Josh Shelton

El Dorado

Enlivening contradictions are coded within el dorado: yes, there's the mythical city of gold, but we're also named after a gas guzzler. Our core belief — design excellence is possible anywhere, for anyone — has us saying Hell Yes! to unexpected opportunities as often as, No!, we ain't going down that dark road. We are equally as eager to upend industrial typologies as we are for ascendant collaborations with artists, bringing design integrity to low cost housing or starting critical design dialogues in rural America. Our Kansas City roots grant intimate knowledge of the strange magnetism that bridges flyover status with hard-earned belief in the possibilities of this place. The mythologies and rigor of the Midwest flow through our practice, and we see the shared ethic between the astronaut's moonshot and a farmer's buckshot. el dorado seeks opportunities for everyday alchemy and radical normalcy throughout our polarized landscape. Our work creates common ground in the middle of everywhere.