LowDO is formulated around the proposition that high-art borrows from the low. Transformative innovation, in creative fields, most often originates when the creator must overcome limited means and resources to provide meaning in the work. We use this as a guiding principal to deliver high impact design for a broader public. Our goal is to find and finesse an integrative systems approach to building—what we call "low design"—through low tech and low carbon strategies.

As architects who build, we bridge design and construction to deliver comprehensive solutions. Our process supports clients in defining objectives, planning strategically, executing efficiently and creating spaces that are sustainable and purposeful.

We aim to build societal equity by lowering barriers to access and empowering communities through inclusive innovation. Collaboration defines our work. We engage with partners in respective communities as active participants, valuing the knowledge of those who operate and maintain spaces over time. This shared intelligence ensures outcomes that remain relevant well beyond project completion.

We believe that spaces shape well-being, that humans and ecologies perform best at low stress levels, and that optimizing efficiency with harmony can maximize the power of built environments. We craft high-impact buildings, landscapes and cities with low carbon footprints to bring life into balance for people and place.

PROCESS

  • Inclusiveness is a practice – our way of thinking, working, and being – as we draw from broad ranges of backgrounds, interests, stakeholders, and identities. We base our practice around collaborating with other people, with materials, with other living things, and with space and environment in the universal sense.
  • Most things that we design, we also build – ourselves and with other people.

We are a majority minority-owned business.

CASA MARIANELLA . Austin TX
TODO BIEN . La Ventana MX
LOWDO OFFICE . Austin TX

PAST COLLABORATORS

  • Ashley Heeren, Principal 2011-2012, 2023-2025
  • Aidan Condron . Austin Couch . Kaziah Haviland . Andrew Helmbrecht . Maarten Janssens . Zeke Jones . Noelle Yempuku

RECOGNITION

  • 2024 AIA Austin Design Award of Excellence: Mishpocha Woods Compound
  • 2023 Exhibitor at the Venice Biennale for Architecture, Arsenale, Venice, Italy
  • 2022 Exhibitor at the Venice Biennale for Art, Ghana Pavilion, Venice, Italy
  • 2021 Emerging Voices, The Architectural League of New York
  • 2021 Top 50 Architects, North America, AN Interiors, Architects Newspaper
  • 2021 A+ Firm Awards Finalist for Best Young Firm, Architizer
  • 2021 A+ Firm Awards Finalist for Best in Africa, Architizer
  • 2020 50 Best Architecture Firms, Emerging, Domus
  • 2020 AIA Austin Design Award: Agbogbloshie Makerspace Platform
  • 2020 AIA Austin Design Award: Dakota Mountain Residence
  • 2020 Le Monde Smart Cities Urban Innovation Award: Citizen Engagement: AMP
  • 2019 Next Progressives, ARCHITECT: Journal of the AIA
  • 2019 MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program, Finalist, Museum of Modern Art
  • 2013 Rockefeller Foundation Innovation Challenge Award

PRESS

New York Times . BBC . TEDxKNUST . Rockefeller Foundation . Domus . Dwell . Texas Architect . NOMA Magazine . Beyond Profit . Austin American-Statesman . Austin Home . Modern Home Tour . Discover Dripping Springs