+ Evolution
60 interiors+sources september2017 interiorsandsources.com
A few months ago, husband-and-wife team Adam and Sofia Zimmerman decided to take their architecture practice, Zimmerman Workshop, to the next level by launching OT/TRA, a furniture line named after their two children, Otto and Petra. The collection applies the same fun-loving, carefree spirit the little ones bring to their lives.
“I’m always up for something new to play with,” Adam said. “I’m a tinkerer at heart and love to
work on any type of new project that might come along.”
That something new came about with OT/TRA, which the Zimmerman Workshop presented this past May
at several industry shows, including ICFF and BKLYN DESIGNS.
“After these last few months, especially following the trade shows we’ve done, I’ve found I have a new
respect for people that take a risk, play big, and show whatever they’ve created, whether it’s a book they’ve
written, a performance, or the invention they’ve finally brought to market,” Sofia explained. “This is a process
full of ups and downs, but it’s essential to believe in our product and take nothing personally.”
Adam is the design head and principal in charge of all projects, while Sofia, his wife of eight years, leads
the interiors practice and all business development endeavors such as marketing, sales, and branding.
Below, i+s has laid out the story of how one
Zimmerman business emerged from the other, and
the synergy that has developed between them.
www.ot-tra.com
+ Evolution
ZIMMERMAN WORKSHOP IS BORN
Zimmerman Workshop—a boutique design firm always looking for its next
challenge—opened in May 2011. “Whether it’s a park bench or a bus stop, as
long as it excites us, we’ll do it,” Adam noted. Its signature is the use of raw
materials applied in a clean and refined way, which is illustrated in the two
projects above: St. Elias Ukrainian Catholic Church in Ontario, Canada, and the
Weitzner Limited studio in New York City. “We say we’re contemporary or modernists,
but we deliberately try to add warmth and texture to spaces because modernism
can often have a cold side,” he added. Today, the Workshop occupies two suites
in the same building in Brooklyn’s DUMBO neighborhood; one is dedicated to the
architecture practice and the other operates as a woodshop.
THE CONFERENCE TABLE THAT
STARTED IT ALL
Zimmerman Workshop was no stranger
to both custom millwork and furniture
for various projects. A kitchen island
developed for a residential project many
years ago eventually served as the
inspiration for a conference table
for its own offices. “Everybody kept
coming in for meetings and asking
where we bought it, so that got us excited and we
decided to explore it,” Adam said. The first OT/TRA
collection evolved from that table, developing slowly
over the course of a year into the coffee table
and bench, followed by the seating options. The
Zimmermans applied to the line their knowledge as
specifiers, drawing upon past shopping frustrations of
not being able to find exact pieces they needed. In
addition, they made sure their style was properly
translated from one type of furniture piece to the next. O T /
TR
A
byZimmerman Workshop
By AnnMarie Martin
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