Elaine joined Mahan Rykiel Association (MRA) in 2016 with several years experience working in Taiwan as a landscape designer. She finished her MLA degree at Rhode Island School of Design as a recipient of the RISD ASLA Honor Awards. Prior to this, Elaine got her Bachelor Degree from Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture from National Taiwan University; she also spent some time studying at University of California, Berkeley, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. With years of living and working in different countries, Elaine is a landscape designer with broad vision and innovative thinking.
While at RISD, Elaine was focusing on exploring natural phenomena, tactile sensations, and human behavior. She was interested in how these elements work together to open more possibilities in landscape design. With a background in art and painting, Elaine also put a lot of efforts into elevating her visual communication techniques and graphic quality. Elaine works on variety of projects and phases at MRA, from residential to urban planning, from concept development to construction details. Elaine precisely and effectively produces rendering and model studies to assist design review from 2D to 3D. The ability to work with diverse scales and contexts, as well as the graphic skills, makes Elaine instrumental in both local and international projects at MRA.