There is no surer measure of an architect's work than his or her own house. For Mack Scogin and Merrill Elam, their own house near downtown Atlanta is standing proof of their stated desire "for architecture that goes beyond mere problem solving to architecture that addresses their curiosity surrounding the role of architecture of society." The house, once featured in the New York Museum of Modern Art's "UnPrivate House" exhibition, is boldly experimental in its allocation of space-the pool is on the second story-allowing movement and situations, rather than pre-assigned functions, to dictate the layout.

Founded in 1984 and reconfigured to its present grouping in 1986, the firm has extended its vision to a wide range of international projects, ranging from private residences to the Cincinnati airport. Recent commissions include the Music Library at the University of California at Berkeley, the Bank for International Settlement in Basel, Switzerland, and the Knowlton School of Architecture at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

In addition to architecture, the firm has undertaken projects in graphic, exhibit, and interior design. The firm has received scores of accolades, including a 1999 National AIA Honor Award for Excellence, an Academy Award in Architecture by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and a 1997 Architectural Record Houses Award. Scogin has served as Kajim Adjunct Professor of Architecture at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design, while Elam held the Louis Henri Sullivan Chair in Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago, among other appointments.