A B O U T

MOVE MATTER / ARCHITECTS is a Vail, Colorado based firm led by Emily Arden Wells and Zachary Stevens. Drawing from 25 years of collective architectural experience, MvM has worked on numerous projects in locations ranging from the coast of Maine to the Sierra Nevada mountains of California and locations between since its founding in 2014 in NYC and subsequent relocation to Vail in 2016. MvM has materialized a multitude of project types including single-family residential, multi-unit housing, retail, hospitality, and office environments with a client list ranging from private individuals and families; local and regional developers; to non-profit organizations including Habitat for Humanity, Community Solutions, and BDP Impact. Though having a diverse body of work, MvM delivers work that consistently celebrates innate qualities of space and material that are both luxurious yet sensible, opinionated yet thoughtful responses to their client’s desires.

Emily Arden Wells received an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a year of study at the Architectural Association of London and a Master of Architecture from Yale University’s School of Architecture where she won the coveted H.I. Feldman Prize. Wells’ thesis project was included in the Archiprix 2011 Exhibition and included within Wallpaper* Magazine’s 2010 Graduate Directory as part of the “next wave of creative talents who are shaking up the world around you.” Emily continues to engage in academia as a visiting professor at Colorado College and her writing has been published in Vanity Fair, Town & Country, Bloomberg Pursuits, and Departures Magazine, among others. Emily worked previously at the offices of AvroKO, where she was the design lead on Gotham West Market - named “America’s Best New Food Court” by Food & Wine magazine and for Adjaye Associates New York, where she was part of the core design team for the Smithsonian African American Museum in Washington D.C.

Zachary Stevens, AIA, received a Bachelor of Architecture degree with a concentration in art history from the Rhode Island School of Design and a Master of Architecture from Yale University’s School of Architecture with supplemental coursework at the School of Forestry. Zac continues to engage in academia by participating in numerous symposia - including those with the Lewitt Foundation and Janus Magazine where he subsequently served as guest editor and contributor to the Janus 24 issue - and is a visiting professor at Colorado College. Zac worked previously at the offices of Tai Soo Kim Partners, Young Projects, and Architecture Research Office where he led design teams and managed such projects as a LEED-certified public school in Stamford, CT; a private residence in Minnesota for art collectors; a renovation and expansion of a synagogue in Manhattan; and a mixed-use building in Manhattan’s Upper East-Side neighborhood for the Vilcek Foundation, which recieved an AIA 2021 Interior Architecture Award. Zac is a licensed architect in Colorado, Idaho, Maine, and New York.