Meet the Founding Principal

Marisol Gallagher, Founding Principal of Marisol Studios

Welcome to Marisol Studios

Marisol Gallagher is the founder and Principal Architect of Marisol Studios, a Colorado architecture firm focused on creating beautiful, high-performance homes that prioritize comfort, health, and sustainability. Licensed in Colorado and Washington, she is a Certified Passive House Designer and was recognized in ColoradoBiz's Colorado 500 Architects list in 2026.

From the age of 12, she was driven by a singular goal—to become an architect. This determination has shaped her journey, taking her around the world through her studies and years living in Munich, Germany.

With experience at firms of all scales, Marisol has worked on projects ranging from multi-use high-rises to custom residential. Now, she brings her passion for high-performance design to every project, creating spaces that are both innovative and sustainable.

Read on to explore her diverse background and design philosophy.

Great design responds to, and integrates with the site while meeting the client’s needs, budget, and schedule. Whether you're remodeling an existing home or starting from the ground up, we bring your vision to life with careful attention to detail and high-performance design principles.
Let’s create something exceptional—reach out for a free consultation to discuss your dream project.
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Marisol Studios is here to support your team with expert high-performance design consulting. We streamline the process by handling energy code reviews, optimizing high-performance assemblies, and recommending products that align with your project goals. Our services also include preconstruction reviews with contractors and subcontractors, drawing evaluations, performance consulting with engineers, and guidance on certification pathways.
Let’s work together to bring your vision to life—efficiently, sustainably, and seamlessly.
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A young Marisol Gallagher, Founding Principal of Marisol Studios back when she was a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity

People gathered around a counter, engaging in conversation and examining items, with a certificate and various objects on the table.

Colorado Residential Architecture

Prior to starting her own firm, Marisol was a Partner and Sustainability Manager at the award winning residential firm, Rowland+Broughton in Denver, Colorado. Through five and half years and 36 projects, Marisol’s experience ranged from Denver to Aspen, from the historic preservation of Larimer Square, to a boutique hotel in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to countless custom residential projects ranging in size from 6,000 SF to 19,000 SF.

As Sustainability Manager, Marisol worked closely with each project team to set and achieve performance goals, ensuring sustainability was prioritized from concept through construction administration. Her hands-on approach helped integrate high-performance strategies into every stage of the design process.
The U.S. climate zones range from 1 to 8, with Aspen falling in Zone 7—an extreme climate requiring careful design to minimize heating and cooling costs. With most of her projects located in this demanding environment, Marisol has developed a deep expertise in designing for energy efficiency, comfort, and resilience in cold climates.
For several residential projects, the firm served as the interior designer, allowing Marisol to collaborate closely with the team to ensure that materials and finishes met rigorous performance standards. This careful selection process prioritized indoor air quality and the health of building occupants

Architectural model of a modern high-rise building with intricate design details, placed on a display base with surrounding structures.

Large-Scale Commercial Projects

At Perkins&Will, Marisol gained valuable insight into high-rise design, science and technology facilities, healthcare, and sports, recreation and entertainment venues—all while leveraging the resources of a global firm. She was awarded two internal research grants: one to develop a performance component summary for all projects, and another to design a roadmap to a net-zero arena.

Beyond the design studio, Marisol embraced the firm’s culture, racing with their ski team, Mad Pow Disease, and playing volleyball with the rec-league, NetZero.

Whether a project is 1,500 SF or 150,000 SF, the challenge remains the same—piecing together multiple components to create a cohesive, functional, and inspiring space. Understanding the elements and constraints is just the beginning; the true art lies in arranging them to enhance the user experience.
This principle applies to projects of all sizes and has been a valuable takeaway from working on large-scale developments across the country.

A woman smiling at the camera while a man wearing a virtual reality headset interacts with her at an event. A large blue sign with white text reading 'Perkins & Will' is in the background.

Two people working together on a woodworking project in a workshop, one man using a yellow power drill while a woman assists, wearing protective goggles.

Exploring Mass Timber

During her time at atelierjones, Marisol contributed to two mass timber projects, deepening her expertise in sustainable design. With access to the firm’s active wood shop, she built exploratory models to study the integration of undulating CLT (cross-laminated timber) panels and the dynamic interplay of natural light from skylights above.

This hands-on design exploration and meticulous attention to detail became a hallmark of her approach, shaping her work throughout her career.

Physical models are a dynamic tool for quickly exploring design options and communicating ideas with clients. Using simple materials like wood and chipboard, these models are not meant to be static or untouchable—they invite hands-on engagement, allowing clients to move, add, or adjust elements to actively participate in the design process. This interactive approach ensures that the final design truly reflects their vision.

A woman with dark hair, glasses, and a black jacket standing next to a large architectural model of a building, which appears to be a modern, geometric structure made of light-colored wood.

A cluttered desk with architectural plans, a green pen, two black keyboards, a calculator, a telephone, a roll of paper, and a black marker.

German Architecture

Marisol spent a year working at Albrecht und Partner, a Munich-based architecture firm, where she honed her skills in German-language project work, the metric system, and the nine German design phases. The firm specialized in transit-support infrastructure, including train stations, hotels, rest stops, and gastronomy.

This experience introduced Marisol to the complexities of integrating corporate design standards with unique site conditions—such as adapting a historic brick barrel vault within a Berlin train station—further enriching her approach to thoughtful, context-driven design.

During her time in Munich, Marisol commuted by train every day. It wasn’t until she began working on train station projects that she truly realized the profound impact efficient design can have on thousands of commuters. When done right, the design of a transit station seamlessly blends into the daily routine, often going unnoticed by the public. But when it’s done poorly, the effects are felt by every traveler.