Women-Owned Architecture & Design Studio in Detroit

END Studio is an award winning Detroit-based, women-owned architecture, design, and research practice, exploring playful techniques to transcend the traditional architectural experience.

We are passionate about creating equitable spaces and engaging unexpected contexts. From adaptive reuse to new builds, art installations to custom furniture, our work enlivens space through programmatic innovation, creative material use, and interactivity.

Our team provides hands-on, personalized attention to every project, guiding our clients to feel empowered throughout the design and build process.

We believe that good design should be available to all, and we are committed to making the city a more sustainable, enjoyable, and inspiring place. The diverse perspectives that shape our business practices create rich experiences and meaningful encounters for our clients and community.

OUR PROCESS

The END Studio process blends professional expertise with dynamic design, balancing unique experiences with functionality.

We dive deep into context to understand where a project is rooted and ask thoughtful questions to uncover your core wants and needs. We listen with curiosity, respond with empathy, and experiment endlessly to discover design solutions crafted especially for you.

Our team collaborates enthusiastically with our clients, building projects from the ground up through conversation and collective decision-making. From concept to construction, we work hard to make sure the project and process are a success.

View Process

OWNER

Elise DeChard, AIA

Owner

Elise DeChard, AIA

Elise DeChard (she/her) is a licensed architect in Michigan and New York.

With over fifteen years of experience in the field, she has worked with small businesses, homeowners, artists, developers, and community stakeholders, designing everything from community art spaces to collaborative manufacturing centers to fortunetelling walls of TVs.

Before relocating to Michigan, Elise worked in architecture and development in New York City, notably for Macro Sea on projects like New Lab at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and the Philadelphia Coworking Space, as well as for Marvel Architects on New Lab and the Prince Street Residences.
From 2016 to 2018, Elise ran Tessellate, an experimental gallery and international artist residency, in a suburban garage in Pontiac. Her work has been featured in Metropolis, Architectural Digest, Archinect, The Architect’s Newspaper, Wallpaper*, Design Milk, Cubic Journal, TreeHugger, Detroit Design Magazine, Curbed Detroit, Hour Detroit, and Detour Detroit. She has also been recognized in Detroit Month of Design (2018-2021) and named a Notable Woman in Design and a Notable Leader in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction by Crain's Detroit.

Elise is the Interim Architect in Residence and co-head of the department at Cranbrook Academy of Art, and has taught at Lawrence Technological University and Kendall College of Art and Design.

MARKETING + OFFICE MANAGER

Hannah Colborn

Architect

Megan Finley, AIA

Megan Finley (she/her) is a licensed architect with more than five years of professional experience in space-making across typologies, scales, and programs.

With a background in painting and performance design, Megan embraces architecture as a curation of cultural joys and priorities. Much of Megan’s creative work demonstrates an affinity with design research and theory, showcasing a fun, out-of-the-box, approach to serious propositions. She enjoys dicussing the reasoning and implications of local zoning and building code for each project; bookmarking ways in which regulations can be updated to better meet civic needs.

Megan is the 2026 co-chair of the Christopher Kelley Leadership Development Program through AIA Detroit and a graduate of the 2025 CKLDP cohort.

The END Studio process blends professional expertise with dynamic design, balancing unique experiences with functionality.

END Studio offers full-service architectural design for both residential and commercial projects, tailoring our service package to each client’s needs and vision.

Interested in working at END Studio?