Elisabeth Martin

Elisabeth Martin, FAIA, architect, interior designer and library consultant, is a principal at MDA designgroup, New York, NY. She has focused on library planning and design over her career as an architect, planner, and educator. Prior to forming MDA, she directed capital programs for NYC libraries for more than ten years serving as the director of the NYC Department of Design and Construction Capital Improvements Program for the three NYC library systems and later as the director of Planning, Design and Facilities for the Brooklyn Public Library. She is a frequent speaker at library forums and leads the library project studio at MDA designgroup. An active member of the AIA and ALA, AIANY awarded Martin their Public Architect Award in 2002 for promoting design excellence and creativity in the public realm, and she was elevated to Fellowship in the AIA in recognition of her career long efforts in the planning and design of libraries. Active in ALA since 1996, she has chaired the BES Library Building Awards Committee and Architecture for Public Libraries Committee, has served on the BES Executive Committee, the Library Furniture and Equipment, Buildings for College and University Libraries, Library Buildings Task Force, and the Library Interior Awards Committees.