Elly Deacon Smith

Having worked at the forefront of low-energy architecture since she qualified in 2007, Elly is passionate about delivering low-impact, context-sensitive buildings, that both delight and perform. Prior to forming Arbor Architects, Elly was an Associate at Architype Architects, where she worked on a number of public buildings built to the Passivhaus standard.

Her focus on sustainability and her approach to building design encompasses both embodied and operational carbon reduction, circular economy principles and resource efficiency in material specification, as well as long-term community resilience.

Elly has a strong focus on the well-being and comfort of building users and works very closely with clients to create places and spaces that facilitate social interaction, healthy lifestyles and a connection to the natural world.

Elly maintains links to architectural education and has recently led post-graduate units part-time at both the Welsh School of Architecture in Cardiff and BCU in Birmingham.

Elly also sits on Herefordshire Council’s Climate and Nature Partnership Board where she is working with a 16-strong team of professionals and local businesses to establish a road map for the county to reach its zero carbon goal by 2030.