Matthew Yashar joined Cunningham | Quill in 2020 as a Staff Designer after graduating from Virginia Tech in 2020 with a Bachelor of Architecture, a program that included a studio residency in Chicago and additional studies in Europe. Matthew is particularly interested in sustainable and organic design, and the relationship between nature and the built environment. His student thesis, which demonstrated how this relationship can be imparted to children through the design of an elementary school, was the winner of the 2020 AIA | DC Thesis Showcase.

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In his free time, Matthew is an amateur photographer, and has opened an Etsy shop to sell prints of his work. He also enjoys woodworking and ceramics - hobbies that have given him a keener understanding for the finer details of design.