--- title: "M+A Architecture Studio — Architects & Building Designers | Houzz" canonical_html_url: https://www.houzz.com/professionals/architects-and-building-designers/m-a-architecture-studio-pfvwus-pf~1828942573 markdown_url: https://www.houzz.com/md/professionals/pf~1828942573.md entity_type: LocalBusiness business_name: "M+A Architecture Studio" category: ["Architects"] image: https://st.hzcdn.com/fimgs/2453a96a031f9322_0581-w400-h400-b0-p0--.jpg address: "5910 Grace Lane, Houston, Texas 77021, United States" latitude: 29.6954 longitude: -95.3562 phone: "(713) 440-0083" website: https://maarchitecturestudio.com rating: 4.5 review_count: 8 best_of_houzz_awards: 5 followers: 485 last_updated: 2026-09-04 --- # M+A Architecture Studio Original Houzz profile: [M+A Architecture Studio](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/architects-and-building-designers/m-a-architecture-studio-pfvwus-pf~1828942573) ## Professional summary - **Primary category:** Architects - **Location:** Houston, TX - **Serves:** Houston, Hillshire, North Houston, Pearland, League City, Conroe, Baytown, Spring, Galveston, Cypress, Friendswood, La Porte, Deer Park, Lake Jackson, Bellaire, Humble, South Houston, West University Place, Jacinto City, Hunters Creek Village, Bunker Hill Village, Spring Valley, Piney Point Village, Hedwig Village, Southside Place, Hilshire Village, Alief, Barker - **Houzz rating:** 4.5 out of 5 (8 reviews) - **Best of Houzz:** 5 awards (2013–2017), for Design. ## About ### Houzz Badges - Houzz Influencer - Recommended on Houzz - 50,000 Ideabook Saves m + a architecture studio is a small design and build firm located in Houston that focuses on individual projects and unique solutions to design problems. The firm's work spans a range of residential and commercial projects - from very modest small scale projects to multi-million dollar homes. Check us out on Houzz TV: http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/30177138/video/houzz-tv-family-living-in-980-square-feet ### Services Provided - Architectural Design - Building Design - Home Remodeling - Architectural Drawings - Custom Homes - House Plans - New Home Construction - Home Additions - Home Extensions - Sustainable Design - Kitchen Remodeling - Space Planning - Universal Design - Multigenerational Homes - Tiny House Construction - Staircase Design ### Areas Served - Houston - Hillshire - North Houston - Pearland - League City - Conroe - Baytown - Spring - Galveston - Cypress - Friendswood - La Porte - Deer Park - Lake Jackson - Bellaire - Humble - South Houston - West University Place - Jacinto City - Hunters Creek Village - Bunker Hill Village - Spring Valley - Piney Point Village - Hedwig Village - Southside Place - Hilshire Village - Alief - Barker ## Business Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Business Name | M+A Architecture Studio | | Address | 5910 Grace Lane, Houston, Texas 77021, United States | | Phone | (713) 440-0083 | | Website | https://maarchitecturestudio.com | | Followers on Houzz | 485 | **Social profiles:** - Blog — www.maarchitecturestudio.com ## Contact - **Houzz profile:** [M+A Architecture Studio](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/architects-and-building-designers/m-a-architecture-studio-pfvwus-pf~1828942573) - **Website:** https://maarchitecturestudio.com - **Phone:** (713) 440-0083 ## Credentials **Certifications & Awards** - AIA Houston Firm of the Year 2014 - **Best of Houzz:** 5 awards (2013–2017), for Design. **Affiliations** - [AIA Houston](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/schools-and-organizations/aia-houston-pfvwus-pf~1544679345) ## Reviews **Overall rating: 4.5 out of 5 — 8 reviews** *Aspect averages:* - Work Quality: 50.0 - Communication: 50.0 - Value: 50.0 ### All 8 reviews **★★★★★ — RAM Windows & Doors, Feb. 2025** > We love working with Mark and Anne! They know their field and create beautiful and creative homes. We highly recommend them. **★ — Virginia Murello Bilek, Oct. 2017** > The design services of Mark and Anne were exactly what I was looking for. The building process left much to be desired. Mark repeatedly showed up hours late to appointments, double and triple billed for services, removed materials purchased by the owners and made changes to the project without the owners permission. Ultimately he left the project incomplete leaving many details unfinished. **Comment from M+A Architecture Studio:** > Mrs. Murello's house was designed in 2006, and constructed in 2008 / 2009. It was one of the most challenging budget projects we've done, being a 2500 square foot architect designed home for just under $300k, and in addition it's exurban to Houston, and required real distance travel to be able to build. In order to meet this incredibly difficult budget target we did actively two things with the Murellos: first, we agreed to physically provide a lot of the labor for the specialized items in house under the GC fee allocation, - that is we sacrificed profit potential to make this thing work, and literally installed the roof and metal siding with our own forces at no added cost, fabricated speciality metal elements in house, and so on. Second, the Murellos agreed to provide a lot of additional sweat equity, which they certainly did, and often to very good effect, working with the frame crew to stain the exposed wood, prime and paint interior, clean up the site, and so on. However, the Murellos thought they could install the bathroom wall tile themselves, which proved to be a disaster. They simply couldn't do it, and we had to bring in a tile setter to complete the work. At the end of the day, this "Fixed Cost" project went about 2% over budget, - i.e. a few thousands of dollars, literally just that fractional and almost trivial amount, and all of it related to the Owners not being able to hold up their end of the deal, completely. They did make great efforts and that did make a difference. Not a question there - they really put in some effort. It just didn't go the full distance like they planned. Mrs. Murello has, however, never gotten over the fact we ended up charging them for the work we had to complete that they could not complete. This is a huge disappointment, as this is a really fine project, and there is no reason beyond Mrs. Murello's inexperience and stubbornness, being a first time home builder and not familiar with the process of building a home, let alone building something as custom and budget challenging as this, that there should be any issue here. Reading this review, you may note Mrs. Murello isn't complaining about the design of her lovely, truly special house (this project even won an AIA Design Award), - nor is she even complaining about the construction of her home: she's just complaining about a perceived slight at the very end of her project, where she thought we should pay for things not in the project scope to start, and everything she has represented in her review here just isn't factually true, not in the least. And I trust that shows in the broader context. It is an unfortunate thing, and I think says something about Mrs. Virginia Murello, who, getting close to nine years on, can't get over her own unique opinions and temperament, and rather creative understanding of facts, and wants to denigrate us publicly without seeming recourse: But I'll take issue with her: Her project is the Gulf Coast Farmhouse project, and it was built for almost the cost of a builder tract home. Mrs. Murello simply doesn't have any perspective. **★★★★★ — Steve Reavis, July 2017** > Mark has done a number of design projects for us and has always done an outstanding job. Our style is very traditional and colonial, which led us to have some initial concern about whether or not we would fit well into their portfolio, as much of their marketing materials are for modern designs. But we were pleased to find that Mark has tremendous knowledge of and capacity in traditional homes. > > He helped us remodel two different older houses, three different projects in total, and we were thrilled with the results. Unlike so many additions, it was very difficult to walk in afterwards and identify where the new part was located. A portion of this was due to his expertise in the use of space, but there were also a number of details that would be easy to miss if one didn't have experience building homes (e.g. positioning the slab with consideration of the differential heights of various flooring types). > > We found Mark easy to work with in developing a design, while also allowing his expertise to show through. He was flexible to our suggestions when it made sense to do so, but he would also remain firm with a "you really don't want to do that because..." when our ideas were not going to result in the right final product. > > We could not be any happier with the design services we have received from M+A, and we look forward to working with them again if we have architectural needs in the future. **★★★★★ — User, July 2016** > Mark and Anne designed and built our home. They satisfied our wants/needs and provided some very creative ways to accomplish that. The design phase was excellent and they were able to focus us on to what we wanted. The build phase went smoothly. We have already recommended them to several people. **★★★★★ — boswellconcrete, June 2016** > An absolute hands on Architect. Marc and the rest of the team at M+A Architecture Studio are very professional and take great pride in their work. Always available for any situation that might arise. Develops very unique and personalized homes that we are privileged to be a part of with the concrete slabs. **★★★★★ — dwilliams\_co, June 2016** > Dennis Williams & Co., Inc. has provided construction services for several M + A Architecture Studio projects. We have always found that M + A Architecture Studio produces high quality work with utmost professionalism and integrity. **★★★★★ — Demetrio Labate, June 2016** > We were very lucky to find m + a to help us renovating our house. We had some disappointing experiences before finally meeting Mark and Anna and deciding to work with them. The team was great in proposing cleaver and stylish design solutions, and finding the best way to realize them. Mark and Anna are very competent and very good listeners. **★★★★★ — Geek Window Cleaning, June 2016** > We have worked several times with M+A Architecture Studio. They are professional, courteous and great to work with. Not to mention the homes they design are some of the most beautiful homes we have seen in Houston, and we see a lot. We look forward to working with them more in the future. ## Selected projects - [Texas Lake Retreat House](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/texas-lake-retreat-house-pj-vj~1805376) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 30 - Description: A Texas farmhouse and guest house located in the rolling soft hills and low woods between Houston and Austin that takes advantage of it's lovey wooded site overlooking a pond, this project focuses on a refined, yet casual indoor-outdoor living style. The exposed steel frame recalls agricultural utility structures and is expressed along with low horizontal stepped cedar siding and a giant, broad, sheltering metal roof . - [Next House](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/next-house-pj-vj~59093) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 42 - Description: A further exploration in small scale living, this project was designed with the explicit idea that quality is better than quantity, and further, that the best way to have a small footprint is to literally have a small footprint. The project takes advantage of its small size to allow the use of higher quality and more advanced construction systems and materials while maintaining on overall modest cost point. Extensive use of properly oriented glazing connects the interior spaces to the landscape… - [Highland Village House](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/highland-village-house-pj-vj~59086) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 43 - [Garden Oaks House](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/garden-oaks-house-pj-vj~4540347) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 18 - [Hammer Residence](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/hammer-residence-pj-vj~2580017) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 18 - Description: An inner city house, this project is located on the corner of a very high traffic main artery street at the periphery of the Texas Medical Center. The building is developed as a Charleston style typology to provide a useable outdoor space abutting the street. Designed primarily in section, the spaces move through varying scales with a dramatic focus on daylighting and movement. This home is essentially a giant light sculpture eschewing a combination of both Corbusian painterly design lyricism an… - [Pin Oak Addition and Renovation](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/pin-oak-addition-and-renovation-pj-vj~2700168) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 17 - [Woodland Heights Residence](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/woodland-heights-residence-pj-vj~2551193) - Location: Houston, TX - Photos: 22 - Description: A new transitional modern home in the historic Woodland Heights area of Houston, this 3000 square foot house seeks to blend into the existing lower streetscape of 1920’s bungalows while simultaneously creating a new rich and varied series of interior spaces that are integrated into a series of very different courtyard spaces. In many respects this project is a “stealth” project in that it breaks just about all the prototypical site use tendencies while blending into the existing scale of the nei… - [Goldenrod House](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/goldenrod-house-pj-vj~4540684) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 11 - [700 square foot House and Garden](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/700-square-foot-house-and-garden-pj-vj~59082) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 19 - [Gulf Coast Farmhouse](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/gulf-coast-farmhouse-pj-vj~59097) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 20 - [Highland Village \#2](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/highland-village-2-pj-vj~482588) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 37 - [Friendswood House](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/friendswood-house-pj-vj~59103) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 9 - [900 square foot House and Garden](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/900-square-foot-house-and-garden-pj-vj~59124) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 27 - [Riverbend](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/riverbend-pj-vj~481691) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 13 - [Maldonado-Hook](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/maldonado-hook-pj-vj~218249) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 29 - [Avondale](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/avondale-pj-vj~503050) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 12 - [Wister Lane Mid Century Remodel](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/wister-lane-mid-century-remodel-pj-vj~1383948) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 12 - [Woodlands Modern House](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/woodlands-modern-house-pj-vj~59128) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 12 - [Meyerland Ranch House Renovation](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/meyerland-ranch-house-renovation-pj-vj~59135) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 13 - [Montrose House \#1](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/montrose-house-1-pj-vj~59118) - Location: Not specified - Photos: 23 - Description: Located on a typical 50’ x 100’ inner city lot, this project explores a moderate budget alternative to either the townhome prototype or the large house covering the lot. The ground floor footprint is minimized, so that it is smaller on the ground than the neighboring bungalows while maintaining a yard. The second floor is developed as the primary living floor with the third floor designed to take advantage of fantastic views of downtown Houston. [See all 33 projects](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/architects-and-building-designers/m-a-architecture-studio-pfvwus-pf~1828942573) ## Community Q&A **Q: Book shelves** *(in Photo Questions)* How are the shelves fastened to the wall A: Those are actually an IKEA standard item = this project was about blending readily available inexpensive design elements with truly custom architectural one-off components. **Q: Can you please let me know what type of sealant was used on the floors** *(in Photo Questions)* Thanks so much! A: Look at identifiers and sealers made by the Euclid Chemical Company **Q: Construction cost?** *(in Photo Questions)* Can you please let me know the total construction cost? Thank you! A: We don't really have a good metric for this as we literally built most of this project ourselves over the course of several years. **Q: Mailbox** *(in Photo Questions)* Where can I purchase this mailbox A: We cast the concrete pillar in place. The mailbox itself can be purchased through many on-line vendors - try searching for stainless steel modern mailboxes and you'll surely find this and many similar **Q: Very nice. Where was the rolling base hardware sourced?** *(in Photo Questions)* A: This is standard vehicular gate hardware you'd find on residential driveway fences. It can be sourced from a wide range of steel and steel fence suppliers. In this particular case it was sourced from Triple-S Steel Supply in Houston **Q: Concrete Floors** *(in Photo Questions)* I live in the Houston area and was wondering if you can recommend a company that is an expert on concrete floors? Thanks for your help. A: Dugan Miller Design did the floor finishing in this project. They are great. --- *Source: Houzz professional profile. Reflects the profile as of 2026-09-04.*