Mara Ellison
Founding partner
Home About
A studio built around light, material and place
Since 2011 we have designed homes, workplaces and cultural buildings across three continents — always starting from the site, never from a style.
From two desks to twenty-four designers
Novara began in a converted warehouse with two desks, one plotter and a stubborn belief: buildings should give more than they take. Fourteen years later we are architects, landscape designers, engineers and makers working as one team — but every project still starts with a walk around the site and a long conversation.
200+
Built projects
18
Design awards
12
Countries
What we refuse to compromise on
Three principles survive every budget meeting, planning negotiation and late-night redraw. They are pinned above every desk in the studio.
How we workSite first, style never
Orientation, wind, neighbours and history decide the form. A Novara building could only stand where it stands.
Carbon counted like cost
Every scheme carries an embodied-carbon budget next to its financial one — tracked from sketch to handover.
Built to be loved
The greenest building is the one nobody wants to demolish. We design for delight, repair and long life.
The people behind the plans
Join the studio 
June Park
Head of interiors
Sofia Marchetti
Urban design lead
Amara Okafor
Sustainability director