Our team
EMMA RIDINGS
Emma Ridings is the Founder and Director of MAEVE Collective — and the steady creative force behind the studio’s people‑centred approach to architecture and design. With more than two decades of experience across residential, retail, mixed‑use, community and placemaking projects, she’s spent her career shaping environments that feel thoughtful, uplifting and genuinely connected to the people who use them.
As a registered architect in Queensland and New South Wales, Emma leads MAEVE with calm, grounded clarity. Her work blends strategic thinking with an intuitive feel for how places can support wellbeing, spark connection, drive adjacent impact and contribute positively to the wider community. Under her creative direction, MAEVE’s work is guided by curiosity, collaboration and a strong sense of purpose — always with an eye toward meaningful impact.
Emma deeply believes in the power of mentorship, supporting emerging designers to explore ideas, ask brave questions and grow their craft with confidence. That openness is woven through MAEVE’s studio culture, where ideas move freely, collaboration comes naturally and creativity is approached with both rigour and playfulness. At her core, Emma is driven by a simple but powerful idea: design should serve people — not the other way around — and she continues to champion work that is imaginative, grounded and beautifully human.
VALERIIA KOPEVA
Valeriia Kopeva is MAEVE’s delivery lead — the technical backbone of the studio and the driving force behind the precision, coordination and clarity that underpin MAEVE’s project delivery. With formal training in both Fine Art and Architecture, Val brings a distinctive blend of creativity and analytical thinking to the detailed world of BIM and documentation, approaching technical resolution with both rigour and an artist’s eye for nuance.
With over a decade of industry experience spanning large‑scale multi‑residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, she has developed a deep understanding of how complex buildings come together. As MAEVE’s delivery lead, Val guides our studio team and the technical direction of projects with precision and foresight — transforming design intent into coordinated, buildable solutions and continually seeking smarter workflows that elevate technical outcomes.
Collaborative by nature, she helps cultivate an environment where knowledge is shared, ideas are tested and technical excellence is continually refined. Val believes that the integrity of a project lies in the details — in the accuracy of its models, the clarity of its documentation and the intelligence of its systems. At MAEVE, she plays a pivotal role in ensuring that every project is delivered with the same care and intention with which it was conceived, bridging creativity and constructability to shape work that is both technically robust and beautifully resolved.
Careers
We are always on the look out for a range of talented and enthusiastic individuals to join our team. Please send us your portfolio and a little bit about yourself to hello@maevecollective.com.au
For details on future vacancies, keep an eye out on this page and follow us on Instagram and Linkedin.