Elizabeth Graziolo

GrazElizabeth Graziolo AR'95 is the award-winning founder and principal of Yellow House Architects in New York City, a collaborative-minded practice specializing in residential and commercial work. Prior to founding YHA, she was a partner at Peter Pennoyer Architects where she directed projects ranging from private homes to developments in the United States and abroad. Recent work includes a townhouse and mixed-use condominium on New York City's Upper East Side, a private estate in the Midwest, an apartment in the world-renowned Woolworth Tower, and a house renovation in Turks and Caicos.    

Elizabeth is a trustee of The Museum of the City of New York and The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science & Art, and serves on the Delano & Aldrich/Emerson Fellowship Committee of the American Institute of Architects. She has spoken at international conferences for illustrious institutions such as L'ARDEPA, The American Academy in Rome and The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. In 2019, she presented at Architectural Record's "Women Entering the Profession of Architecture" forum, helping inspire the next generation of women architects.

Earlier this year, Architectural Digest profiled Elizabeth as "One to Watch", and she has recently contributed to articles for The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, Traditional Building, and Veranda. The Museum of the City of New York honored Elizabeth with their prestigious "City of Design Award" in 2018. She is a registered architect in both New York and Michigan and is a longstanding member of the American Institute of Architects. Elizabeth received her Bachelor of Architecture from The Cooper Union. She is a registered architect in the State of New York and a member of the American Institute of Architects. 

Cooper Background: 

Elizabeth graduated from Cooper in 1995. She and fellow alums Anik Pearson and Michael Samuelian were the alumni who spearheaded fundraising for the Sue Ferguson Gussow scholarship campaign in 2018. She ran in the 2019 CUAA election for Alumni Trustee. 

Role: Alumni Trustee

Elected to the Board: December 2019

Class Term: 2023

Term Limit: 2023

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.