Rachel Allen Architecture is a studio that believes beauty and brains aren't mutually exclusive, and that smart materials might turn out to be those previously thought to be the dumbest. We make design that is pretty (and) interesting.

Our firm's completed work includes residential, retail, commercial and food service projects in Northern and Southern California. We also enjoy collaborating with fellow travelers in other media, on furniture, jewelry, short films, books, textiles, and performance.

Rachel Allen grew up in San Francisco and studied at Princeton University. She worked for five years with Gehry Partners, ultimately serving as an Assistant Project Designer. She was the 2002-2003 recipient of the Mercedes T. Bass Rome Prize in architecture, a yearlong fellowship at the American Academy in Rome. She served on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design from 1996-2001, and currently serves on the Board of the Outpost for Contemporary Art. She has also taught at the Mountain School of Art, Princeton University, the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), UCLA, UC Riverside, USC, and Woodbury University.