A B O U T • M E
Elease Samms is a Louisiana native but grew up in Central Florida. She was one of the first graduates from Orlando’s Support Our Scholars program and her early success and talents were admired by many, including hotelier, Harris Rosen of Rosen Hotels & Resorts and Cornell University, which offered Elease a full scholarship to its Architecture program. Elease accepted and graduated in December 2013 with a Bachelor of Architecture degree.
Her many experiences have taught her a great deal about the management of time and people. Due to such an experience, Elease was able to lend her skills as an Assistant Preparator at the Orlando Museum of Art for the preparation and opening of Maya Lin’s A History of Water Art and Education exhibition in 2015.
Elease then went on to work as a Project Designer at KTH Architects for several years. Elease’s primary interests grew within the field of Healthcare Architecture. Part of those interests stemmed from growing up as a daughter of an Orlando Health, Pediatric Level 2 Nurse and from a desire to work primarily with not only local communities but with disaster-responsive housing solutions - which her collegiate thesis focuses on. Having known from personal experience how difficult it can be to evacuate a town/city during a time of extreme weather conditions, disaster-responsive housing is a primary concern in areas of America where such storms, like Hurricane Katrina, affect thousands of people in socio-economic disadvantageous positions. Knowing the difficulties that can result in such instances, Elease’s interest rests in helping others and she regularly mentors students of Orlando’s Support Our Scholars Program as well as students through COMPACT at Jones High. As Booker T. Washington once said, “The highest test of the civilization of any race is in its willingness to extend a helping hand to the less fortunate.”
Now a Graduate Architect with C4 Architecture, Elease has pivoted into the fast-growing Industrial Architecture industry. Elease assists with all areas of Design, including Schematic Design, Design Development, Interior Design, Outdoor Environment Design, FF&E Services, and 3D Modeling.
:: Favorite Quotes
"I am ... and with no apology."
— Marcus Garvey —
"I am black, not because of a curse, but because my skin has been able to capture all the cosmic effluvia. I am truly a drop of sun under the earth."
— Frantz Fanon —
“Each new situation requires a new architecture.”
— Jean Nouvel —