After Co. is a design & build studio based in Los Angeles founded by Nickie Huang and Sol Stearns. Central to our ethos is an open-hearted spirit of exchange and optimism. We reach a deep understanding of each project and its surrounding context to offer fresh vision and highly considered spaces that are designed to nurture a sense of possibility in everyday life.

Extraordinary projects arise from close collaboration between the design and construction disciplines. We believe that a design sensibility makes better builders, and that practical knowledge of construction costs and material performance inspires greater creativity in our design approach.

We bring the rigor from our experience in fast-paced commercial projects to our ongoing work in the residential, hospitality, retail, and corporate interior sectors.

We offer 3 service arms for ground-up new construction and interior renovation projects:


     ARCHITECTURE & INTERIORS

  • space planning
  • finish & fixture specifications
  • complete project documentation for permitting and construction
  • custom cabinetry and furniture
  • close client collaboration

     INTEGRATED DESIGN-BUILD

  • single point Architectural and General Contracting services
  • design process with real-time budget feedback
  • improved project teamwork, efficiency, and innovation

     GENERAL CONTRACTING

  • pre-construction consulting
  • estimating
  • budget & schedule management
  • skilled subcontractor partnerships
  • multi-disciplinary coordination
  • consistent client communication

We are deeply invested in the lives of people inhabiting our spaces, and the life of a place beyond project completion. 


We’d love to hear about your project!

hello@aftercollaborative.com

To join our bid list:
bid@aftercollaborative.com


Sol Stearns (he/him)
Build Principal


Sol is a native New Yorker from a historic, creative neighborhood in Brooklyn. Sol pursued an education in design, and received his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Southern California.

After graduation, Sol returned to New York to work for some of the City’s most esteemed builders, including Vanguard Construction & Co. and Shawmut Design & Construction. Sol has over a decade of experience building a wide portfolio of hospitality, retail, corporate, and residential projects for clients such as Leftfield Pictures, Daniel Boulud, and the Carlyle Hotel.

Sol also has experience on the owner-side, with over half a million square feet of capital improvement projects executed on technology and commercial real estate corporations.

During his career as a builder and a construction manager, Sol acquired deep knowledge of each trade, and expertise in estimating, field supervision, and project management.

Nickie Huang, AIA (she/her)
Design Principal


Nickie began her career in New York working in media as a writer for Surface Magazine, and assistant to Paul Goldberger, the longtime architecture critic for the New Yorker.

With over 15 years of industry experience at award-winning architecture firms in New York, Paris, and San Francisco, including Hollwich Kushner (HWKN) and Shigeru Ban Architects, Nickie designed and managed retail, corporate interior, and cultural projects for clients such as Steven Alan, Calvin Klein, MTV, and MoMA PS1.

Nickie has taught at Columbia University and served as an invited critic at the University of Pennsylvania, Parsons School of Design, and the University of California, Berkeley.

Nickie holds an undergraduate degree in English and Fine Arts from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master of Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Nickie is a licensed architect in the state of California.