Space
as
Intention.
We design residences where every threshold, volume, and material choice serves a singular emotional intent.
Oslo Residence · 2025
Featured Project
What We Do
Services
A focused practice offering four core services, each delivered with the same rigour and care.
New Build Residences
From a single site and a set of aspirations, we design bespoke homes from the ground up — managing every decision from structural concept to door hardware specification.
Full architectural service from RIBA Stage 0 through to completion and handover.
Renovation & Extension
Transforming existing structures with surgical precision — preserving what is valuable, removing what is not, and adding only what is essential.
Heritage-sensitive design with contemporary spatial thinking.
Interior Architecture
The interior is not decoration — it is the lived experience of architecture. We design interiors as spatial sequences, not room-by-room.
Material specification, bespoke joinery, lighting design, and furniture curation.
Feasibility & Masterplanning
Before committing to a site or brief, we provide rigorous feasibility analysis — testing what is possible, what is optimal, and what is truly worth building.
Site analysis, planning assessment, and concept options.
Our Philosophy
Webelievethefinestarchitectureisfeltbeforeitisseen —athresholdbetweentheworldandtheself.
Restraint
We remove until only what is essential remains. No element exists without purpose.
Material Truth
Every surface speaks its origin. Concrete is raw, timber is warm, glass is light.
Lived Experience
We design for how a space makes you feel at 7am, at dusk, and in every season.
How We Work
The Process
An unhurried collaboration from first conversation to final key.
Discovery
2–4 weeksDeep listening sessions to understand how you inhabit space — your rituals, light preferences, material sensibilities, and the emotional tone you seek.
Concept
4–8 weeksFrom a single organizing idea, we develop spatial sequences, material palettes, and structural logic that give form to your vision.
Development
12–20 weeksMeticulous documentation of every detail: joinery profiles, threshold conditions, hardware specifications, and material sourcing.
Delivery
On-site presenceWe remain present throughout construction, resolving conditions in real-time to ensure the built work faithfully realizes the designed intent.
The Studio
Our Story
Founded in 2009 in Los Angeles, AURA Studios is a boutique architecture practice dedicated to the design of exceptional private residences. We operate across three continents with studios in Los Angeles, New York, and Oslo — always small enough to give every project our full attention.
Studio History
Founded in Los Angeles
Elena Vasquez establishes AURA Studios in a Silver Lake studio apartment with a single commission: a 90 m² Venice Beach bungalow. The project wins a local AIA award and sets the tone for everything that follows.
First International Commission
A referral from a Los Angeles client leads to the Zurich Retreat — AURA's first European project. The studio opens a satellite office in Oslo to manage the growing Nordic practice.
Wallpaper* Design Award
The Lisbon Townhouse wins Wallpaper*'s Best Private House, placing AURA Studios on the international stage. The studio grows to eight people and moves to its current Culver City studio.
New York Studio Opens
Increasing demand from East Coast clients prompts the opening of a New York studio in Tribeca. Kenji Mori joins as Associate Director, bringing deep expertise in Japanese construction traditions.
Asia Pacific Practice
The Kyoto Pavilion commission marks AURA's entry into the Asia Pacific market. A formal partnership with Tokyo-based structural engineers Mori + Associates is established.
RIBA International Prize Longlist
Copenhagen Villa is longlisted for the RIBA International Prize — the studio's most prestigious recognition to date. The practice now operates across three continents with 22 staff.
Present
AURA Studios continues to accept a limited number of commissions each year, maintaining the intimate scale and rigorous attention that defines the practice. The Kyoto Pavilion is shortlisted for the AR House Award.
The Team
Elena Vasquez
Founder & Principal Architect
Elena founded AURA Studios in 2009 after a decade at Herzog & de Meuron in Basel. Her practice is rooted in the phenomenology of space — the belief that architecture is experienced before it is understood. She holds a Master of Architecture from the Architectural Association, London, and has lectured at Harvard GSD, ETH Zürich, and the AA.
Kenji Mori
Associate Director
Kenji joined AURA Studios in 2018 after leading residential projects at Kengo Kuma & Associates in Tokyo. His expertise spans traditional Japanese construction techniques and contemporary structural engineering. He leads the Asia Pacific practice from the New York studio and oversees all projects in Japan.
Lars Eriksen
Senior Architect — Nordic Practice
Lars leads the Oslo studio and specialises in passive house design within Nordic climates. He holds a PhD in sustainable residential architecture from NTNU Trondheim and has been instrumental in developing AURA's approach to energy-positive design without aesthetic compromise.
Ingrid Holm
Interior Design Director
Ingrid joined AURA Studios in 2016 from Ilse Crawford's Studioilse in London. She leads all interior architecture and material specification, developing the monochromatic palettes and bespoke joinery details that define AURA's interiors. Her work has been featured in Elle Decoration, Vogue Living, and Architectural Digest.
Recognition
Awards
Over 30 international awards and nominations across 15 years of practice.
AR House Award
Residential Excellence
Kyoto Pavilion
Scandinavian Architecture Prize
Residential Category
Oslo Residence
World Architecture Festival
Completed Buildings — Housing
Milan Loft
AIA Housing Award
Single Family Custom
Malibu Retreat
Frame Award
Interior Space of the Year
Tokyo Tower House
RIBA International Prize
Longlist
Copenhagen Villa
Dezeen Award
House of the Year
Zurich Retreat
Wallpaper* Design Award
Best Private House
Lisbon Townhouse
Client Voices
Testimonials
AURA Studios didn't just design our home — they designed how we live. Every threshold, every material, every proportion was considered with a rigour we've never encountered before. The Kyoto Pavilion has fundamentally changed how we experience space.
Hiroshi & Yuki Nakamura
Clients — Kyoto Pavilion
Press & Publications
In the Press
Featured in the world's leading architecture and design publications.
Architectural Review
March 2026
The New Silence: AURA Studios and the Architecture of Restraint
Wallpaper*
January 2026
Kyoto Pavilion Named One of the Most Significant Houses of the Decade
Dezeen
November 2025
Oslo Residence Wins Scandinavian Architecture Prize for Residential Design
Frame Magazine
September 2025
Interior of the Year: How AURA Studios Transformed a Tokyo Sliver Site
The New York Times
July 2025
The Architects Who Build Homes That Feel Like Meditation
Domus
April 2025
Milan Loft: Industrial Memory as Living Architecture
Financial Times — How to Spend It
February 2025
The Studio That Refuses to Build Anything Ordinary
Monocle
October 2024
Quality of Life: AURA Studios on Why Less is Always More
Begin a Conversation
Let's Build
Something
Extraordinary.
We accept a limited number of commissions each year to ensure every project receives our full attention. Tell us about your vision.
studio@aurastudios.com
Phone
+1 (310) 555-0194
Studio
Los Angeles · New York · Oslo