March Studio

Join us for the Pennies+ for Haiti drive on August 18 & 25 at FUMC Santa Monica! Don't miss next Sunday's Moments for Mission, where Haiti Team Leader Todd Erlandson will give an update on the latest news from our Haiti partners! If you’d like to contribute, FUMC Santa Monica will be accepting donations after worship, August 18 & 25, or online via the link to our website! https://santamonicaumc.org/haiti/

Our team recently gathered for a strategic planning retreat, immersing ourselves in discussions on future goals, creative strategies, and how to continue making a positive impact. From brainstorming big ideas to celebrating our recent Architizer A+ Awards win, it was a session full of inspiration and collaboration. We have such gratitude and respect for each member of the MS team. Here's to many more creative and impactful endeavors together. 💭🛋️✨

Fun new build out for Evergreen Community School in Santa Monica! This Outdoor Art Lab project consists of two studio spaces for children aged 2-5. These nature-integrated learning spaces are designed to nurture children’s imagination, encourage spontaneous artistic exploration, and inspire creative expression through diverse art forms.

The goal was to create an environment that invites children to focus on what is relevant to them, promotes self-discovery, and cultivates a deeper connection with nature, fostering a meaningful and holistic educational experience.

Inspiring thesis project by Tulane School of Architecture students -- co-taught by March Studio's principal architect, Todd Erlandson. The thesis involves repurposed office spaces for clean energy usage. Their innovative approach demonstrates the potential for sustainable transformation in urban environments.

Still riding the high from this event ✨ So grateful for our friends at AIA|LA and bulthaup Santa Monica for hosting such a special event!

The Dezeen School Show featured eight innovative architecture thesis projects from Tulane School of Architecture, overseen by faculty members Cordula Roser Gray of CRGARCHITECTURE and March Studio's principal architect, Todd Erlandson. These projects explored pressing issues such as sea level rise, adaptive reuse, and mass timber construction, showcasing creative solutions in sustainable architecture and development. Check out the featured projects in detail via the link below! 🏛️🌿
https://loom.ly/dM1hzr0

🦐 Slide 1-3: Alluvial City: Port Towns as Catalysts for Regenerative Industrial Landscapes by Frank Taylor and Jose Varela Castillo
🚲 Slide 4-5: This Land is Your Land: Optimising Sixteenth Section Land Use in Mississippi by Anna Kathryn Becker and Lauren Lake
🌲 Slide 6-7: Industrial Futures in Timberland by Sarie Keller and Olivia Vercruysse

Another Thesis Thursday! We’re loving these presentations by Tulane School of Architecture. Check out recent grads Sarie Keller and Olivia Vercruysse, guided by Cordula Roser Gray and Todd Erlandson. 🌲🏗️ Their project, "Industrial Futures in Timberland," revitalizes timber towns with reforestation and mass timber construction, blending industry and tourism for a greener, sustainable future. 🌳🌱

Check out this inspiring thesis project from recent Tulane School of Architecture graduates, Frank Taylor and Jose Varela, guided by instructors Todd Erlandson and Cordula Roser Gray! 🌊🏗️ Their project, "Alluvial City: Port Towns as Catalysts for Regenerative Industrial Landscapes," reimagines urban development in Morgan City, Louisiana, blending industry and river ecology for a sustainable future. 🏞️🌱

The March Studio team came out in full force to celebrate Todd Erlandson FAIA and the other AIA LA Fellows. We had an amazing evening at bulthaup, commemorating the new Fellows and listening to their inspiring experiences in architecture and the FAIA journey. The night ended with a special surprise gift for Todd from all of us at the office. We are incredibly proud of you, Todd, and the impact you’ve made on each of us and the wider community!

A big thanks to and for hosting such a wonderful and memorable event!

As an instructor for Tulane School of Architecture ARCH 5990, Todd Erlandson, alongside Cordula Roser Gray, played an essential role in guiding and mentoring these students for their thesis, This Land is Your Land. This project focuses on critical reassessment of the Jeffersonian Grid and the patterns of land use in Mississippi, exploring how historical land distribution models impact current environmental and social landscapes.

We are thrilled to announce that March Studio has been selected as an Architizer A+Award Special Mention honoree in the Best X-Small Firm category! 🏆✨ Out of the thousands of projects submitted, less than 5% were chosen as Special Mention honorees. This recognition underscores our dedication to meaningful and impactful design and we're deeply grateful for this acknowledgment. We look forward to continuing our mission to enhance everyday life through architecture. Thank you for your continued support!

🔗 To access the gallery by category, visit https://winners.architizer.com/2024/Firms/

That’s a wrap on Tulane School of Architecture final reviews! 🏛️ The undergraduate thesis reviews were held at the AIA New Orleans Center for Architecture and Design and showcased the culmination of five years of hard work and dedication. Projects were based on student-led research and addressing specific topics or problems and their resolution in the built environment. The students covered topics including sea level rise, adaptive reuse, and mass timber construction...
🎓 Congratulations to all the students for their incredible efforts and a special thanks to guest critics Roger Sherman, FAIA, and Dean Inaki Alday for their invaluable insights. Stay tuned to see more work from these talented students!

Grateful for good food and even better company at our most recent project 🍔✨ in South Louisiana. It was great to spend time with ‘Caz’ Souffrant and his family, recently emigrated from Haiti, who brought so much joy to the afternoon. Caz, our guide and interpreter during many building trips to Haiti, serves as a powerful reminder of the purpose behind our work.

Our client, Easterseals SoCal, came to us with a vision for their new child development center in Ventura to be a space that allows for relationships to grow amongst children, their families, educators and the natural world. With this as a priority, we curated material palettes for their classrooms and resource center that bridge the indoors and outdoors with natural elements such as wood, stone, organic patterns and an abundance of natural light. Creating a warm and welcoming environment allows for the planting of seeds for success in all communities that enter.

Another year, another engaging experience at the Caltech Early Childhood STEM Conference - Ecstem Conference! This year marked the 14th annual gathering and we had the privilege of presenting alongside Lindsay Weissert, Co-CEO of Nest Global (formally PILAglobal), our non-profit partner on the Canyon Nest and Nest Mobile projects in Tijuana, Mexico. At the conference, March Studio team members, Schuyler Walter and Marisol Chinchilla, shared insights on the powerful connection between children and their learning environments through our collaborative Vision Guide process with Nest Global.

You can read more about our presentation titled "Healing Centered Pedagogy and the Role of STEM: Leveraging the Built Environment" on our website!

14th Annual ECSTEM Conference with Nest Global & March Studio — March Studio At this years Early Childhood STEM Conference, we had the privilege of presenting alongside Nest Global, our non-profit partner on the Canyon Nest and Nest Mobile projects in Tijuana, Mexico that provide healing-centered education and childcare for children and families seeking refuge at the souther

CONGRATULATIONS New Fellow Todd! AIA’s highest membership honor, for your exceptional work and contributions to architecture and society. We are so proud of you!

Todd Erlandson

A preview of an exciting project with Easterseals SoCal! This child development center in Encinitas, CA is well underway and nearing completion. Stay tuned for more progress!

A productive day of design reviews at Tulane School of Architecture!

Todd Erlandson is excited to be back at Tulane University for the semester, helping guide students through their thesis projects. We're loving all of the updates from New Orleans and looking forward to having Todd back in the studio in a couple of weeks!

Check out his faculty bio via the link below!
https://architecture.tulane.edu/people/todd-erlandson

The March Studio team is thrilled to co-present with Nest Global at the 2024 Early Childhood STEM Conference on Saturday, February 10th!

Don't miss our session, "Healing-Centered Pedagogy and the Role of STEM: How Can the Built Environment Contribute?" at 1:30pm in Pasadena. Hope to see you there!

For registration and other event details, please visit Early Childhood STEM Conference - Ecstem or ecstem.org

Walk through this morning at Atomic Burger in Prairieville, Louisiana. Opening February 5th!

Client: Atomic Burger
AOR: Dungan Design Group
Design Architect: March Studio
Contractor: Perrier Esquerré Contractors, LLC

Some highlights from Todd Erlandson's visit to Tulane University where he attended as a guest reviewer for the Tulane URBANbuild final projects. Congratulations to the students and the dedicated faculty for concluding an exceptional term! Additionally, Todd has been invited to support the thesis program at Tulane next semester, promising more exciting engagement with the students. We look forward to hearing more developments for this spring!

In honor of our 25th year, we invited clients and contractors to our office to celebrate this milestone anniversary. To all who attended, your presence made the night extra special. We had such a great time reconnecting, reflecting, and catching up with everyone. For those who couldn’t make it or weren’t there, reach out or stop by the office anytime for a cup of coffee or tea. We’d love to reconnect and hear what you’re up to. Here's to continued collaboration and marching on with purpose!

This GIVING TUESDAY, we're supporting our friends at Epicenter center in Green River, where Todd Erlandson currently serves as Vice Chair on the Board.

"I serve because Epicenter makes a difference in Green River, providing support to local businesses and the community. We are building Canal Commons now, a group of affordable housing project near our headquarters and adjacent to the newly constructed Pearl Baker Park."

Todd, along with Marcher Schuyler Walter, took part in the Summit in 2022, a gathering of rural community advocates, architects and artists from around the country. Check out the recap "Come Home to Green River" which describes the Summit: https://vimeo.com/889072125

We ask that you please support Epicenter's mission with a contribution today for Giving Tuesday. Visit ruralandproud.org/donate to make a donation or purchase some merch!

As March Studio considers its 25th anniversary, we sat down with Principal Architect, Todd Erlandson, to discuss the inspirations, challenges, and success that have shaped the studio into forward-thinking and purpose-driven architecture.

“The first 20 years were a long transition to more meaningful work, realizing over time that our process could have a profound effect on the world by focusing on community-based projects. In the five years since our 20th anniversary, the challenge has been in getting people to see March Studio in that light – to understand that the practices we’ve used for commercial projects are equally applicable to nonprofit and community-based organizations. When we go out into the world, we want everyone to know that March Studio is here to collaborate with those who share the vision of making the world a better place.”

Read the full article on our website! https://loom.ly/qPqml_Q

March Studio's 25th Anniversary: Reflection with Todd Erlandson — March Studio As March Studio approaches its 25th anniversary, we sat down with Principal Architect, Todd Erlandson, to discuss the inspirations, challenges, and accomplishments that have shaped the studio into forward-thinking and purpose-driven architecture.

Our partners Epicenter are hosting a fundraising event in conjunction with Salt Lake Design Week, a forum for designers, business professionals, students, and the general public to interact, collaborate, and learn from each other. We are big advocates of Epicenter’s mission of exploring social design practices in the American West. As part of Epicenter’s event, there will be a book release, film screening and design exhibit and proceeds will benefit economic development, art and design in Green River, Utah.

Even if you can't attend the event, snag a ticket on Epicenter's page support their incredible mission. Let's keep the spirit of the west alive!

"I discovered Green River on a road trip from Los Angeles to Colorado, being the best place for a stop after a 10-hour drive. I stayed at the Robbers Roost and went for a steak at Rays and I was hooked."

We’re excited to kick off a series of posts introducing some new faces on the Epicenter board!

Our Board Vice Chair Todd Erlandson is an designer, educator, and rural advocate living in southern California. Click the link for a brief interview with Todd about his background, work, and involvement with Epicenter.

https://ruralandproud.org/epicenter_blog/board-todd/

Haiti Mission: Conversation with Todd Erlandson, Haiti Team Leader, and Pennies+ for Haiti

For the past thirteen years, we have been in ongoing partnership and ministry with our friends in Haiti through work teams as well as fundraisers for goats, peanut crops, emergencies, and more. This Sunday, July 9th, Todd Erlandson, Haiti Team Leader, will present a Moment for Mission during 10am worship at FUMC Santa Monica and, following the service, will speak about recent updates and future plans for the mission in Haiti.

If you’d like to contribute, from July 2-16th, FUMC Santa Monica will be accepting donations to help our friends in Haiti.

For those located near FUMC Santa Monica, look for the Pennies+ for Haiti buckets available in the Narthex — you're welcome to drop off loose change, cash, or checks.

Otherwise, you can give online at: www.santamonicaumc.org/haiti (link in bio), then select Haiti Mission in the drop-down menu.

Looking forward to speaking next Sunday and raising funds for our Haiti focused projects...Please help us out if you can!

I was incredibly saddened to hear about the untimely loss of my friend Davide Nicosia in March.

I met Davide in London, 1985, me a young student at the Architectural Association, him a server in a restaurant in Covent Garden, perfecting his English.

Ten years later, after having made his move to New York and starting his worldwide design company NiCE Ltd, he looked me up and offered me my first commission, the NiCE New York flagship office, conceived over a long weekend of sketching in Sevilla where he had flown me from my teaching gig at SCI_ARC Vico in the Fall of 1998.

That first project was later designed and implemented remotely from our brand new office, March Studio, in Santa Monica — with great support from my friend and colleague Tom Clapper, the office of Allen + Killcoyne Architects in New York, and photographed by architectural photographer Whitney Cox. It went on to set off a string of projects across the globe that lasted for twenty-five years. Davide brought us the design of NiCE Singapore, design work on NiCE Tokyo, a speaking opportunity for Leigh and me with Proctor and Gamble in Kobe, Japan, and a collaboration with a Korean cosmetic brand that took me to Seoul with Davide's team a half dozen times. We finally designed and built NiCE’s present offices, again with the help and support of Allen and Killcoyne, as a full floor in Manhattan’s midtown, in the shadow of the Empire State Building, where the business he started in 1993 continues to thrive today.

Davide was a good friend and loyal client. He included me in every opportunity, always generous and speaking my praises to his clients and colleagues. He provided me opportunities around the world and introduced me to amazing people wherever we went. He is a big part of my and March Studio’s success today, and I am immensely grateful. I will miss his friendship, energy for life, and enthusiasm greatly.

If you would like to support, Davide’s family suggests donating to the following causes in his name.

The Nature Conservancy: www.nature.org
Habitat for Humanity: www.habitat.org
The Red Cross: www.redcross.org

Congratulations to SCI-Arc undergraduate class of 2023…undergraduate work looks strong!