ELY FRETZ, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

The interwoven systems of life integrating with the built environment have always threaded throughout my work as an architect. I grew up in Vermont and a lot of my early interest in building design and development came from living close to nature and watching my father’s work with the late Robert Williams, AIA.  Visiting job sites as a young child, I saw how numerous homes could be seamlessly unified into a mountain side, with few natural systems affected. This work inspired me to pursue my career as an architect.

I’ve long studied traditions as they relate to form and style that have come from different cultures, identities, and places as they relate to holistic, sustainable work in architecture. During my time practicing architecture with a focus on sustainability in New York, I designed projects throughout Southeast Asia, the Middle East, the European Union, and across the United States including throughout the greater New York City metropolitan region. During those years, my practice connected to my earliest memories in Vermont; the awareness of and practices around sustainability and the importance of this work for the future generations. I believe it is our responsibility to mirror these interwoven systems of life back to the communities in which we live.