Awards
What won Heartland’s ULI Impact Award
The Urban Land Institute’s annual Impact Awards recognize projects that reflect its mission to shape the future of the built environment and have a transformative
February 14, 2023
“If this is the new American architecture, please bring on more.”
- James Saywell, Editor -
Hinge magazine, Hong Kong
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Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center
- James Saywell, Editor -
Hinge magazine, Hong Kong
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Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center
"A national practice notable for the range and poetic pragmatism of its work."
- Noted Architecture critic David Dillon,
in Architectural Record
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UCO STEM Education
- Noted Architecture critic David Dillon,
in Architectural Record
CLICK FOR MORE OR SCROLL
UCO STEM Education
“If this is the new American architecture, please bring on more.”
- James Saywell, Editor -
Hinge magazine, Hong Kong
- James Saywell, Editor -
Hinge magazine, Hong Kong
“It all starts with a vision
and ends with flawless execution.”
- R. Allan Marcum, Devon Energy -
Former Executive Vice President and Client
- R. Allan Marcum, Devon Energy -
Former Executive Vice President and Client
"Breathtaking, mesmerizing and forward-looking
- an evolving space for many years to come."
- Dr. Wei Chen, Dean -
UCO College of Math and Science
- Dr. Wei Chen, Dean -
UCO College of Math and Science
“Place. purpose. poetics.”
It’s our mantra. It’s how we begin and how we define the essence of a project.
We describe Rand Elliott Architects’ work as being inspired by Place, Purpose, and Poetics.
Ideas are drawn from all aspects of Place – from its history and surroundings to weather conditions, especially wind and sun.
Purpose is fundamental to functionality, from providing shelter and energy efficiency to serving our client’s mission by telling their story.
Poetics spring from an inspired concept and rigorous craftmanship. It’s inventive problem-solving — solutions that heighten impact yet cost no more to build. We think it accounts for the recognition our work earns; work that measures up to standards Rand Elliott Architects set decades ago.
It is, very simply, Originality.
About Us
Who We Are
MAKING A MARK. AND CELEBRATING IT.
Rand Elliott Architects was founded in 1976 and saw decades of remarkable success. In 2016, the firm marked its 40th year in 2016 with a memorable celebration. Its setting was deep inside W&W Steel, one the nation’s largest and most distinguished steel fabricators just west of downtown OKC. The firm was founded by a longtime friend and mentor, the incomparable Bert Cooper, and is and ably led today by his son, Rick, who is also a friend.
THE SKETCHES, UNDER (PLEXI) GLASS
Included with the event’s bar and hot-off-the-grill fare was series of a long Plexiglass cases that displayed the first 40 years of Rand Elliott’s storied sketchbooks. Each volume documents the flow of ideas that became Architecture. Each project entry is dated as development proceeds, day to day. Guests were facinated.
Using sketches to explore ideas has given way to digital work, especially 3D renderings. Sketching is an additional, conceptual, tool that, in Rand’s hands, has been indispensable. It also gives project presentations an added dimension, and a human touch.
COLORED PENCILS TO PAPER: A PIPELINE OF IDEAS
Since 2016, Rand Elliott’s collection of sketchbooks has continued grow, filled with noted projects such as the OSU Spears School of Business, UCO’s Don Betz STEM Education Center, Heartland Headquarters and Oklahoma Contemporary Art Center.
Guests still gush about the party, and Elliott’s sketchbook collection has stretched to 54 volumes and counting. The firm remains unique in that it’s a professional, architectural studio. Licensed architects work together, and all projects have Rand’s attention, beginning to end.
“Who We Are” is Architecture. With a capital A.
Our Work
To document decades of project construction, Rand Elliott has photographed client job sites. He takes special pleasure in capturing work gloves inadvertently dropped on the site. It’s a reminder of the human beings who put so much of themselves into the work.
“God is in the details”
It’s a quote attributed to French novelist Gustave Flaubert as well as the great 20th century architect Mies van der Rohe. (Its corollary is “the devil is in the details”). And yes, Rand Elliott Architects identifies with the notion that no detail is too small. In fact, a detail given special attention can emerge as a defining one.
The precise and caring execution of the details lands in the skilled hands of construction craftsmen. Rand Elliott Architects has been fortunate to work with fabricators and foremen, carpenters, plasterers, and electricians who are undeterred, and even relish the chance to tackle and build something entirely new. Without them, our plans would die in a drawer.
That cadre of professional builders welcomes the “trademark” Rand Elliott Architects challenge — pros who know they’ll come away proud. They’ll bring their families out for tours of construction and the finished project, a show-and-tell for work that’s well worth doing. Work that will likely outlive them.
In the News
People
Rand Elliott, Dean McGee Award’s First Architect
Today as we celebrate the 1976 anniversary of our firm, we applaud Downtown Oklahoma City’s recognition of Rand Elliott, FAIA with its top honor, the
February 2, 2023
Awards
2022 AIA Honor Award: Detailing Folding Light
The centerpiece of the Oklahoma Contemporary campus earned one of three AIA Honor Awards — the top award for architecture– at AIA Central Oklahoma’s recent
November 11, 2022
Awards
What won Heartland’s ULI Impact Award
The Urban Land Institute’s annual Impact Awards recognize projects that reflect its mission to shape the future of the built environment and have a transformative
February 14, 2023
People
Rand Elliott, Dean McGee Award’s First Architect
Today as we celebrate the 1976 anniversary of our firm, we applaud Downtown Oklahoma City’s recognition of Rand Elliott, FAIA with its top honor, the
February 2, 2023
