emc architecture

emerymcclure architecture is a design research practice located somewhere between the global petrochemical infrastructure and an alligator. We believe that design matters to society and that the built environment has unlimited potential to make the world more beautiful, more useful, and more meaningful. Therefore, we are committed to design as a service to our clients, our communities, and the world.  

We create the unexpected from the common. Through an inclusive philosophy that uses design to resolve seemingly opposing forces, we develop solutions that are unique and familiar, ideal and accessible, practical and poetic. Our work strives to celebrate, uncover, and make more vivid the cultural, environmental, and social contexts of the project. As students of material culture, we investigate how the things people make are intertwined with how they negotiate their surroundings and how that negotiation becomes an expression of culture. As such, we both respect our past and engage our present; every project and every client is a new opportunity to build upon proven models, uncover new understandings, and envision a resilient future.  

Our practice is not bound by scale or type. We engage in full-scale material and spatial installations, commissioned building projects, and speculative design visions. We push ourselves to question our constructed realm within changing environments, what our responsibilities are to our ecosystem of which we are part, and our potential contributions to a more resilient and healthier dynamic future.

We are a design research practice. Beyond professional services to our clients, we conduct scholarship, perform material and spatial research, and create propositions on how design can solve the world’s biggest problems. Our design research practice integrates and finds overlaps in all of these activities. 

We are designers that are focused on the human condition. We are optimists.

emerymcclure architecture is a collaborative effort. The current design team consists of the partners.  We would like to thank all of the interns who have made important contributions to the work over the years:  Adam H. Ortego, Allison Land, Audrey Presnell, Helena Lecocq, Brooke Strevig, Katie Murphy, Page Comeaux, Kiwana McClung, Garrett Armentor, Katie Pitre, Elliot Manuel, Kristina Bailey, Nick Bailey, Tim Dumatrait, William Doran, William Soniat, David Lachin, Justin Greenleaf, Stephen Darre, Steven Archeneaux, Tim Gaiennie, David Jaubert, Brian Taylor Robinson, Claire Walpole and Greg Becnel.  We are also indebted to our past collaborators:  Kristy Cheramie, Bradley Cantrell, Drew Shawver and Jeff Carney.

bio 

emerymcclure architecture  Michael A. McClure, AIA, FAAR, Ursula Emery McClure, FAIA, FAAR, LEED AP BD+C, NCIDQ, and Sarah Young, AIA are architects and educators. The design research practice of emerymcclure architecture engages this mission through its design works (constructed and recognized locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally). The built work, writings, and design speculations of emerymcclure architecture have been published in many periodicals, including professional, academic, and popular press. The firm has won numerous peer-reviewed design awards, including recognition from the AIA and Architectural Record. Our sustainable urbanism work has won design awards, been published in Places Magazine, and is included in both books Interior Architecture Theory Reader(Routledge 2018) and Writing Urbanisms: A Design Reader (Routledge 2008), and was included as part of the 2006 and the 2010 Venice Biennale. This combined body of work and research was recognized by the American Academy in Rome through the awarding of the Gorham P. Stevens Rome Prize in Architecture 2008-09. The firm and its collaborators were awarded the Grand Prize in the 2013 Unbuilt Visions Competition, and finalists in the 2015 Field Constructs Competition, and a design installation was constructed and exhibited at two universities. In 2017 and 2019, the American Institute of Building Design awarded the BSL2 house and GATOR house American Residential Design Awards. In 2018, the firm won Boutique Residential Firm of the Year by London's Corporate Live Wire. Most recently (2025), the firm was selected by Forbes Magazine as one of the “Top 200 Residential Architects” in America and their residences are currently on display at the National Building Museum in Washington D.C. The firm’s mission to consistently search for, question, and define the assemblage in order to reveal and contribute to the elusive and yet constructed potentialities found within complex systems enables us to practice design research wherever we are located. They lecture on their work at numerous conferences and universities and often find themselves between the global petrochemical infrastructure, an alligator, and a buffalo.

Michael A. McClure, FAAR, AIA, a founding partner of emerymcclure architecture, was raised in rural Pryor OK. In addition to the firm, he is the Dean of the College of Architecture, Planning, and Design at Kansas State University. Previously he served as the Associate Dean for the College of the Arts and Distinguished Professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Professor McClure joined the faculty in the School of Architecture and Design in 2001. In 2011 he was awarded the UL Distinguished Professor Award.  He holds a MARCH degree from Columbia University and a BA in Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis.  He has taught at Pratt Institute in New York and at Tulane and LSU here in Louisiana.  Throughout his tenure at UL Lafayette McClure made significant contributions to the architecture program winning advising awards and initiating studies with his students into ways of integrating architecture with the specific conditions of coastal wetlands.  Before starting emerymcclure architecture with Ursula, Michael worked for Karen Bausman and Associates, Gluckman Mayner Architects, and Robert A.M. Stern. Most recently, Michael was named Dean of the College of Architecture, Planning & Design at Kansas State University.

Ursula Emery McClure, FAAR, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, NCIDQ, is a founding partner of emerymcclure architecture and in addition to the firm, she has served as a Professor in the School of Architecture at Louisiana State University, and as the Ralph Hawkins Visiting Professor of Architecture at the University of Texas at Arlington. She currently teaches as a transdisciplinary design professor in the Staley School of Leadership and the GE Johnson Department of Architectural Engineering and Construction Science at Kansas State University. She has also served as the Southwest Director for the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. She studied liberal arts at Washington University in St. Louis, MO, with a major in Architecture and a minor in History. She received a Masters in Architecture from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia University, NYC. Before starting emerymcclure architecture with Michael A. McClure, Ursula worked in New York for both Wendy Evans Joseph and Mitchell Giurgola Architects. She was a project manager and construction administrator for Mitchell Giurgola Architects on two large-scale urban schools on Staten Island, NY, and the Manhattan Family Courts Building. In 2018, she was recognized as one of ArchDaily's Most Innovative Practitioners (https://www.archdaily.com/891501/let-us-celebrate-the-women-who-are-shaping-architectural-practices-around-the-world), and in 2022 she was elevated to Fellow in the AIA for her research practice focusing on climate resiliency and adaptive preservation. The AIA bestows this highest credential to those who “make significant contributions to the profession and society and exemplify architectural excellence.” In 2024 she received the Award of Distinction from the Sam Fox School at Washington University in St. Louis.

Sarah Young, AIA, NCARB, joined emerymcclure architecture in 2014. She grew up in Southeast Asia before returning to her birthplace, Lafayette, LA, to attend college and get in touch with her roots in 2005. After graduating with an M.Arch from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2012, she joined the faculty at her alma mater where she currently serves as an Associate Professor. Young coordinates UL’s tri-disciplinary first-year design studios and introductory design history-theory. Her pedagogical research investigates how design students conceptualize their work, how they see themselves in relation to their work, and how the active, project-based learning achieved in design studio courses can be implemented in other courses. Her professional contributions have been recognized by the American Institute of Architects and the Architects Foundation; she received a 2019 AIA National Associates Award, the 2018 AIA Louisiana Associates Award, and the 2018 Jason Pettigrew Memorial ARE Scholarship. Most recently, Sarah was named Partner at emerymcclure architecture.

contact 

emerymcclure architecture, llc. 228 cherry st. lafayette, louisiana 70506

emerymcclure architecture, llc. 611 bluemont ave. manhattan, kansas 66502

emerymcclurearchitecture@gmail.com +1 337 356 7415 +1 337 356 7409

publications

2025

Emery McClure, Ursula. “Sharing in the Silos,” Proceedings NCBDS39 National Conference on the Beginning Design Student. Liane Hancock and Pasquale De Paola, eds. Univ. of Louisiana-Lafayette and Louisiana Tech, February 15th, 2025

Jackson, Meg, Liane Hancock, and Sarah Young. "Pattern Frequency | Bold Departure: An Analysis of 40 Years of Design Pedagogy." Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture 113th Annual Meeting Proceedings, 2025.

2024

Young, Sarah, and Lucy Satzewich. "The Game: De-tooling, Re-tooling, and Rule-ing to Foster Soft Skills in an Interdisciplinary First-Year Studio." 40th National Conference on the Beginning Design Student Conference Proceedings, 2024.

Young, Sarah, and Geoff Gjertson. "Shared Space: The Beginning Design Student as Design-Build Client." 39th National Conference on the Beginning Design Student Conference Proceedings, 2024

Ortego, Adam. “In Louisiana Innovation is our Tradition,” Country Roads. Baton Rouge, LA: Country Roads Magazine (July 24, 2024) https://countryroadsmagazine.com/art-and-culture/house-home/in-louisiana-innovation-is-our-architectural-tradition/

Fontenot, Jordan, “On the Cover The Home in Hidden Hills,” Country Roads. Baton Rouge, LA: Country Roads Magazine (July 26, 2024) https://countryroadsmagazine.com/art-and-culture/house-home/on-the-cover-the-home-in-hidden-hills/

With Gomez, Marisa and Holmquist, Paul. “Asylum and Way-Station in Rio Grande: Border Conditions in Architectural Education.” Fissures in Walls: Architectures of Resistance. Angeliki Sioli and Kris Palagi, eds. Leuvan, Belgium, Univ. of Leuvan Press, July 23rd, 2024

2023

Young, Sarah. "Retention as Moral Imperative: Student-Centered Strategies in a First-Year Design Studio." Architecture_Media_Politics_Society Teaching Beyond the Curriculum: A Focus on Pedagogy 2023 Conference, 2023.

Young, Sarah, and Annika Miller. "Rules of the Game." 38th National Conference on the Beginning Design Student Conference Proceedings, 2023.

2020

McClure, Michael A. and Young, Sarah and Emery McClure, Ursula. “ GATOR House: A Typology of Resilience.” ACSA108 Virtual Conference Proceedings. Washington DC: ACSA Press, publication pending (June 2020.)

2019

Emery McClure, Ursula. “Marine Science at High Tide.” environmental, coastal & off shore, ECO Magazine. September|October 2019 co-authored w/ Alexander Kolker, James Pahl, and Brian J. Roberts http://digital.eco-tsc.com/publication/?i=620331&article_id=3483343&view=articleBrowser&ver=html5

2018

Emery McClure, Ursula. “The SEA is Coming_The Future of a Marine Research Facility.” Resilient Edges. The Plan Journal 2017, Vol.2 Issue 2. Centauro Edizioni SNC, Bologna, Italy. January 2018 (online November 2017) htt p://www.theplanjournal.com/article/sea-coming-future-marine-research-facility With McClure, Michael A. “Inside Looking In: The prospect of the aspect.” Interior Architecture Theory Reader. Routledge Press, January 2018: 91-97

2017

"Inside Looking in: The prospect of the aspect." Interior Architecture Theory Reader. Routledge Press, Publication Fall 2017.

Marinic, G. and Qureshi, Z. co-editors. "Thatchsquatch - Adaptive Interventions." International Journal of Architecture and Spatial Design, Vol. 5. Univ. of Houston ASID Publications, a Division of Atrium Press. Publication Fall 2017.

2015

Emery McClure, Ursula. "A Conditional Preservation for Ephemeral Sites." 5.2 Change over Time_Landscape and Climate Change. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, November 2015: 286-304.

2013

With Cantrell, Bradley. "A Conditional Preservation." The Visibility of Research. Web Architectural Research Centers Consortium Journal, 28 March 2013. Web. 2014. (http://www.arccjournal.org/index.php/repository/article/view/147).

with Cantrell, Bradley. "Coeur de Ville: An urban, ecological catalyst." Enclaves/Territories+Expanding Megalopolises. Washington DC: ACSA Press, April 2013.

2012

"nuova Ostia antica." d3:dialog>assemble, International journal of architecture and design, New York. August 2012: 73-82.

2011

"Both-AND." Where do you Stand. Washington DC: ACSA Press, April 2011: 243-251.

2008

"Luxury of Languor." Writing Urbanism: A Design Reader. Douglas Kelbaugh and Kit Krankel McCullough eds. London, UK: Routledge Press, May 2008: 324-332.

"Expanded Sustainability: Supporting a Design Strategy of Stewardship." Seeking the City, Visionaries on the Margins. Washington DC: ACSA Press, March 2008: 896-902.

2007

Emery McClure, Ursula."The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Use and Abuse in the Research Studio." Journal of Architectural Education. 61-1. Washington DC: ACSA Press, September 2007: 73-75.

"SlipJoint Tectonic in the Terra Viscus." Just Add Water. 2007 ACSA Southwest Regional Proceedings. Publication by the University of Texas, Austin, TX.

"Expanded Sustainability: Supporting a Design Strategy of Stewardship." Assuming Responsibility: The Architecture of Stewardship. 2007 ACSA Southeast Regional Proceedings (2007): Publication by Catholic University, Washington D.C.: 189-195.

2006

McClure, Michael A. "Fluid and Tolerant Teaching." Getting Real: Design Ethos Now. Washington DC: ACSA Press, 2006: 491-496.

2005

"Hybrid Tectonic Nature: Terra Viscus." the art of architecture/the science of architecture. Washington DC: ACSA Press, 2005: 583-588.

"Supersaturated Solution - A Suspended Tourist Landscape." Archipelagos: Outposts of the Americas. Washington DC: ACSA Press, 2005: 564-570.

"Presentation of an Idea-IMAGE." Representation 2004. Journal of the Design Communication. San Luis Obispo, CA: Department of Architecture, College of Architecture and Environmental Design, California Polytechnic State University, 2005: 54-60.

2004

"Harnessing Collisions:  A Search For An Appropriate Procedural Model." Dichotomy 15- Ground. School of Architecture Scholarly Journal. Detroit: University of Detroit Mercy/School of Architecture, 2004: 29-42.

"The Luxury of Languor." Recalibrating Centers and Margin. Washington DC:  ACSA Press, 2004: 94-100

2003

"Gumbo Practice, Heterologous Learning and Building in Southern Louisiana." 306090–05, Teaching + Building Beyond the Imagined. NY, NY: Princeton Architectural Press, 2003: 74-81.

2002

"Commodity of Time in Architecture; the 'Languid Spaces' of Southern Louisiana." Imaging Realms; Remaking Worlds, ACSA West Regional Meeting Conference Proceedings (November 2002): Published by the Department of Architecture, College of Architecture and Environmental Design, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA.

"The MAKING of an IDEA." Imaging Realms; Remaking Worlds, ACSA West Regional Meeting Conference Proceedings (November 2002): 309-312, Published by the Department of Architecture, College of Architecture and Environmental Design, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA.

2001

"Experiment: Proving the Supposed Arbitrary Original." The Paradoxes of Progress: Arch. and Education in a Post-Utopian Era. Washington DC: ACSA Press, 2001: 538-542

"Finding Land in the Great Expanse of Border." Borderlands: Contested Terrain ACSA West Regional Conference Proceedings (October 2001): 223-228. Published by The School of Architecture, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT.

"Mystery and Manners." Confluences, ACSA Southwest Regional Conference Proceedings (October 2001): 63-70, Published by The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR.

2000

"Memory and Projection; A HOMELAND for the Faithful." Homeland ACSA Southeast Region Conference Proceedings (October 2000): 164. Published by The College of Architecture, Univ. of North Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina.