[1][2][3] Her mother was Beryl Iris Basson (1897–1970) and her father was doctor Ernest Alfred Leviseur (1890–1976).
[5] She started a small office in South Africa and worked on designing hospitals, housing complexes and commercial projects.
In 1959, when her husband got an opportunity to work as director at the London Symphony Orchestra, they decided to move to England.
She taught at the master's program at the Institute of Architecture at the University of Southern California: Art As Environment, which was established by her in 1995.
[2] Elsa served as president of the Association for Women in Architecture plus Design[6] from 1978 to 1979 and was a founding member of Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility.