Elizabeth Golden is an architect and an Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture at the University of Washington where she leads in the areas of sustainable design, bio-based materials, and circular building technology. Her teaching, academic research, and creative work investigate the relationship between people and their environments, both at the micro and macro scales, analyzing architecture as an index to its larger cultural context.
Golden is a licensed architect in Washington and New York state and has practiced nationally and internationally for over 25 years, working on housing projects ranging from single family homes in New York City, ‘missing middle’ housing in Niamey, Niger, to large-scale multifamily developments in Berlin, Germany. She holds a Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University GSAPP and a Bachelor of Architecture (professional degree) from the University of Arkansas.
Underpinning her practice is an ongoing analysis of the complex relationship of architecture and the built environment to systemic issues such as social marginalization and economic globalization. Together, her built and speculative work, research, and community activism demonstrate architecture’s dynamic potential to drive social change.
Research & Practice
Golden frequently collaborates on design initiatives that combine expertise from the University of Washington, local nonprofits, governmental agencies, and other educational institutions. A recent example is the Seattle Street Sink and Clean Hands Collective, a community effort to promote hand hygiene in the midst of COVID-19. Her collaborative projects have received numerous honors including a National Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA), an Award of Merit from AIA Seattle, and an R+D Award from Architect Magazine. They have been published internationally including features in Architectural Record, Architectural Review, and the BBC World Service. Her academic contributions have also been recognized with an award for Innovation in Architectural Education by the Union of International Architects (UIA) .
Across her research and teaching, Golden is committed to transforming the discipline of architecture by building productive connections between academia and professional practice. Her book Building from Tradition: Local Materials and Methods in Contemporary Architecture offers a critical analysis of traditional building practices and their contemporary resurgence in the context of globalization. A belief in the power of collective intelligence drives the practice, with the expertise of local professionals, craftspeople, and communities integral to each project. Ultimately, Golden is concerned with the mutual exchange between people and place, studying ways in which architecture can evoke our shared humanity.
A discussion with Elizabeth Golden about the contemporary and future applications of traditional building materials featured on the ArchitectureTalk podcast.
Awards
Aga Khan Award for Architecture, Shortlist (Niamey 2000), 2022 AIA National, Small Project Awards (The Seattle Street Sink), 2022 Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA), Great Places Award (The Seattle Street Sink), 2022 UIA Innovation in Architectural Education Award, International Union of Architects Education Commission, 2021 Architect’s Newspaper Best of Design Awards, Editors’ Pick (The Phoenix Co-op), 2020 AIA National, Honor Award (Gohar Khatoon Girls’ School), 2018 AIA Northwest and Pacific Region, Honor Award (Gohar Khatoon Girls’ School), 2017 Architectural Education Award for Design-Build, Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (Food Trip Market), 2017 Architect Magazine R+D Award (Niamey 2000), 2017 AIA Seattle, Award of Merit (Niamey 2000), 2016 Architecture Review School Awards, Finalist (Gohar Khatoon Girls’ School), 2015
