Koji Tsutsui & Associates: InBetween House (South Elevation from Driveway). Photo courtesy of the architects.

In an economy like this, it’s easy to play it safe. Especially when you’re first starting off as a young creative professional. But playing it safe doesn’t change the world.

No Precedent: 2012 Architectural League Prize for Young Architects and Designers, an exhibition presented by The Sheila C. Johnson Design Center (SJDC), honors young designers and architects in their first 10 years of professional life who push the boundaries of their fields, whose work is suggestive, speculative, and on the brink. The awards both serve as recognition for their work, and a space for the exchange of ideas between groups of young creatives who might otherwise never interact.

This year, the honorees include firms from Brooklyn, Tokyo, and Mexico City. New York’s SoftLab, founded Michael Szivos, makes playful and forward-looking design objects and web projects that have been shown at the New Museum, MoMA, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Koji Tsutsui & Associates, with offices in Tokyo and San Francisco, has designed a school and orphanage in Haiti, a school for HIV orphans in Africa in addition to its truly stunning work in private residences.

The exhibition opens on June 21, and is on view through August 3. There will be two evenings of public programs with the award recipients: on June 21, featuring lectures from winners Jorge Arvizu, Ignacio del Rio, Emmanuel Ramirez, and Diego Ricalde (MMX Studio), and Jimenez Lai, Bureau Spectacular Sean Lally (WEATHERS / Sean Lally); on June 26, featuring Seung Teak Lee and Mi Jung Lim (STPMJ), Michael Szivos (SOFTlab), and Koji Tsutsui  (Koji Tsutsui & Associates).

For more information on the exhibition and public programs, visit the SJDC website, for more information about the Architectural League Prize, and past recipients, visit the Architectural League website.