EL Studio, an award winning architecture and design firm, specializes in building finely-crafted, innovative structures within challenging constraints. EL Studio eagerly takes on complex problems and strives for the creative use of techniques and materials to develop resolutions unique to the problems and potential posed in each project. We collaborate with design partners to provide maximum benefit to clients. Not satisfied with the purely theoretical, EL builds what we draw, realizing designs that will enhance the way customers utilize space now and adapt to meet future needs.
Elizabeth Emerson’s architectural interests spring from the social and cultural. A native of the Washington DC area, Elizabeth’s research in design has engaged issues of social and environmental sustainability, individual and collective identity, and privatization.
Elizabeth's project experience prior to founding EL Studio ranged from multi-tenant residential and hospitality projects to institutional and government projects including the Syracuse University School of Architecture and the US Embassies in Rabat, Morocco and Vienna, Austria. She has taught at several institutions, most recently in the graduate Urban Practice concentration at Catholic University School of Architecture and Planning. In addition to her design work and academic research, she undertakes art exhibition and residency projects in partnership with Carpe Diem Arte et Pesquisa in Lisbon, Portugal and is an Architectural Expert Guide for Spain and Portugal with AIA Architectural Adventures. Elizabeth is a licensed architect in New York and Washington, DC.
Master of Advanced Architecture Design, Columbia University GSAPP
Bachelor of Architecture, Catholic University of America School of Architecture and Planning
Visiting Assistant Professor of Architecture, Catholic University of America School of Architecture and Planning
Adjunct Professor, New York Institute of Technology
Adjunct Professor, New School University / Parsons School of Design
Mark Lawrence’s architectural interests stem from the place where he lives and works. The alley-based studio in Washington DC serves as a testbed for researching a variety of scales from questioning urban infrastructural issues to materiality and detail.
He has worked on a range of project types of varying scale with architecture firms in both Washington, DC and Los Angeles, CA, including the US Federal Courthouse in San Diego and the UCLA Broad School Art Center reconstruction and expansion under Richard Meier and Partners. As a board member of the Washington Architecture Foundation, Mark works to expand the education and action of architecture to underserved areas in the Washington region. Mark is a licensed and registered architect in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, DC.
Master in Architecture, Harvard Graduate School of Design
Bachelor of Architecture, Catholic University of America School of Architecture and Planning
Adjunct Professor, Catholic University of America School of Architecture and Planning
Adjunct Professor, Boston Architectural Center
Adjunct Professor, Corcoran College of Art and Design
Meredith is energized by problem solving, materials, and getting her hands dirty. In school she found herself at the intersection of fashion and architecture, mixing concrete and polyester. She has participated in numerous fashion shows, designing over thirty unique pieces. Meredith is also an avid traveler with a passion for learning about culture, lifestyle, and languages. She is a LEED Accredited Professional.
Masters of Architecture, University of Cincinnati
Bachelor of Arts in Architecture, Miami University
Sarah Beth is a project architect based in Washington DC. Her passion for architectural practice is inspired by how people influence and are influenced by the built environment.
She joins EL Studio with experience spanning higher education, K-12, recreational, museum, and residential project types, specializing in programming and planning efforts at building, campus, and district scales. Her approach to design is shaped by past roles as the editor of various journals and magazines, as part of archaeological excavations in Greece and Turkey, and currently as a volunteer at the National Gallery of Art.
Masters of Architecture, The University of Virginia
Bachelor of Arts in Architecture, The University of Pennsylvania
Win is an architectural designer who enjoys the richness that emerges when theory and practice reconcile. His pursuits in school, work and life as such share a focus on narrative and craft: giving form to thought and vice versa. When not in the studio, Win will put on a record and curl up with a book, or take a trip to one of DC’s many museums.
Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies, Northeastern University
Shariwa is an architectural designer and recent graduate of Carnegie Mellon School of Architecture, where her work focused on context and materiality. She loves to create from scratch and is interested in woodworking and sewing.
Bachelor of Architecture, Carnegie Mellon University
Morgan is an architectural intern currently enrolled in the Integrated Paths to Licensure graduate program at CUArch. He has a passion for technology and its integration within interior spaces. Morgan enjoys the fine details of woodworking and often prototypes his own designs with 3d printed models. During his free time, Morgan likes to explore the city while riding around on his electric onewheel.
Bachelor of Architecture, Catholic University of America School of Architecture and Planning