Elizabeth Moggio

Describe the work you do. What are some of your recent and current projects that excite you? What inspires you about the future of your chosen field?
Since joining Miller Hull after graduating from Michigan almost 20 years ago, I have devoted myself to the design and management of projects that create educational spaces for learning, teaching, working, and research. As Miller Hull’s higher education market sector lead, my primary focus and joy in this work is building consensus and productive team dynamics, bringing people together, and moving them forward in harmony and with momentum. I see myself as a translator and synthesizer, my goal being to build consensus, foster equitable relationships, and help create functional spaces that bring joy and beauty into people’s lives. Whether with clients, members of communities, teammates, trade partners, or design professionals, I always try to be a good listener, guide, friendly face, staunch advocate, and ally.

In the last ten years, I have expanded my reach in how I interact with the architecture and construction industry. I am the Pacific Regional Council Chair for the Society for College and University Planning, a member of DBIA National’s Design Professionals Committee, and lecture in Professional Practice and graduate-level studios at the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments. These intersections with the industry offer me a chance to participate in conversations that are shaping the future of architecture and design. Sharing my work on Odegaard Library, Hans Rosling Center for Population Health and Health Sciences Education Building at the University of Washington, and Miramar College’s Performing Arts Center at conferences, lectures, and tours have offered me a chance to share the great work of Miller Hull and the Pacific Northwest with other campuses and designers.

Why did you choose Taubman College for your education?
The focus on interdisciplinary thinking, making, and doing.

How did Taubman College prepare you for your career? What experiences beyond the classroom (internships, research assistantships, teaching opportunities, or other external experiences) provided additional value?
I learned so much about craft, technical excellence, and working in cross-disciplinary teams from my time at Taubman College. Designing higher education spaces immerses me in a typology that never stops changing and never stops giving you a reason to care about the people who’ll use what you build. What fills my cup, career-wise, is being challenged: having real opportunities to stretch, to think outside the box, to stay a little uncomfortable in the best way. My studio work, thesis work, and volunteering with the Michigan Solar House Competition during my M.Arch degree program all shaped my desire to be challenged.

I think that’s the main reason progressive design-build has become the delivery model I find most fulfilling. It’s that you get to be completely immersed in information, surrounded by a diverse group of people who are motivated to add to the richness of the conversation instead of just executing their piece of it. When trust and respect are built into how a team operates, you get better teamwork almost as a side effect, because everyone’s knowledge and curiosity actually gets used. There’s an inherent mindset in a good PDB team of always looking for a way to do things a little better, a little differently, and getting to expand my own design thinking alongside a team that wants that too is genuinely energizing.

How has being part of the alumni community impacted you, personally and professionally?
It’s an honor to be part of the U-M alumni community, and a great reminder of how the connections that you form in academic experiences can shape your journey in the field of architecture.

What did you like best about attending Taubman College?
Studios and the environment for creation of everything from models to the crit environment itself. I remember repainting the walls of the studio crit area for my thesis presentation late at night and completing the installations of my models with the freedom of knowing messiness and creativity was embraced by the college.

What advice or important lesson would you share with someone considering Taubman College?
Write your own story. Enjoy being at Taubman – it is the most richly intellectually challenging time in your life. Soak it in.