and Prizes.
Who are Clouds Architecture Office's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Heatherwick Studio, Snøhetta, Kengo Kuma & Associates, SEArch+ (Space Exploration Architecture) and Studio Gang. Broad incumbents are Foster + Partners, BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), SANAA, MAD Architects and SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill).
Does Clouds Architecture Office have an API?
No public API is recorded for Clouds Architecture Office.
What industry is Clouds Architecture Office in?
Clouds Architecture Office's product category is Architectural Design Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAI, Space Planning & Workplace Design. Its NAICS code is 541310.