– James Saywell, Editor Hinge magazine, Hong Kong
– Robert A. Ivy, FAIA, Longtime President, American Institute of Architects, Washington, D.C.
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– Noted Architecture critic David Dillon, in Architectural Record
It’s how we describe what inspires Rand Elliott Architects’ work.
Ideas are drawn from all aspects of the project’s Place – from its history and surroundings to weather conditions, especially wind and sun exposure.
Purpose is fundamental to function, from providing shelter and energy efficiency to telling our client’s story.
Poetics spring from a strong concept and rigorous details that craftsmanship brings to life.
Together, they’re guideposts for inventive problem-solving—solutions that heighten impact, yet cost no more to build. We think it accounts for our record of serving clients well with work that reliably earns recognition.
Rand Elliott Architects’ “Folding Light” in Oklahoma City is featured in the popular series’ Episode 2 (“Jungles & Bricks”) along with Frank Gehry’s new work in Sydney and Amazon‘s “Bio Office” In Seattle.
Rand Elliott Architects was founded in 1976 and has seen decades of remarkable success. In 2016, the firm marked its 40th year in 2016 with a memorable celebration. Its setting was deep inside W&W Steel, one the nation’s largest and most distinguished steel fabricators just west of downtown OKC. The firm was founded by a longtime friend and mentor, the incomparable Bert Cooper, and is and ably led today by his son, Rick, who is also a friend.
THE SKETCHES, UNDER (PLEXI) GLASS
Included with the event’s bar and hot-off-the-grill fare was series of a long Plexiglass cases that displayed the first 40 years of Rand Elliott’s storied sketchbooks. Each volume documents the flow of ideas that became Architecture. Each project entry is dated as development proceeds, day to day. Guests were fascinated.
Using sketches to explore ideas has given way to digital work, especially 3D renderings. Sketching is an additional, conceptual, tool that, in Rand’s hands, has been indispensable. It also gives project presentations an added dimension, and a human touch.
COLORED PENCILS TO PAPER: A PIPELINE OF IDEAS
Since 2016, Rand Elliott’s collection of sketchbooks has continued grow, filled with noted projects such as the OSU Spears School of Business, UCO’s Don Betz STEM Education Center, Heartland Headquarters and Oklahoma Contemporary Art Center.
Guests still gush about the party, and Elliott’s sketchbook collection has stretched to 54 volumes and counting. The firm remains unique in that it’s a professional, architectural studio. Licensed architects work together, and all projects have Rand’s attention, beginning to end.
“Who We Are” is Architecture. With a capital A.
To document decades of project construction, Rand Elliott has photographed client job sites. He takes special pleasure in capturing work gloves inadvertently dropped on the site. It’s a reminder of the human beings who put so much of themselves into the work.
“God is in the details”
It’s a quote attributed to French novelist Gustave Flaubert as well as the great 20th century architect Mies van der Rohe. (Its corollary is “the devil is in the details”). And yes, Rand Elliott Architects identifies with the notion that no detail is too small. In fact, a detail given special attention can emerge as a defining one.
The precise and caring execution of the details lands in the skilled hands of construction craftsmen. Rand Elliott Architects has been fortunate to work with fabricators and foremen, carpenters, plasterers, and electricians who are undeterred, and even relish the chance to tackle and build something entirely new. Without them, our plans would die in a drawer.
That cadre of professional builders welcomes the “trademark” Rand Elliott Architects challenge — pros who know they’ll come away proud. They’ll bring their families out for tours of construction and the finished project, a show-and-tell for work that’s well worth doing. Work that will likely outlive them.
