Space: Working in a city known for large and bold architecture stimulated by speculation, Leslie Elkins Architecture has nurtured a career focused on intimately scaled buildings that celebrate precise gestures and quiet statements.  Our projects consistently take advantage of whatever the site has to offer, whether it is a suburban lot, a public garden, or an unused interstitial space.  Our subtle and intuitive work reflects the philosophy that defining space does not require a building, but rather demands a connection between inside and outside – the movement between shelter and openness – that can best be established in direct and simple ways.

Light: The shaping, shading, and reflecting of light is a central focus in our work, and our designs capture light to move people through space. We use subtle mixtures of natural and artificial light to delicately animate interiors, managing a constant dialog between interior and exterior to fine tune the art of bringing daylight inside.

Simplicity: Simplicity is not minimalism.  Our work is rich in light, texture, surface, and space, work that seems simple but is, in fact, harder to achieve that overt excess or reductive minimalism.  We use a controlled palette of materials that are allowed to present themselves with directness and authenticity.  The simplicity of our work extends from geometry to the plans and sections of buildings, wasting no gesture, expressed with a light touch.

Sensitivity: Always designing with the environment in mind, Leslie Elkins Architecture first responds to the site.  Even in urban Houston, with its flat and featureless sites, she finds and makes opportunities to work with the land. Her work is naturally efficient and energy conscious without contrivance.