[aspect] studio architects is an architectural practice focused on civic, educational, cultural, and mission-driven environments. We work at the intersection of design quality, community purpose, and development feasibility-translating ambitious ideas into grounded, buildable outcomes.
Founded by Maria Coutris and Kate Spires, the studio brings together design rigor, academic research, and hands-on delivery. Our work spans planning, adaptive reuse, and architectural design across Cleveland, Akron, Pittsburgh, and the surrounding region.
We collaborate with institutions, foundations, community partners, and developers who value thoughtful design, clarity of process, and long-term civic impact.
Who We Are
We are a small, women-owned studio with a deep commitment to design and the civic realm. Our backgrounds include teaching at major academic programs, leading projects at nationally respected architecture firms, and working with communities and institutions at multiple scales.
We are intentionally small-allowing clients direct access to senior architects, flexible collaboration, and a design process rooted in inquiry, rigor, and care. We value the intelligence of clients and the dynamism of partnerships, and we believe the best work comes from shared purpose.
What We Do
We design buildings, environments, and development strategies that combine architectural excellence with civic and institutional understanding. Our work includes:
Planning & Feasibility
Pre-development studies, stakeholder alignment, program definition, adaptive reuse analysis, and grant or foundation- supported planning.
Architecture & Adaptive Reuse
Education, athletics, creative workplace, multifamily housing, and mission-driven development.
Community & Innovation Ecosystems
Projects that merge agriculture, wellness, culture, and production-where new hybrid typologies are emerging.
We are often involved early, helping clients explore possibilities, navigate complexity, and shape projects that are fundable, sustainable, and rooted in real place-based needs.
Design Values
Our design approach is grounded in thoughtfulness, context, and clarity. We believe design should be responsive without being nostalgic, fresh without being indulgent, and enduring without pretense.
We look for the right scale, the right expression, and the right solutions for each project-and welcome ideas that combine beauty with practicality, mission, or community benefit.
Our process is collaborative, transparent, and informed. We listen closely, ask questions, and work alongside clients and partners throughout planning and delivery. Our scale ensures that design thinking and technical leadership are present from concept through construction.
We shape projects that work-not just architecturally, but financially, operationally, and culturally.
[aspect] studio architects is a certified WBE and EDGE firm. These certifications strengthen our ability to partner on civic, institutional, and publicly funded projects, and to support teams pursuing inclusive design and procurement goals.
MISSION
We deliver architectural and planning work that bridges design and civic purpose-supporting communities, institutions, and emerging development models through strategic, context-driven solutions.
VISION
We envision a future where the civic, educational, cultural, and economic dimensions of place are aligned-creating environments that are meaningful to inhabit, rigorous in design, and durable over time.
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Meet the Team
MARIA COUTRIS
RA, NCARB
Maria brings decades of experience in translating Owners’ visions to successful projects that resolve the layers of project requirements into something sophisticated, sustainable, and simply great places to be. Maria studied architecture at Penn State University and continued her graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania where she earned a Master’s degree in Architecture. She began her professional career in Pittsburgh working on the PNC Baseball Park, an urban stadium located along Pittsburgh’s waterfront and often noted for its dramatic views of downtown. She soon joined Bohlin Cywinski Jackson where she spent much of her early career working on university lab buildings and high-end residential projects across the nation. Maria has aimed to integrate sustainable building strategies into design, most notably working on the Stever House at Carnegie Mellon University, the first LEED certified university dormitory in the United States.
KATE SPIRES
RA, NCARB
Kate brings decades of experience leading projects that are technically complex, innovative, and timeless. Kate studied Chemical Engineering and Spanish at the Ohio State University and returned there for graduate school where she earned a Master’s degree in Architecture. During graduate school she worked with William O’Brian of WOJR. After graduation, she went to Pittsburgh to practice architecture at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. There her work focused on university engineering and science buildings and creative workplace, which included buildings and master planning for The Walt Disney Company in southern California and Under Armor in Baltimore. Returning to Youngstown, her focus shifted from national projects to local civic work, including the Youngstown Amphitheater and Riverfront Park, Cuyahoga Falls Fire Department and Quaker Valley High School. Throughout her career she has remained attached to academic teaching and has taught architecture studies at Ohio State University, Carnegie Mellon University and Kent State University.