Emily Pilloton‑Lam: Architect, Educator & Founder of Girls Garage
Emily Pilloton‑Lam is a visionary designer, builder, educator, and author who has spent over fifteen years empowering young people—especially girls and gender-expansive youth—to literally build the world they want to see. As founder and executive director of the nonprofit Girls Garage (formerly Project H Design), she blends hands-on construction with social justice and participatory design to transform communities and change narratives about who gets to design and build.
Foundational Vision & Projects
- In 2010, Emily co‑created Studio H, a design/build curriculum for high school students in rural Bertie County, North Carolina. Their work culminated in the now‑iconic Windsor Farmers Market Pavilion, a full-scale public architecture project built by students and featured in the 2013 documentary If You Build It.
- Highlights of Emily’s built work include modular classrooms, tiny homes for the unhoused, greenhouse structures, school libraries, public bus stops, and playground installations—all designed and built by youth, often pro bono.
Girls Garage: Tools for Equity & Agency
- In 2013, Emily relaunched the organization as Girls Garage in Berkeley, California—creating the first dedicated after-school maker space for girls aged 9–18. The 5,000 sq ft workshop allows all youth to learn carpentry, welding, and fabrication in a supportive, inclusive environment.
- To date, Girls Garage has completed 170+ built projects across the U.S., blending civic design with mentorship and youth leadership.
- Emily’s guiding mantra, “Fear Less. Build More.”, is prominently displayed as students learn to wield tools as a path to personal empowerment and structural change.
Academic Leadership & Public Presence
- Emily has taught as adjunct faculty at UC Davis, UC Berkeley, and Stanford University, integrating design, sustainability, social justice, and participatory architecture into her curriculum for undergraduate and graduate students.
- She has delivered high-impact presentations on the TED stage (over 3.8M views), appeared on The Colbert Report, CNN, The Today Show, and authored three influential books:
- Design Revolution (2009)
- Tell Them I Built This (2012)
- Girls Garage (2020).
- Emily is also featured in Microsoft’s Legacy Project: Women’s History Edition, alongside Nobel laureates and global social innovators.
Background & Identity
- Born in 1981 in Chicago and raised in Marin County, CA, Emily earned a BA in Architecture at UC Berkeley (2003) and an MFA in Architecture, Interior Architecture & Designed Objects at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2005).
- In 2021, she added her mother’s surname to her identity—Pilloton‑Lam—to honor her full French and Chinese heritage and challenge erasure of Asian-American identity in her professional and personal narrative.
Awards & Recognition
- AIA San Francisco Community Alliance Award (2022)
- AIGA SF Fellow Award (2022)
- YBCA100 honoree by Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, recognizing Girls Garage (2019)
- Honorary Doctorate from Columbus College of Art & Design (2018)
- SEED Award by Design Corps (2015)
- Fast Company Master of Design (2011)
Why She Matters
Emily’s work confronts systemic inequities in architecture, STEM, and construction. By equipping underserved youth with real skills—and amplifying their voices in the design of public spaces—she rewrites who belongs in the building trades. Her approach merges design with empathy: every built structure reflects the identity and agency of those who build it.
Emily often asks, “Who builds our world? And why?” Her answer is clear: everyone deserves the tools to build, and spaces should reflect the people who inhabit them.
Quick Facts
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Born | 1981 — Chicago, IL; raised in Marin County, CA |
| Education | BA Architecture (UC Berkeley), MFA Design Objects (SAIC) |
| Current Role | Founder & Executive Director, Girls Garage |
| Teaching | UC Davis, UC Berkeley, Stanford University |
| Projects Built | 170+ civic architecture pieces co-led by youth |
| Books | Design Revolution (2009), Tell Them I Built This (2012), Girls Garage (2020) |
| Platforms | TED, The Colbert Report, If You Build It documentary |
| Core Philosophy | Social/spatial justice through participatory design |
| Recognition | AIGA Fellow, AIA Award, YBCA100, honorary doctorate |
