FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington DC — Studio Mayd is pleased to announce founder and principal, Lindsey May, was awarded this year’s Architect + Educator Award by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) DC Chapter. 

Through her dual roles as the founder of an agile, energetic architecture practice and as the Assistant Director of the Architecture Program at the University of Maryland, Lindsey May is committed to creating and elevating arts & community spaces and making a positive impact on the profession through leadership and teaching. 

Impact Through Design For Community, Arts & Culture

Lindsey and her team of staff designers at Studio Mayd (pronounced: ‘made’) work on diverse project types and scales with a focus on community, public space, and arts & culture programming. Three projects that highlight this work include: 7DrumCity Music Practice Space, Story District Community Arts Space, and Muki’s Fresh Market. 

In 2018, Lindsey and her team completed the new expansion building of 7DrumCity, a music practice and education organization. The design of the expansion of 7DrumCity doubles the overall footprint of the space, thereby increasing the organization's capacity to organize lessons, band practice, and performances. In September 2019, Studio Mayd completed interior upgrades for Story District, a non-profit arts organization that hosts classes, workshops, and events celebrating storytelling. The design highlights the flexible, multi-functional nature of their workspace (which also functions as an event space and educational space) and improves the overall acoustic environment. Lastly, Muki’s, a fresh foods market with an outdoor plaza space for events, markets, and gatherings, is under permit review and could be in construction as early as Summer 2020. This new market and public space will be located in a neighborhood east of the Anacostia River in Ward 7 that currently has low food access. 

Before founding Studio Mayd in Washington, DC, Lindsey cultivated her passion for arts, culture, and community spaces practicing this type of work around the world in offices including Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis, and Rafael Vinoly Architects. She participated in cultural and civic projects including The Shed in Hudson Yards, NY and the NYU Abu Dhabi campus. This professional work and her independent, grant-funded research took her to the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, China, Nepal, and India. With this experience, Lindsey grew her appreciation and understanding of public space and public life in cultures outside of the American context.

Leadership In Academia & Teaching

Within the last four years at the University of Maryland’s School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Lindsey has gone from teaching a single undergraduate design studio to being a highly involved and visible member of the leadership team and an active, engaged Assistant Clinical Professor.

As Assistant Director of the Architecture Program, Lindsey participates in the ongoing strategy and leadership of the program, supports the graduate admissions process, and has chaired and participated in multiple hiring committees to grow capacity within the School. She is also the Director of the Construction Project Management Minor, which she coordinates with the cross-listed Engineering Department. As the founding faculty advisor for See/Saw, the Architecture Program journal, Lindsey leans on her background in writing, editing, and publications to coach the student editorial team on the phases of producing a journal. Under her advising, See/Saw published its first issue in January 2019 and received a grant from the prestigious Graham Foundation to support the execution of the second issue, printed in Spring 2020. As a designer, she has also inserted herself in the University community as a resource for campus design activities. Lindsey led a year-long research, visioning, and design exercise with the Smith School of Business at University of Maryland, studying the goals and feasibility of a future expansion and renovation for their current building. As a part of this project, Lindsey conducted stakeholder listening and learning sessions, presented and coordinated several workshops with the Smith School Leadership Council, and presented the outcomes to the Smith School Board of Visitors in their annual meeting.

Lindsey also uses her voice to incite architectural appreciation and understanding in those beyond academia and the profession itself. During her time as a Curatorial Writing Fellow for Architizer, one of the most widely-visited architecture news and project repository websites, Lindsey developed and wrote original articles outlining trends and themes in architecture and materials. Using her teaching at the University of Maryland as a springboard, Lindsey blended the boundaries between the academic environment and the public with a research studio focused on zoning and design in Washington, DC. With the research and student design proposals, Lindsey organized the final student presentations in a Washington, DC community space and invited the public to participate. The students collated their research into a publication titled, ‘What’s Up, Lanier Heights?’ and distributed the publication at the final public presentation. In 2015, building on her Princeton University graduate thesis project, Lindsey was a finalist for the Ideas City Festival: Pitching the City Competition, hosted by the Municipal Arts Society of New York and Architizer. As a finalist, she presented her vision for the future of public space in East-Midtown Manhattan to an audience of over 500 members of the public.

-

Beyond her official duties as the Principal of Studio Mayd and Assistant Director of the Architecture Program at the University of Maryland, Lindsey brings an entrepreneurial, energetic, and focused attitude to all her interactions. Leading through example, she is a visible contributor and presence on campus, in the discipline, and in the public realm.