PRINCIPAL, ASSOC. AIA, Pollen Architecture & Design
Elizabeth Alford founded Pollen Architecture in Austin, Texas in 2008 with Michael Young, and Dason Whitsett. Elizabeth’s work centers on creating engaging spaces that are carefully integrated into their surroundings, both natural settings and urban contexts. Elizabeth uses section, natural light and materiality to enrich the experience of a space. Prior to forming Pollen, Elizabeth ran her own firm, Elizabeth Alford Projects in Austin and New York, doing projects including studio renovations and farm buildings.
Since inception, Pollen has received substantial recognition for its work. Most recently, their Balcones House had over 2700 visitors as part of the 2011 AIA Austin Homes Tour. Their 12th Street Studios project won an AIA Design Award in 2010 and the UTSoA Student Architecture Award in 2009. Their work has been published in Detail Magazine, Architecture Record, and most recently, on the cover of Tribeza, Austin’s local design magazine. Elizabeth has lectured at the UT School of Architecture, in Austin’s “Architecture at the Umlauf” series, in Pecha Kucha #5, and at Portland State University.
Elizabeth has taught architecture design studios at the University of Texas at Austin since 2003, as well as seminars on factory production of houses and building components. She organized the conference “Site::Offsite, Architecture and the Factory-Built House” in 2004, and received a Graham Foundation grant to produce a book of the same name. She was a faculty advisor for two UT Solar Decathlon teams.
Elizabeth graduated from Wellesley College and holds a Masters Degree in Architecture from Columbia University, where she was awarded the AIA Citation of Merit for outstanding graduate work. Before returning to her native Austin, Elizabeth apprenticed with leading design firms in New York and abroad, including Smith-Miller+Hawkinson Architects, A.R.O., Polshek & Partners, and O.M.A. Her work with these offices has been published extensively in books and magazines.