Merrill Elam facts for kids

Merrill Elam is an American architect and teacher. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia. She works with Mack Scogin at their company, Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects. They design many things. This includes buildings, inside spaces, and even how cities are planned. They also create graphics and exhibition designs.

Becoming an Architect

Merrill Elam studied architecture at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She earned her first degree in 1971. Later, in 1982, she got another degree. This was a Master of Business Administration from Georgia State University.

Her Work as an Architect

Merrill Elam worked for 12 years at a company called Heery & Heery Architects & Engineers. She was a senior associate there. In 1984, she helped start a new company. It was called Scogin Elam and Bray Architects.

Then, in 2000, she started Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects with Mack Scogin. She has a special license to design buildings in 13 different states. She is also a member of the American Institute of Architects. This is a group for architects.

Teaching Architecture

Besides designing buildings, Merrill Elam also teaches. She has been a visiting professor at many famous universities. These include Harvard University, Yale University, and Ohio State University.

She also used to be the president of the Georgia State Board of Architects. This board helps make sure architects are doing a good job. She also helped start the Architecture Society of Atlanta. She was once the president of that group too.

Amazing Buildings She Designed

Merrill Elam has helped design many interesting buildings. Here are some of them:

• The Round House in Connecticut (2020)
• One Midtown Plaza Lobby in Atlanta, Georgia (2007)
• Health Services Center at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut (2006)
• Ernie Davis Hall at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York (2005)
• Gates Center for Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (2005)
• Zhongkai Sheshan Villas in Shanghai, China (2004)
• Carroll A. Campbell Jr. Graduate Engineering Center at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina (2004)
• U.S. Federal Courthouse in Austin, Texas (2003)
• Lulu Chow Wang Campus Center at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts (2001)
• Carol Cobb Turner Branch Library in Marrow, Georgia (1991)
• John J. Ross - William C. Blakley Law Library at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona (1993)
• Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio (1998)
• Jean Gray Hargrove Music Library at University of California, Berkeley in Berkeley, California (1998)
• Mountain Tree House in Dillard, Georgia (1998)

Awards and Honors

Merrill Elam has won many awards for her great work. Here are some of them:

• 2014 Design Leader award from Architectural Record (2014)
• Shutze Medal from Georgia Institute of Technology (with Mack Scogin, 2013)
• Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award for Architecture (with Mack Scogin, 2012)
• Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture (with Mack Scogin, 2011)
• Royal Institute of British Architects, International Fellow (2008)
• Chrysler Award for Innovation in Design (with Mack Scogin, 1996)
• Arts and Letters Award in Architecture (with Mack Scogin, 1995)