maa designs.

An architect registered in New York State, Maria brings to her firm twenty years of global experience working with some of the world's most prestigious architects.

Maria completed nearly four years as a senior designer at the New York office of Richard Meier & Partners (RMP).  Drawn to the rigorous aesthetic of Meier's practice, she played a senior role in several projects including a House in Westchester County, New York and the Peek + Cloppenburg Department Store in Dusseldorf, Germany.  Maria also coordinated the design and production of product design projects including the High Museum Watch and the Sleeper Alarm Clock.

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Prior to working with Richard Meier's office, Maria worked extensively with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, first with their London office in the late 1980s and more recently with their New York office.  During her years at SOM's New York office, Maria focused primarily on UBS Warburg's new headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut and on Phil Am Life/AIG, a 47 story office tower in Manila.  For UBS Warburg the primary challenge was the creation of a lobby and front door that welcomed the pedestrian as an oasis from a desert of cars.  She spent two years taking the lobby and other significant spaces in the building from concept design through design development, and in the process developed rigorous standards for detailing beauty, durability, and constructability.  While in SOM's London office, Maria as an intern fresh out of Virginia Tech, focused on infrastructure projects at Canary Wharf.  As a leading student in the Bauhaus influenced curriculum at "Tech", Maria obtained a professor recommendation that propelled her from Blacksburg, Virginia to London, England.

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In the years between her stints with SOM, Maria lived and worked in Osaka, Japan, where she worked for the developer, Asahi Juken on an elegant sky restaurant and lounge as well as condominium housing.  Maria was very impressed by her experience in Japan and remains influenced by the Japanese aesthetic.  Upon returning to the States, Maria worked for a small interior design firm, Lalire March, on several retail projects and the architecture firm Ehrenkrantz, Eckstut and Kuhn, before rejoining SOM at their New York office.