Partners-2 | smithmaran

partners

Erik Maran, Principal, received his Master’s in Architecture from the School of Art and Architecture, Yale University, and holds a B.A. from Columbia College, Columbia University. He is a Co-Founder and Principal of Smith Maran Architecture + Interiors llc. Erik has served a wide variety of corporate, commercial, institutional, and residential clients. He is known for the patience and care he brings to every project, from site analysis and budget planning to programming and spatial design. Material specification, color selection and finish detailing are particular strengths. This thoroughness has translated into numerous public and private projects where the financial investment has translated directly into superior utility and enduring beauty. Highlights of Erik’s creativity and expertise in the public realm include numerous locations for the Hertz Corporation, prototype dealership design for Southeast Toyota, interior alterations to the Montclair Public Library, and the redesign of South Park Street in downtown Montclair.

Erik has been an architectural critic at Bennington College and the School of Architecture at Columbia University, and has served as an Adjunct Professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Ira Smith, Principal, received his Master’s in Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and holds a B.A. from Columbia College, Columbia University. He is a Co-Founder and Principal of Smith Maran Architecture + Interiors llc. Ira has served a wide variety of corporate, commercial, institutional, and residential clients. Ira is noted for his over-riding interest in problem-solving at different scales, from site and building design to natural lighting strategies to finish detailing. Ira’s experience has grown to include retail and restaurant planning and design. He is particularly attuned to the nuances and opportunities presented by historic structures and adaptive reuse, in general. Highlights of Ira’s creativity and expertise include the development of a prototype dealership design for Southeast Toyota, adaptive reuse of “Main Street” buildings, numerous residential transformations, and the recently completed master plan repositioning Connecticut’s first synagogue as a major heritage tourist destination.

Ira has taught as Adjunct Professor of architectural design and theory at Bennington College and the Schools of Architecture at Columbia University, the University of Texas at Austin, Northeastern University, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology.