Ellis Wills-Begley is a designer, musician, and maker who advocates for sustainable housing that is affordable and accessible by design. Ellis is passionate about the built environment, and contributes his energy to making architecture more sustainable through research, design, fabrication, and education.
In 2016, he received the “Premier Prix de l’Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Fontainebleau," a Fellowship award at an international music and architecture program in France. After his first year as a student, he was invited to return as a teaching assistant and subsequently, to spend a three month artist residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts.
After receiving a B.Arch from Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan, he completed the Kompas Fellowship at Myefski Architects, where he focused on student housing, commercial, and retail projects, and worked to develop more inclusive accessibility standards for the company. Click here to read his research book. Ellis has worked as an architectural designer/consultant on numerous residential projects, with Robert Begley, Architect, and collaborated with Kathleen Wills Design on industrial products, community-based design, and multi-generational housing.
While receiving his M.Arch and working as a Fabrication Lab Coordinator at Taubman College, his expertise in material sourcing and sustainable building grew significantly; he secured grant funding to design and build wooden hollow-body marine forms, recycled windows from construction waste and develop new glass products, and in his free time, studied straw bale and timber frame construction working on an off-grid farmstead. Here is a link to a recent portfolio.
Currently, Ellis is a Junior Project Manager and Fabrication Specialist at ECOPHI Architecture, where he manages research, design, and fabrication of modular, prefabricated housing that integrates recycled and natural building materials.
Born and raised in Traverse City, Michigan, Ellis enjoys foraging mushrooms, camping, playing fiddle, and being on the water.
CV available upon request.