Elizabeth Cohn-Martin is practicing as an architectural and urban designer in the City of San Francisco. She holds a Master of Architecture and Master of Science in Urban Planning from Columbia University GSAPP as well as a B.A. in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley. Elizabeth has professional experience working for design firms and non-profit organizations such as Latent Productions, rePLACE Urban Studio, and Terrapin Bright Green in New York City as well as David Baker Architects, Architecture for Humanity, Volume 21: Office for Architecture, and Siegel and Strain Architects in the San Francisco Bay Area.

While studying at Columbia University, Elizabeth assistant taught courses on architectural technology and building systems, sustainable architectural design, building energy assessment, and urban resource use and metabolic trends. Teaching under the guidance of Shanta Tucker (Atelier Ten), Craig Schwitter (Buro Happold), Davidson Norris (Davidson Norris Consulting), and Lynnette Widder (The Earth Institute) has directly shaped her knowledge of a number of different climate and environmentally sensitive building and site design strategies. Elizabeth’s strongest asset is her ability to understand system-wide impacts of design decisions at a variety of scales.

As an architect and educator she believes that it is vitally important to understand the contextual environment that one is working within -- whether hypothetically in the classroom or with a client in the office. Elizabeth’s design research falls at the intersection of sustainable site and building strategies, geospatial mapping, and urban food production systems. Her master’s thesis research, completed for the Urban Planning program at Columbia GSAPP, focused on the use of GIS-supported multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to identify critical areas within New York City that have the greatest potential to socio-economically and environmentally benefit from urban agricultural interventions. Utilizing geospatial information systems to visualize information and support design intervention is a specialty of Elizabeth’s and a means of understanding community need that Elizabeth interweaves into her architectural design process. Her past research and professional experience within the areas of biophilia and ecosystem services coupled with deep contextual and mapping analysis have influenced her practice, teaching, and research intention and philosophy.

Elizabeth is currently pursuing environmentally responsive, community oriented projects that advance accessibility, affordability, health, and wellbeing at a variety of scales. She has hands-on experience in current urban housing issues, varied policy and planning approaches, and identification of opportunities for cutting-edge urban interventions that utilize sustainable site and building strategies. Most recently, Elizabeth’s focus within professional practice has been on the provision of sustainably designed affordable housing, formerly homeless housing, and housing for elderly populations which she helped design while working at David Baker Architects in San Francisco. During her time there she successfully supported her design team for the Huntersview Phase III project in its acceptance as a Living Building Challenge Affordable Housing Pilot Project with the International Living Futures Institute (ILFI). Additionally, she gained experience working on a number of other projects that incorporate LEED accreditation and successfully became a LEED AP Building Design and Construction accredited professional.

Elizabeth has been a design reviewer at California College of the Arts, the University of California - Berkeley, the Academy of Art University - San Francisco, and San Francisco City College. Elizabeth has aided in producing Design Like You Give a Damn II: Building Change from the Ground Up and is published in Columbia GSAPP’s Abstract 2015 and Abstract 2016 as well as Ethnography for Designers (Routledge 2016). Elizabeth has received grants and awards for her research and built installations. Most notably, she received the 2011 ASLA Student Award of Excellence for PlantLAB, a hydroponic garden installation, produced and built for the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show. Grants received include the Public Service Fund and Academic Opportunity Fund awarded by the ASUC at UC Berkeley for her research on flooding patterns, urban form and responsive design for Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Elizabeth currently resides in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco and, while not working, enjoys spending time exploring the city, dancing, and cooking delicious meals with family and friends. She is an avid practitioner of Hatha and Vinyasa yoga and adores being outside and in nature whenever possible.