Ryan Otterson is an architect, researcher, and educator based in Boston, USA. He explores architectural design tools and constructs related to ecology, climate, and novel environmental typologies. Ryan is the co-founder of Ji Otterson Studio, a practice based in Boston and Seoul, in partnership with Yewon Ji. The office was awarded the inaugural Seoul Biennale Award in 2023, and secured 2nd place in the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s International Competition for Banpo River Connection Park Facilities, collaborating with BCHO Architects and Transsolar. Additionally, they received a tied top prize in Seoul’s International Ideas Competition for Seoul Station. Ryan’s research at the Harvard Graduate School of Design investigates the spatial deployment of thermally massive materials and their influence on building thermal performance, focusing on thermal comfort, energy consumption, and embodied carbon. He is also a researcher at the Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities, contributing to projects like HouseZero. Ryan graduated with Distinction from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design with a Master in Architecture II degree in 2014 and holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Kansas, where he earned the Thayer Medal for design in 2012. He has held teaching positions at Cornell University's AAP and Northeastern University and has lectured internationally at various universities.