RESILIENT DESIGN GUIDED BY A LOVE OF WILD PLACES
ABOUT
Studio MW is a design and planning firm based in Paonia, Colorado and founded in 2017. We are guided by a foundation in fine art and craft, construction, and sustainability. Our work can be found in the foothills of Denver, the alpine valleys of the Rocky Mountains, and the canyons and deserts of Utah and Arizona.
We are a flexible and responsive firm, traveling to sites across the Southwest and maintaining client interaction through remote conferencing and cloud based 3D models.
Studio MW works with fellow designers, architects, and engineers to provide our clients a holistic and professional process. We know the landscape and the communities we work with intimately and believe in creating a strong, local team.
MOLLY WHEELOCK: FOUNDER + PRINCIPAL
Molly is a 5th generation Coloradan, raised in a small mountain town in the Rockies. She’s most at home in the rural West and has found a niche serving these communities. Her passion is to create modern, durable, and resilient design and planning.
The daughter of a builder, Molly gained experience as a framer as a teen, and worked in a cabinetry shop and on a landscaping crew while attending Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Molly earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Architecture at RISD, where she founded Green by Design (later, A Better World by Design) and helped lead the school’s entry in the DOE Solar Decathlon.
Since returning to the West 15 years ago, Molly has worked in the field of architecture and planning throughout Colorado, Southern Utah, Northern Arizona, and a brief stint in Portland, Oregon. She has continued to focus on sustainability and energy efficiency, while designing and managing custom residential, equestrian, and light commercial/interior design projects.
Molly lives in Paonia, Colorado, on the Western Slope of the Rockies, and enjoys traveling the backroads and backcountry of the Mountain West.
MARA MANTOIU: ASSOCIATE / ARCHITECT (CL)
She moved to the Western Slope in Colorado and for over five years, she focused on single family dwellings, co-housing developments, furniture, landscape design and more. This is where she discovered and developed one of the main guidelines of her professional career – the connection with the local community and the environment, as well as her
interest in site specific, adaptable design. It is also in the Colorado high country where she developed her love for the mountains.
In 2018 she met Molly Wheelock and, motivated by their shared values and interest in design, joined SMW. After returning to Santiago in 2019, she worked on multi-family housing and office buildings, while enjoying the cliffs and the glaciers of the Andes. In 2022 she rejoined Molly and SMW, and she is currently living in Santiago and representing the studio’s vision and values in South America.
MOLLY WHEELOCK: FOUNDER + PRINCIPAL
Molly is a 5th generation Coloradan, raised in a small mountain town in the Rockies. She’s most at home in the rural West and has found a niche serving these communities. Her passion is to create modern, durable, and resilient design and planning.
The daughter of a builder, Molly gained experience as a framer as a teen, and worked in a cabinetry shop and on a landscaping crew while attending Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Molly earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Architecture at RISD, where she founded Green by Design (later, A Better World by Design) and helped lead the school’s entry in the DOE Solar Decathlon.
Since returning to the West 15 years ago, Molly has worked in the field of architecture and planning throughout Colorado, Southern Utah, Northern Arizona, and a brief stint in Portland, Oregon. She has continued to focus on sustainability and energy efficiency, while designing and managing custom residential, equestrian, and light commercial/interior design projects.
Molly lives in Paonia, Colorado, on the Western Slope of the Rockies, and enjoys traveling the backroads and backcountry of the Mountain West.
MARA MANTOIU: DESIGNER / PROJECT MANAGER
She moved to the Western Slope in Colorado and for over five years, she focused on single family dwellings, co-housing developments, furniture, landscape design and more. This is where she discovered and developed one of the main guidelines of her professional career – the connection with the local community and the environment, as well as her
interest in site specific, adaptable design. It is also in the Colorado high country where she developed her love for the mountains.
In 2018 she met Molly Wheelock and, motivated by their shared values and interest in design, joined SMW. After returning to Santiago in 2019, she worked on multi-family housing and office buildings, while enjoying the cliffs and the glaciers of the Andes. In 2022 she rejoined Molly and SMW, and she is currently living in Santiago and representing the studio’s vision and values in South America.