Elizabeth Lowrey is a principal at Elkus Manfredi Architects, serves on the Foundation Board of Directors of the Massachusetts College of Art and Style, and deals with Heading Home, a program that re-houses households in Boston. Lowrey is likewise a juror for Best of Practice, AN‘s annual award for celebrating the companies leading the industry, from landscape designers and interior designers to exterior experts, historic preservationists, and more.
Ahead of the submission deadline on April 10, AN talked to Lowrey about what practice appears like at Elkus Manfredi Architects and what she’s searching for in entries.
TMC Collaborative Building in Houston, Texas designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects (Eric Laignel)
AN: Finest of Practice evaluates a business’s design output, workplace culture, and effect. What does practice look like at Elkus Manfredi Architects?
Elizabeth Lowrey (EL): Co-creation specifies our company culture. Practice means purposeful problem-sharing among disciplines, breaking down silos in departments and throughout disciplines so everyone focuses on holistic, user-focused style. The knowing among groups never ever stops.
The other “silo” we break down is unconscious deference; we expect early-stage staff members to speak up and leaders to listen.
We place architecture, interiors, city planning, program management, graphic style, and branding under one roof. We’re a big company with clients nationally, but we know that everybody operating in one place motivate “imaginative accidents” amongst groups, genuine face-to-face discussions that lead to brand-new and amazing ideas.