MLCS ARCHITECT, LLC, established in 1990, is an architectural firm specializing in private residential work ranging in scale from bathrooms or kitchens to a full renovation and addition to a complete custom home. We offer complete architectural and interior design services with design excellence and commitment to our clients.
Maria-Luisa Clarens Schmidt, Principal of MLCS ARCHITECT LLC, received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Maryland in College Park in 1974 and a “License” (one-year Masters degree) from the Universite de La Sorbonne in Paris, France in 1980. She is a licensed and registered Architect who has had a successful design career in the Washington, DC area for the past 30 years.
Prior to starting her own firm, Maria-Luisa practiced for ten years and was an Associate partner in the prestigious Washington firm of Keyes, Condon, and Florance Architects. While at KCF, she worked on the historical preservation and renovations of the National Building Museum, the Torpedo Factory and the historic downtown First American Bank building. She also oversaw the design of numerous commercial and residential projects and became the firm’s in-house expert on condominium design work.
She founded her own firm in 1990, after the birth of her first child, in order to enable her to better balance her professional and personal lives. For the past twenty years, Maria-Luisa has completed numerous kitchens, baths, additions, renovations in the Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Potomac, and DC areas as well as a 6,000 SF custom home in Kensington, MD.
FIRM PHILOSOPHY
Growing up, Maria-Luisa had the opportunity and privilege to spend most summers traveling throughout Europe with her Italian uncle and family. From a young age, she was exposed to the art and architecture of the ancient ruins of Rome and Greece as well as the great Gothic cathedrals of England and France and the magnificent Renaissance buildings of Florance, Vicenza, and Venice. During those trips, she developed a sense for proportions, lines, balance, and scale. Classical details became ingrained in her and she developed a love for things of beauty. These early influences laid the foundation for a design style defined by understated elegance, practical functionality, and attention to detail.MLCS Architect, LLC is an architectural firm committed to its clients with imaginative architectural and interior design solutions and a high level of service. Each project and each client is unique and no design style is ever predetermined. Context and existing details in conjunction with the clients’ specific requirements and tastes dictate the direction of the design that can range from traditional or historic to more contemporary solutions where appropriate and desired. Throughout the design process, Maria-Luisa personally maintains a close working relationship with her clients that continues through the preparation of detailed drawings and the construction administration phases of the project.
When designing an addition to an existing structure, Maria-Luisa strongly believes that a good addition is a seamless addition. It reinforces and integrates with the building of which it is a part and details should respect the materials and assemblies of the original construction. Additionally, she is fond of flowing floor plans and rooms that open up into the next to allow for expanded views that make the entire space feel grander and more inviting. Lastly, she believes in sustainability and helping build structures that are ecologically friendly using “green” systems and materials wherever possible within the given design and budget.
