Elizabeth Bytnaia is an architectural designer at IwamotoScott Architecture in San Francisco, where her work engages the relationship between material systems, spatial organization, and the realities of construction. Working across institutional, corporate, and workplace projects, she develops design concepts through to execution, translating abstract ideas into precise, buildable assemblies. Her experience includes large-scale projects such as the Center for Hearing Research and Innovation, as well as a range of workplace environments across California.

Her approach is grounded in design development and technical rigor, with a particular focus on façade systems, detailing, and coordination. Working closely with clients, consultants, and contractors, she navigates the complexities of existing conditions, regulatory constraints, and construction processes while maintaining a clear design intent.

This practice builds on research developed during her Master of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, where she explored material-driven design and alternative construction methods. Her work on mass timber and low-carbon materials was exhibited at the AIA San Francisco Student Best Project Exhibition, and she was awarded the 2023 Raymond Watson Prize and the UC Berkeley CED Design Award. Her thesis, focused on hempcrete as a carbon-negative construction system, was presented at the Innovation Expo hosted by the Berkeley Energy & Resources Collaborative.

Following graduation, she continued this line of inquiry as a Research Assistant at UC Berkeley with Professor Neyran Turan, contributing to Hempo House, a project investigating hempcrete construction for low-carbon residential architecture. The project received first prize in the 2024 Best of Design Awards from The Architect’s Newspaper.

Across both professional and academic work, her practice is driven by an interest in how architecture can integrate material research, environmental responsibility, and evolving modes of inhabitation—positioning construction not as a constraint, but as a generative design framework.