Amanda Lunger wears many hats and has lived just as many lives. Recently, she was promoted to the role of Sustainability Advocate. Reflecting on her journey to this new position, Amanda sat down to discuss sustainability, career advice, and how her final studio project at the University of Oregon – a passive house affordable housing project – led to her being recruited to work at Ankrom Moisan.
Amanda outside of Ankrom Moisan’s Portland office.
Q: You were recently promoted to a sustainability role within the practice team. What can you tell me about that?
A: Well, we’ve had different groups in the office before to try and push sustainability initiatives and ensure there is adequate education about the topic, but now we’re taking the extra step of having a dedicated role that’s responsible for setting and executing goals and initiatives related to the sustainability of the firm. In this sense, I work in an overhead capacity to develop internal processes and education opportunities to further our sustainability efforts, and then also support projects as the need arises. It entails helping people set sustainability goals, research different technologies, and assisting with the selection of appropriate sustainability certification programs for projects. Eventually, I’ll assist with business development, telling the story of Ankrom Moisan’s sustainability expertise on our website and in RFPs, helping designers feel prepared to talk to clients about sustainability.
Q: What does sustainability mean to you?
A: I think to me, sustainability is recognizing the interconnectedness of all the decisions that we make as humans and understanding that those decisions have implications for all the other living things on this planet, as well as for future generations and even our future selves. Personally, my values and beliefs around sustainability are inherently tied to my spiritual beliefs, because I believe that all life has intrinsic value and that we have a moral obligation to look out for the wellbeing of all living things on this planet.
Q: What do you hope to accomplish in your new role?
A: I hope to help create and push forward a culture at Ankrom Moisan where sustainability is just part of everything we do. Many different things might have to happen to get us there, but if Ankrom Moisan can be known as a firm with expertise in sustainability, and if our staff can really feel that, then that’s a good sign of success to me.
Luckily, firm leadership has decided that this is the year to really start prioritizing sustainability. I am so excited to be a part of that effort and to help with that push while we have the momentum and support of leadership. It feels like a good time to be stepping into this role.
Q: Aside from sustainability-driven efforts, what is your favorite type of work to do? Why?
A: I really love the work I’ve done here at Ankrom Moisan with our mission-driven nonprofits. Specifically, working on affordable housing with REACH has been very rewarding because I really respect the mission of those clients. What they’re trying to do is better the lives of the people they serve.
I also enjoyed being in more of an overhead support position with the transition to BIM, and now again with my new sustainability role. I’ve realized over the course of my career that I get the greatest fulfillment from helping my coworkers and making their lives easier. I feel very appreciated in those kinds of support roles – they’re what I enjoy most.
Q: How long have you been at Ankrom Moisan?
A: I’m a boomerang employee. Initially, I worked here for two years – from 2013 to 2015 – as an architect, but then left Ankrom Moisan to work at a few other offices. I came back in February of 2019 to work as a BIM specialist because I wanted to make a lateral switch in my career. For this go around, I guess I’ve been here a full five years. I’m entering my sixth year.
Q: What brought you here?
A: This is a fun story. So, I was at the University of Oregon in my final year of the architecture program. I was doing a terminal studio, which encourages students to focus their final project on an area that’s of special interest to them. At the time I had gotten really into sustainability and passive house because of one of my professors, Professor Alison Kwok. I went through a whole intensive passive house training program and got my Certified Passive House Consultant Accreditation (CPHC). For my final studio, I was looking specifically at the applicability of passive house to affordable housing and how mission-driven nonprofits could really benefit from the deep energy savings of passive house, since they’d be able to save money on building operations and funnel those funds back into their programs for clients and the people who live in their buildings. So that’s what I designed. I picked a site in San Francisco and a fake client – a nonprofit affordable housing developer – and I ran an energy model on it, demonstrating how it could meet the passive house standard.
Isaac Johnson ended up being one of my reviewers during my final review. I was really interested in Ankrom Moisan at the time because of the work the firm was doing with affordable housing. Well, after graduation I was working with another firm when I got a call out of the blue from Isaac Johnson. He said something like “Hey, so I remember reviewing your final studio project, and we basically have that project at Ankrom Moisan now. Do you want to come work for us?” He was talking about Orchards at Orenco which is a REACH Development affordable housing project that was pursuing passive house standards, so obviously I said yes. It was really cool coming out of college and working on a project with the exact same sustainability goals that I was passionate about.
Orchards at Orenco.
Q: What was it like when you first started out?
A: We were still on Macadam. It wasn’t the nice office we have now. I remember it felt a little more hodgepodge, but also like there were distinct families within the office. I worked in the basement – there were very few of us down there. We had our own kitchen and conference room; it was like our whole world. It was a very tight-knit group of people because of that. A lot of the young professionals were also recent college graduates like me. It was really nice having that community to commiserate with and co-mentor together.
I was part of two distinct families. There was Jeff Hamilton’s team in the basement, and then there was the recent college graduate family that was spread across different project types. Elisa Zenk and Stephanie Hollar started around the same time I did and were part of that cohort. We became really close friends, along with Elisa’s now-husband who was also part of that cohort. It was a cool way to learn about stuff that was happening across the office, because Elisa would be working on student housing, Tim on something else, and Will on something completely different as well. It made us feel more connected to the firm.
There were also a lot of recreation opportunities. We had a volleyball team; we would play soccer during lunchtime out at the park. It was a great community.
Amanda with Elisa Zenk and Stephanie Hollar on the rooftop of Ankrom Moisan’s Portland office.
Q: Since starting here, how have you grown professionally?
A: My biggest area of growth has been figuring out how to collaborate with other people. You can’t just rely on yourself. You have to work with other people if you want the best results. Knowing your coworkers’ talents and who to reach out to is a very soft skill that nobody really talks about, but I think it’s so critical to the success of the work that we do. As buildings get more complex and we want to use more and more data to inform our designs, having good collaboration becomes all that much more important.
Q: Since you started here, what has the biggest change in the firm or industry been?
A: It has to be the COVID-19 pandemic. That changed the way we work and the way that we collaborate. It also changed the culture of the firm a bit. I think one of the good things that come out of it is that there’s a greater understanding of work-life balance and mental health, and a greater awareness that those things should be prioritized. Sometimes it can feel like the division between work and home doesn’t exist as much, but I think in general, we’re just more flexible about how we work.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about working here?
A: My favorite thing about working at Ankrom Moisan is the people. I’ve found the across the board, in all echelons and experience levels, in all project types and studios, we just have great people. There’s so much support from everyone, not only because of what you can do professionally, but also just because of who you are as an individual. The people I’ve worked with have been excellent coworkers who take a personal interest in you.
Q: What inspires you?
A: It’s definitely nature. I know that sounds cliché, but you won’t find any better designs that what is found in nature. Any system you’re trying to optimize has been done in nature.
My favorite natural space is probably Milo McIver State Park on the Clackamas River. My husband and I are avid disc golfers, which is probably one of the reasons I love that place so much. It’s so lush and green and has such tall trees. There’s also the river there, which is very pretty. It’s so cool to see how the flow of the Clackamas changes seasonally.
Milo McIver State Park throughout the seasons.
Q: What advice do you have for young professionals who are just starting out in their careers?
A: Don’t isolate yourself. Find your tribe. Find your support system of both other young professionals and more experienced people who you can learn from. It makes a huge difference. It helps keep you motivated and wanting to improve yourself. It also helps with mental and emotional health, knowing that you have a support person who you can grab coffee with or step outside to talk about the rough day you’re having.
Get in the habit of taking a personal interest in getting to know your coworkers. Don’t be that person who looks the other direction when you’re walking down the hallway who tries to avoid saying hello. If you’re genuinely interested in your coworkers, it’s a lot easier to pick up the phone and call them about something or send them a random message on Teams. It can even become something that you look forward to if you have coworkers that you enjoy chatting with.
Lastly, I would say, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Nobody is expecting you to be an expert. Take advantage of that by asking questions and learning from people.
By Jack Cochran, Marketing Coordinator
Dave Heater Receives the 2023 Vistage Lifetime Achievement Award
Dave Heater has been a member of Vistage, an executive coaching organization for CEOs and key executives, since 2016—the same year he became President of Ankrom Moisan.
This year he was selected as the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award, an award celebrating visionary leaders who embody Vistage values.
Dave’s achievement lies in having fostered very high client retention and employee satisfaction rates. His 100% ownership ESOP plan fosters team morale and prosperity, and he aspires to double the company’s size in four west coast offices. Leveraging diverse industries like housing, hospitality, senior, office, and healthcare, Dave ensures steady clientele and abundant design prospects.
“One of the things I am most proud of is establishing a vision for our company. A vision that includes our driving purpose, where we are going and how we all need to work together as a team to achieve that vision.”
Learn more about our vision here.
Dave with AM founders, Tom Moisan and Stewart Ankrom | Dave at the 2022 AM Holiday Party
Watch Dave’s acceptance video here.
More about the 2023 Vistage Awards here.
Employee Spotlight: Dani Murphy
When it comes to fostering inclusivity and community, Dani Murphy knows the significance of a welcoming culture firsthand. Though she is still fairly new to Ankrom Moisan (she just celebrated her one-year work anniversary in November), Dani has quickly become a cornerstone for the firm’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) and culture efforts, making significant strides to ensure that everyone in the firm feels welcomed, accepted, and appreciated.
Dani on the roof of Ankrom Moisan’s Portland office.
She wasn’t always involved with DEIB initiatives, though. Born and raised in Irvine, California, Dani graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with a degree in Political Science. Now, she’s an HR Data and Systems Analyst. “I came into this field a couple of jobs back, purely from an analytical standpoint. I was asked to partner with the newly established DEIB team, and they asked me to do some analytics for them to report back to leadership,” Dani explained. “That’s kind of how I got interested in this field. I’ve slowly pivoted to DEIB programming since then.”
It’s been a great match so far, as DEIB programming is relatively new, according to Dani. “It isn’t something that’s been around forever, but it’s very, very important when creating an effective organizational culture.”
Since these programs are people-focused, it’s no surprise that Dani encourages planning and organizing them by starting with the people that make up Ankrom Moisan’s team members. “It all comes together mainly by communicating with people around the office, hearing from them and discovering something they want to learn more about,” Dani said. She stressed the significance of listening to coworkers, stating that “there’s no one-size-fits-all for programming. It’s all pretty specific to the people who make up the company. Figuring out what works and what doesn’t is half of the [struggle]. When it all comes together and works, I feel extremely accomplished.”
Dani and the rest of the DEIB Council on the roof of Ankrom Moisan’s Portland office.
Through her many conversations with her Ankrom Moisan coworkers, Dani came to realize that people are “far more dynamic than who they are in the workplace.” She credited Principal-in-Charge Laurie Linville-Gregston and Senior HR Business Partner Charlene Brown as being the inspiration for that epiphany, explaining how she discovered that Laurie is a beekeeper who jars her own honey, and that Charlene rides a motorcycle. “I was like, oh wow, those are cool facts. I want to know more!” she said.
Dani organized an event for Ankrom Moisan employees to show off their hidden talents and be their authentic selves, remarking that “there’s a lot of amazing people here, but I haven’t even met like a third of them. Who knows what other secrets and hidden talents lay out there?”
The Women’s Walk event started off as a way to highlight the unique achievements and hidden talents of the women at Ankrom Moisan by walking around the office and speaking with them about their work and passions.
2023 Women’s Walk event.
The first AM Women’s Walk event was a major success. “There are some amazing things that were brought in. We work in a very creative industry, so it’s no surprise that there are a lot of great artists working alongside us,” Dani remarked. “Who knows if that’s what the event will be like in the future. It might be the same, it might be different, but the act of getting people together and showcasing a little bit more about who they are, I think that’s really something special to continue.” Alongside planning the Women’s Walk, Dani also contributed to the success of Ankrom Moisan’s Women’s Month programming, organizing the Women Rising Panel that featured five incredible female leaders from across the architecture, engineering, and construction industry.
Guest speakers at the 2023 Women Rising Panel.
The Women Rising Panel aimed to provide perspective about the lived experience of being a woman in a leadership role in a male-dominated industry, and gave Ankrom Moisan Employees a chance to as these women questions, as it’s not very often we can hear from voices like these in a non-work environment. To make the event even more impactful, Dani did hours of research beforehand to formulate the most thought-provoking questions for the women on the panel. The composition of the panel was thought out and unique – Dani wanted to make sure that the women we heard from were not limited to being CEOs, presidents, or executives. In Dani’s eyes, it was integral to include all levels of leadership, because being a leader manifests in many ways, whether it’s for an entire company or a single team. Overall, the event was a huge success. The women who participated as members of the panel left celebrating the inclusive sense of camaraderie that they felt with one another.
Dani emphasized the immense importance of inclusivity in this sense, declaring that “when people feel comfortable and valued and heard, they’re able to be their authentic selves. Getting to know someone’s authentic self is very rewarding.” Furthermore, when people feel they can be themselves, they are more likely to share their true thoughts and opinions, leading to a greater sense of belonging within the company. As Dani puts it, “we need to understand each other and what we all value in order to create something that is worthwhile for all of us.”
“From a company standpoint, it makes so much sense to support initiatives [and programming like the Women’s Walk],” Dani continued. “When people feel that sense of community and inclusion at work especially, it has been shown to lead to higher levels of performance improvement, of retention, and it attracts candidates when prospective employees see that a company is dedicated to getting diverse groups of people together and making them feel included and supported; it just naturally builds community.”
To further bolster the supportive company culture of inclusion, community, and diversity, Dani sat down with Ankrom Moisan President Dave Heater during Pride Month to candidly discuss how his identity as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community has influenced and impacted his career in architecture. “It’s valuable to hear the wisdom of someone who is part of the LGBTQIA+ community and successful in this industry,” Dani explained. “It’s very similar to the Women in Leadership panel. It’s not easy to be vulnerable about the issues that affect marginalized communities in this field.”
This effort connects to Ankrom’s HOWs in the sense that by supporting and encouraging people to be their authentic selves and share their thoughts and opinions openly, Ankrom Moisan Employees are empowered to explore beyond the expected and make our firm the best place to work.
At the end of the day, Dani believes the people are the best thing about working at Ankrom Moisan. “We have a group of very passionate and creative people, and the more I talk to and meet these people, the more I realize how much [events and programming like] this means to some of them,” she stated.
Extremely modest about the depth of her involvement with the DEIB Council, Dani emphasizes how it’s never a one-person effort. “I want to hear input and create something meaningful for everyone,” she said. “I can help do it and help push [programming] in the right direction to make sure things get done, but at the end of the day it’s a group effort. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Dani’s work extends past programming and into extracurriculars. Events like Women’s Month or Hispanic Heritage Month – which honored the existing community of Hispanic and Latino people at Ankrom Moisan by discussing how their background influences their work, and by celebrating their respective cultures through the rich, shared tradition of empanadas – are just one piece of the pie when it comes to the organizational culture Dani champions. If she can’t plan an event or put together programming, Dani does her best to compile a list of resources to help educate and celebrate any cultural celebration, from Black History Month to Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. These lists often include book, movie, and podcast recommendations, museum exhibits and other local events to attend, and minority-owned businesses to support, among other volunteer opportunities.
“There’s a ton of different initiatives and policies that the DEIB Council is going to be focusing on,” Dani revealed. “There are educational and volunteering opportunities, both of which connect us to the community at large. There are a ton of avenues for education.” That’s really what Dani’s position is all about: providing her coworkers with ample resources and opportunities to be themselves, embrace their passions, learn more about topics that pique their interest, connect with others, and show off the hidden talents that make them unique.
As for Dani herself, her hidden talents are her athleticism, artistry, culinary skills, and green thumb. During the pandemic, she punch needled an 8-piece solar system that she showed off at the AM Women’s Walk. “At the time it was a combination of what I was most interested in; space and punch needling,” she shared.
Dani with her punch needle solar system at the Women’s Walk.
It’s clear that Dani’s efforts as both an individual and as a member of the DEIB Council make her a cornerstone of Ankrom Moisan’s company culture. She is always eager to meet new people, listen to their thoughts and feelings, and lift them up in ways that continue to make Ankrom Moisan the best place to work. After all, in her own words, it’s the people that make this place so great.
by Jack Cochran, Marketing Coordinator
Summer Travel
The summer has wrapped, and wintery weather has found us once again. Our Workplace team had some interesting travels this summer, and they’ve recalled some of their favorite summer travel design inspiration.
Clare Goddard, Senior Associate
Q: What was the most compelling design you saw?
A: The beauty of what nature has designed. From Gifford Pinchot to Sisters, OR to Rocky Mountain National Park, from lakes to mountains to tundra and trees, our natural world is so filled with beauty. Beauty that is not perfect or repetitive, that takes you out of the mundane of the day-to-day to appreciate the here and now.
Q: How did elements from these new locations translate into your design work?
A: That not everything has to be perfect and that those elements of surprise are what set a design apart from the boring.
Q: If you worked remotely while on your trip how & where did you work (desk, cafe, balcony with an ocean view, etc.)?
A: I worked from the kitchen table in Sisters, OR and from my in-laws home office in Colorado. No views, but really nice to be able to wrap up work for the day and go on a hike or to take Millie on a different evening walk 😊.
Kay Bates, Interior Designer
Q: What was the most compelling design you saw?
A: I went to Charlotte, NC for a friend’s wedding. One of the days, my friends and I visited Camp North End. This space has deep history. In 1924, its first intention was for a Ford Motor Company factory. During World War II, the site added 5 massive warehouses to store supplies for soldiers at basic training camps throughout all the southeast. When the Cold War hit, the site’s primary production moved to missile development. Once national threats neutralized, the complex was then sold to a pharmaceutical company. Then in 2017, the 76-acre lot was purchased and opened to the public where 500+ artists, startups, chefs, retail, and cultural festivities now home in this community to express their creativity and collaboration.
Q: How did elements from these new locations translate into your design work?
A: One of the main reasons why I love this industry is because you can truly bring a community together through design. It was a huge inspiration to me to see such a wide range of demographics in one space. There was something for everyone to enjoy. There was a sense of community. Elements from here I can translate into design work would be creating a safe space where communities help each other out instead of a “every-man-for-themselves” mentality. I also admire how they kept many features of the original history while modernizing it for today’s audience.
Q: If you worked remotely while on your trip how & where did you work (desk, cafe, balcony with an ocean view, etc.)?
A: I stopped in Atlanta before going to Charlotte and did work from home. I stayed at my parents’ place, and they set me up in my childhood bedroom, which was strange to be back in. We did not have a second monitor, so my mom brought a huge 50” TV I then connected my laptop to. It was super sweet and throughout my workday she would pop her head in and bring me food. Nothing beats a mother’s love. 😊
Aaren DeHaas, Associate Interior Designer
Q: What was the most compelling design you saw?
A: The most captivating design elements I saw while in Italy were the seamless balance of new and old elements and the intricate details that were used to create such giant marvels. With such a long and rich history there are so many layers to every aspect of the country, everything from its architecture to the customs are influenced by generation after generation of change and growth.
Q: How did elements from these new locations translate into your design work?
A: One thing this trip reminded me of is how important the details truly are in design. The design as a whole will catch people’s eyes and cause intrigue, but it’s the details that are created up close that hold the attention and make things much more exciting and unique. It’s also important to remember to work with what you have. New, cutting-edge design can be exciting but there are so many stunning creations and forms that have been around for centuries, you don’t always have to reinvent the wheel. A place’s history is something to be cherished and celebrated, bringing in elements that speak to the history of your project will only make it that much more special in the end.
Jessica Kirshner, Associate Interior Designer
Q: What was the most compelling design you saw?
A: Chicago is such a fun city to live in, especially as an interior designer. I always stop myself or my friends from admiring the greystones, retro style, gothic revival, etc. To be able to surround yourself with design inspiration every day is a game changer.
Q: How did elements from these new locations translate into your design work?
A: Overall, the architecture in Chicago sets a very different tone than what I’m previously used to in Portland. On any given day you can explore multiple different neighborhoods and see completely different styles. This wide range of architectural styles has begun to heavily influence my personal design style. I can appreciate the historical aspects of building and want to pull those elements into a project while creating a more modern and suitable design that will fit our client’s needs.
Q: If you worked remotely while on your trip how & where did you work (desk, cafe, balcony with an ocean view, etc.)?
A: I am now fully remote working out of my apartment, with AM allowing us to explore a more hybrid approach to our working style this created an easy transition. It doesn’t hurt that I have a gorgeous view of the city from my apartment as well!!
Emily Feicht, Interior Designer
Q: What was the most compelling design you saw?
A: I was really intrigued by the varieties of scale that I saw in Nashville, the lighting design and signage on the main road was incredibly unique, and how the city integrates the new and the old so seamlessly. Also, there is a “stage” everywhere, even at the airport and the botanical gardens, the vignettes of performance space were remarkably interesting.
Q: How did elements from these new locations translate into your design work?
A: Nashville is such a fun and lively place, it is encouraging to see designs that could be considered too kitschy, but this city reminds you if it is bright and entertaining, even over-the-top it has personality. I would like to nickname this the “Dolly Parton approach.” Especially because I went twice to the Dolly Parton-themed bar, and that had personality down to the drink garnishes and the beer taps.
Q: If you worked remotely while on your trip how & where did you work (desk, cafe, balcony with an ocean view, etc.)?
A: Many people outside of the interior design industry are unfamiliar with the opportunity that we get to go on factory tours to tile, furniture, flooring, lighting, etc. manufacturers to learn more about their products. The second part of my trip was focused on Crossville Tile, in Crossville, TN where we learned about their tile manufacturing process and sustainability initiatives. So, while I was not on my laptop, I was out in the field spending time with other designers for continuing education and in an educational environment. These trips are a great way to make connections with designers both in Portland and around the US.
Beth Mahan, Interior Designer
Q: What was the most compelling design you saw?
A: Design?! It was all about the food!! We were staying in Geneva, Switzerland, for the summer, and did a day trip with friends to the north end of the lake where we visited Le Corbusier’s Villa “Le Lac.” It was the summer home he built for his parents, right at the water’s edge; narrow and streamlined with an open floor plan, one of the first examples of ribbon windows, and beautifully framed views. It was extremely innovative and has stood the test of time.
Additionally, we visited the EPFL University campus, a prestigious university in Switzerland, with a campus full of famous architecture. My favorite was the Rolex Learning Center with its cascading design, sweeping over and around the user, through its organic forms and sloped interiors.
Q: How did elements from these new locations translate into your design work?
A: Working in healthcare we don’t have a lot of opportunities to take creative risks, however it’s always important to remember that we can include moments of intrigue and interest. While there isn’t a direct correlation between what we visited and my current design work, the inspiration is always welcome.
Q: If you worked remotely while on your trip how & where did you work (desk, cafe, balcony with an ocean view, etc.)?
A: I worked remotely while we were abroad, based out of my husband’s apartment in Geneva. Luckily, it meant I could set up my workstation and leave it intact, whereas when we travel and work out of hotels it can be laborious to get yourself set up each day and find a good workspace that is not going to leave you with shoulder pain. My recommendation is finding the pillows you need to get yourself at the correct seated height, and I always travel with an external monitor so I can have two screens. Two screens are a must! And there are lots of options for lightweight travel monitors. Otherwise, of course a nice view and a pleasant breeze are a bonus! The other tricky part when you are working and traveling is getting food for the day, so if you can find a hotel with a mini fridge that helps. And then of course identify your favorite croissant and espresso spot.
Getting a Parent’s Perspective on Student Housing
2023 has been a big year for Matt Janssen. With his youngest leaving for college, it was the first year both of his kids were out of the house. What’s more, they both moved into student housing projects that Ankrom Moisan designed.
Matt, a Design Principal at AM, recently sat down and talked to us about what it was like to view these projects from a fresh, and intimate, perspective—as a parent of a resident.
Q: Over the summer you moved your son into Union on Broadway. What was that experience like?
A: Walking into an Ankrom Moisan project I’ve worked on is always special, but this visit was especially meaningful. As we entered Union on Broadway, I remember we gave each other anxious looks. Here he was, a University of Oregon freshman who had just been given a job on the Duck football team and was now moving out of the house to live alone for the first time in his life. He was nervous. I was even more nervous.
Union on Broadway
Q: What were you thinking then?
A: I recall thinking about all the aspects of the design that I hoped he would get to enjoy. As we walked through the amenity space on the twelfth floor, I wondered if he had brought a swimsuit to use the hot tub after his long days at Autzen Stadium. As I watched him get settled in his new studio apartment, I noticed his anxiety quickly being replaced by excitement, and I knew this was the perfect place for him to begin his next chapter.
Matt and his son at Union on Broadway
Q: And just a few months later your eldest moved into The Standard at Seattle. That was a significant project for you, wasn’t it?
A: Yes. I started designing The Standard at Seattle, the largest project of my architectural career, in the fall of 2018. A new client, Landmark Properties, had asked AM to design a comprehensive student housing community in Seattle’s U-District, next to the University of Washington. It was a really exciting opportunity.
Q: What was it like to not only see it completed but to also get to move one of your children into the community?
A: Almost exactly five years after starting the project, I got to walk through the heart of the project—an urban mid-block pedestrian corridor that weaves between the twin 25-story towers—with my eldest. That was a special moment. I had seen that view of the project so many times before, but only through virtual reality glasses in our office.
The Standard at Seattle
This is their last year at the University of Washington and their first time living off campus. A myriad of people helped us get everything up to the apartment and I remember after they left we all just looked at each other. “This place is incredible!” That made me smile and feel good that this was going to be the perfect ending to a wonderful University of Washington experience.
Matt and his family at The Standard at Seattle
By Matt Janssen, Design Principal
Defining Our Vision and Values: Part 2
This is part of a series of the origin of Ankrom Moisan’s mission, vision and values. Read Part 1 here.
During the Great Recession we began a decade-long deep dive to define and refine AM’s mission, vision, and values. A diverse mix of leadership and all offices and departments embarked upon the pivotal retreat in 2018. From there, smaller groups met to filter through the stories and uncover our shared values or “Hows”. Along the way, small groups engaged in the Why and How sessions telling stories to show how they were individually connected to the firm’s greater purpose.
According to Simon Sinek’s process of finding your Why, Hows aren’t aspirational. Rather, they are how you behave on your best day, and what you wish to do more of in pursuit of your Why / greater purpose. These action words needed to be grounded in the behaviors that make us great and occur often.
Throughout 2018 a representative group of twelve from the initial retreat kept meeting over and over to sift through all the stories and values both old and new to determine what really represented Ankrom Moisan at our best and the behaviors we most wanted to replicate each day. Each meeting involved telling each other stories that represented the words that were emerging as our How’s. If there weren’t enough stories then the word or value was left behind or merged with another idea that was supported by past examples. There were too many words at first, and our intention was to fine-tune the list until just five values remained. Over time it became evident that in the shared stories were core themes, and these themes became the criteria for defining our values: they ought to represent how to behave, and they must be actionable. We were able to narrow our shared values down to six.
Lead with our heart. Share openly. Embrace change. Have fun with it. Be yourself. Trust.
Jason Roberts, a Managing Design Principal that participated in the How sessions, shares his recollection, “The group word-play exercises and stories were so much fun, there was tons of whiteboard writing, scratching off, editing down, and we’d come back and realize we missed something, and continue to fine-tune it all. And despite the number of people involved, the challenge of defining words and phrases that includes everyone was successful. The results really do speak to how we do our work together.”
The next step was to engage everyone at the firm – how to do that? We came up with multiple ways, from all office meetings to small group discussions. In every meeting the participants would tell two-minute stories to each other, to make connections to our Hows and our Why:
Inspire and empower people to explore beyond the expected.
The meetings included a five-hour deep dive where groups were led through a mini Why retreat, to 1-hour lunchtime activities, to Management Team listening sessions, to fun games like building gingerbread houses that represented one of our Hows. During most of these gatherings people got into groups of six, with President Dave Heater who asked the participants to, “Tell a story about a time you felt inspired to explore beyond the expected.” Then an elected spokesperson would relay their Why or how story back in the larger assembly. The raw reactions of leadership hearing these poignant details was powerful. These shared vignettes solidified our commonalities, broke our hearts open and emphasized how we were a community, and how we inspired one another.
According to Jenna Mogstad, Associate Interior Designer, who participated in a few of the early sessions, the group would go around the room and each person would share an anecdote of how the values applied to their own lives; how AM is living up to the stated mission, purpose, and values. During one round, participants gave examples of how leadership supported them personally, which speaks directly to lead with our heart. Jenna shared that over the course of the time she had been at AM, leadership had supported her through multiple family emergencies. She could tell leadership about these challenges and was always met with compassion, and told to ‘go home, be well, we got this, don’t worry about work’. Her supervisors have been incredibly supportive during these personal challenges. As Jennifer Sobieraj Sanin, Managing Design Principal, affirms, “We care about each other that much.” These powerful stories resonated. We were creating shared connections and experiences that deepened our understanding of AM’s place in the world.
Approaching embrace change, as Jennifer puts it, “We are about listening and solving in a unique way, and we don’t treat the design like a precious thing. When we embrace change, one can solve in different ways, and offer creative alternatives.” On top of that, Jennifer continues, at AM “we’re all a little quirky, and accepting of people’s eccentricities and what makes them awesome.”
Be yourself is a tenet that we encourage because those eccentricities are often what make our designs and work stand out. Jason shares a situation where be yourself shined through in a real way. He once came away from a client meeting bothered by something that the client wanted, thinking, “this is the worst!” It was the sort of thing he couldn’t work with, and with Stewart Ankrom’s blessing he was able to back out of a project that he didn’t believe in. At AM we encourage people to stay true to themselves, and we support one another, especially when it matters the most.
Identifying with share openly, Jason does so in his role as Managing Design Principal, “to not only do design work, but to talk about it and to share with coworkers – the more we share, the better it gets. Isolation can be inefficient, and I think work is best when more people are involved. Have fun with it goes right into that; fun is important to creative work.” Furthermore, “Trust is always important, the need for it goes through all channels, and AM trusts me, so I try to do my best. As a team leader I need to make sure I’m trustworthy – there are always going to be issues, and trust wins the day. The Hows wrap together, they are interdependent, and we must always work at it.” That our Hows have this quality of interdependence speaks to how interconnected we are; our values surfaced through the narratives that we all could relate to. We are all works in progress, and we apply our Hows to continue to improve and grow.
Jenna shares that, “it’s cool to see the people of AM make up our Why and Hows; we are the embodiment of each of these values, each person has an example of an experience that backs that up.” Over time we observed that we tend to go the extra length to hire the people who personify our Why and Hows, that our people match the culture that we have created.
by Kerstyn Smith Olson, Content Coordinator
Ankrom Moisan’s Mission and the Emergence of Our Why: Part 1
This is part of a series on the origin of Ankrom Moisan’s mission and vision, our purpose for doing what we do, and the values by which we work. Read Part 2 here.
During the Great Recession work was very slow, and our founder Stewart Ankrom retired. With time and transitional change, we found ourselves looking inward, contemplating our purpose and what makes us unique. Tom Moisan, a founder and the president, held a fall retreat to better determine what we stand for, and where we wanted to go.
This retreat was the beginning of a more than decade-long journey to capture the collective values that make our firm a great place to work. Tom and seven managing principals met over and over to put words on the wall, defining and refining their deeper meanings, especially: “listening”, “learning, and “empowerment’. From these early sessions, a working list of seven values and our mission (our What) emerged:
We design places where people and communities thrive.
Between 2014 – 2017 we saw high growth, and we were using our values and our mission as a touchstone to orient new employees and attract new clientele. During that time Tom Moisan, our second founder retired, and Dave Heater, Managing Principal of the Seattle office, stepped into the role of President. With the fast and furious growth came the realization that Ankrom Moisan needed to relook at the mission and values and see if they truly communicated the vision and direction of the firm.
Around this time President Dave Heater read the book Find Your Why by Simon Sinek; “As I started reading the book, I got so excited because I realized that it was a process that was based on storytelling. And I thought, ‘This is the perfect process for Ankrom Moisan to uncover what is at our core, what is our driving purpose, and what makes us unique in the world.’”
We began the Why process in 2018, with thirty of us participating in a two-day retreat. We were a mix of leaders, designers, marketing, and accounting staff: a large cross section of the firm. The process began with an emphasis on storytelling and each person defining their own personal WHY for their life. Stories illuminated motivation, inspiration, and perseverance. The Why statement is meant to bring awareness to “why we get out of bed to come to Ankrom Moisan each day”. Rich, meaningful, personal stories were revealed throughout the retreat, and everyone left feeling energized and uplifted.
As one of the leaders participating in the retreat, Jennifer Sobieraj Sanin, Managing Design Principal, marvels that, “it’s incredible that a large group of people sharing stories of experiences at the firm were finding commonalities while crafting the Why. Usually, it takes two years to do anything, and this was successful in two days.” The Why we came away with during that retreat was unanimously agreed upon:
Inspire and empower people to explore beyond the expected.
Nandita Kamath, Associate Architect, has been with us for over a decade, and she participated in the larger listening sessions as well as some of the smaller workshops over the years. She adds another benefit of the sharing and storytelling, “It was great to hear others’ experiences about starting at AM, and what was great about coming into the firm. It gave us a chance to reflect on why we are here, doing what we’re doing. It has been an inclusive experience.”
Among the stories told were general themes of coworkers having each other’s backs, shared memes and uplifting messages while facing stressful deadlines. Having a good time, encouraging each other when needed, and being respectful of each other’s lives show that mutual support and camaraderie really stand out as reliable methods of empowering and inspiring each other. Nandita shares that the Why comes up regularly in her day-to-day work, and though it can be tough to put into practice, mentorship is a great example of putting the Why into play, as the benefits of mentorship, ideally, can go both ways. It is an ongoing opportunity to have an introspective look at how we operate.
Jennifer says that to inspire and empower as a leader is more top-of-mind, and that it’s about making sure you play to people’s strengths, ensuring that they are in a place to succeed, and finding ways to remove obstacles for more confidence and autonomy as needed. And on the client-facing side of things, “it’s often about encouraging your clients to not ‘rinse and repeat’. Let’s try something new, a little different, out of the box.”
Our Why continues to resonate, and is present in our everyday work, while interacting with our clients and our coworkers. We are pushed to go further and be better by living by the mission and the Why we have defined for ourselves.
by Kerstyn Smith Olson, Content Coordinator
An Interview with the Oregon Chapter’s 2022-2023 IIDA President, Clare Goddard
I sat down with Clare Goddard, now Past President of the IIDA Oregon Chapter to hear about her reflections on the 2022-2023 Board year.
Q: What has been the most rewarding part about being IIDA President?
A: I am going to miss the chapter leader conferences. There’s something so powerful about connecting with other IIDA leaders across the region and the US and being able to commiserate or learn from them (or just make new friends). Even though you don’t get a weekend, I always come back feeling excited to tackle a new challenge.
For my term as President, I think the most rewarding part was being a catalyst for change in how the board operates. Having the board willing to not continue with the status quo and embrace change was exciting; not only because it lifted a huge weight off my shoulders, but I feel I was able to make my mark on the IIDA Oregon chapter.
I also credit IIDA with keeping me sane and connected when we were all remote – especially during lockdown. Being a part of IIDA and having an outlet outside of work helped to fill my cup and to build my network. I am truly so grateful to be part of this design community.
Q: What would be your best tip for balancing or prioritizing IIDA and work, life, etc.?
A: I’ve always had a very clear division between my work and my home life, and those boundaries really helped me in my presidency as well. I had to be aware of my To Do List- I had to get detailed and ask myself what I can accomplish today. What can I realistically accomplish this week? And how am I going to divide that up?
I also set strict hours for myself – capping Ankrom work at 40 (no overtime) and trying to do IIDA work after dinner or on the weekends. I really had to focus on prioritizing and stick to those priorities.
I think there were sometimes when there was not always the balance that I would have liked between work, IIDA and personal life. In the end though, I was able to find that harmony – and harmony to me is such a better word than balance because balance to me is like one side is always winning and there is more effort in just making them equal. Harmony means that you’ve found some way to make both your personal and your professional life work together and neither one is weighted.
I was also incredibly lucky in my presidency to be able to work 100% remotely from home. That has also allowed me to be more flexible and to be better able to create that harmony. Flexibility is key- being able to make my schedule work for myself.
Q: What has been the most challenging experience during your presidency?
A: It was the first six months of my presidency before I took a step back and asked the question “why”. Why did we operate the way we operated?
At that time, I was so overwhelmed and felt like I was letting everyone in my life down because I was stretched so thin and felt like I was not making a difference – that I was just trying to keep my head above water. I was just going from event to event, from meeting to meeting and not really accomplishing anything. And then I just had this moment where I realized, I was the president and could make a change to improve how we operated and the president’s role in general. That I could change it, and that I needed to change it. I immediately felt a sense of calm and empowerment. How can we make the Presidency better, how can we make the Directors’ positions better? Giving everyone – including me – a sense of agency to give back to our design community in a more thoughtful way.
Q: What have you learned while being the IIDA President, skills or experiences, that transfer to your work or have helped you grow in your role here at Ankrom and then specifically on our Workplace team?
A: The biggest thing being IIDA President has helped me with is delegation. I realized that I could lean more on my team and that I do not have to do it all. I also got to use my business degree – so reusing a skill that had been gathering dust – since running an IIDA chapter is like running a small business. In running that small business and planning multiple events, I was also able to practice my project management skills.
The other skill I got to work on was networking and relationship management. As IIDA President – attending both local and national events – I am the face of interior design for the state of Oregon (as our mission statement says). Therefore, when I am at these events, I need to network and act accordingly to make sure that I’m supporting sponsor relations, board member relations, and in general making sure I am representing the organization to the best of my abilities. And I think that’s directly applicable to my role at Ankrom, that when I am at work events or gatherings, I am a representative for Ankrom.
Q: How are you, your partner, and your dog going to unwind after finishing this year?
A: We have already taken and planned a few trips to get more quality time together! We took our girl Millie (dog daughter) on her first camping trip a few weeks ago – Millie even SUP’d for the first time. And then in October after the Design Excellence Awards are done, Jacob (partner) and I booked a week trip to Sedona, AZ. We haven’t been on a long trip since I became President, so we’re going to take a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon, go hiking, mountain biking, go to a spa, enjoy some wineries, and eat some yummy food.
Also, since I will now have free time, Jacob bought me ceramics lessons at a local pottery studio. I am excited to pretend I am on The Great Pottery Throw Down!
Thank you, Clare, for an amazing year- I’ve loved watching you be the President with such grace and honesty, both as a colleague and as an IIDA board member!
Clare Goddard, Senior Associate Interior Designer
Emily Feicht, Interior Designer
Getting Involved in the Interior Design Industry
Three members of our interiors department, Roberta Pennington, Clare Goddard and Jessica Kirshner, discuss their experience with the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) and how their involvement in the organization has propelled their professional careers.
Left to right: Jessica Kirshner, Maddy Gorman, Clare Goddard, Roberta Pennington, and Jenna Mogstad at an IIDA event
Q: What’s your experience with IIDA? How were you involved?
Roberta: I have been an IIDA member since graduating (the second time) in 2001. My first event was an awards breakfast at the Governor Hotel in PDX also in 2001; I didn’t know anyone, but the Members were super friendly and welcoming.
I attended MANY events consequently then stepped up my volunteer time to the Board in 2009. I dove into the President Elect role during a time when Members, including myself, did not have jobs. IIDA gave me the stability and connection I was missing during the year I was unemployed.
After my Presidency, I stayed on as a Chapter Advisor and most recently came back to serve on the Board with the Advocacy team. I’ve been involved in one way or another with finding legal recognition for commercial interior design in Oregon since 2003, and I want to continue to be a part of the momentum gaining speed nationally. It’s an exciting time for interior designers on the legal front.
Clare: I have been involved on the board for a little under 5 years (started October of 2018) first as the VP of Communications and then moved into President-Elect/President/Past President roles.
Jessica: I started with IIDA in college, I was on the student board as the fundraising chair. Once I graduated and was hired on full time at AM, I joined the Oregon Chapter Board as the Director of Social Media and I have held this position for the past 2 years.
Q: How did membership in IIDA benefit you professionally?
Roberta: Networking! I can go anywhere locally and nationally, and a complete network of design leaders are available to tap.
I became much more active during the Recession in 2009 when I stepped up to be President-Elect. The network of people on the Board were instrumental in getting my name to the top of a list of persons to hire when firms were not hiring. I’m very grateful to this group.
I also got to know women in the profession who were and still are my mentors and friends. Their experiences showed me having a child does not mean the end of my career. Women don’t have to “act like a man” to be taken serious. Speaking my mind does not make me a “bitch.” AND: I’m a very entertaining public speaker. Very liberating.
Clare: Prior to joining the board (and when I was in San Diego), I credit IIDA with connecting me to potential employers and creating a sense of community in a city where I knew no one. Joining the board here in Oregon has greatly improved my leadership and delegation skills. It has also helped me to create a sense of community here in Portland, beyond AM. I consider it a privilege to have served this design community on the board in helping to be the face of interior design for the state of Oregon. Being part of the board, in any capacity, is how I give back to the profession that I am so passionate about.
Jessica: I have been able to attend countless events that have both inspired me and helped me professionally. These ranged from forums to socials. Each event hitting on a different and important topic in our industry. It has also been a great networking opportunity that has allowed me to connect with people I wouldn’t have met otherwise.
Q: What’s your most memorable moment from your time in IIDA?
Roberta: A standing ovation at the Annual Celebration 2010 at Ziba. I delivered my incoming President speech. I wasn’t sure I was coming in with the right message; that being “We’re not dead; we will get thru this Recession somehow.” When the room of people stood up, clapped, and cheered, I knew I was going to be okay. The CEO of IIDA National was there and told me she would never go on after me again. A real head-swelling moment.
Clare: That has to be the CLCs (Chapter Leaders Conferences) held in Chicago and regionally. I love getting to connect with leaders from other chapters across the US! It was amazing to learn from others and to make new friends. The CLCs will be what I miss the most post-presidency.
Jessica: I don’t necessarily have a specific moment but getting to serve on board with such amazing people has been so motivating. It’s helped me to grow in so many ways. I’m so thankful to have been on the board.
Q: How did AM support your involvement?
Roberta: In my Board involvement, AM has reimbursed annual dues as well as allocated time for volunteering. My current role as VP of Advocacy means I’m spending time meeting with committees, legislators, consultants, and peers often. I can keep my PTO for actual vacation time.
AM has also been an annual sponsor to the Chapter every year an employee has served on the Board. That sponsorship is instrumental in keeping the Chapter going.
Leadership has also written letters to legislators during recent pushes for legal recognition of interior design. This small act shows the value AM places on my education, experience, the NCIDQ, and what I bring to the table as a commercial interior designer.
Clare: AM is one of the more supportive firms in the state. They not only encourage employees to be on the board, but back up that support by paying for IIDA membership and providing 2 paid hours per week for board tasks for those serving on the board. I count myself very lucky to have such a supportive firm.
Also, I think because of that support, Ankrom has had consistently the highest number of people serving on the board (this past year, there were five AM’ers on the board). We always joke that House Ankrom is taking over. Additionally, not only has AM supported individual board members, but they have also lent us the office for multiple board retreats and board events.
Jessica: AM was completely supportive throughout my time on the board, as well as everyone else in the interiors department who was on the board. The interiors leadership team encouraged us to attend IIDA meetings and events and would even show up to events in support.
Discussing Pride with Dave Heater
AM President Dave Heater talks to Dani Murphy about Pride.
Get to Know the AM Student Housing Team
Two of our Student Housing studio leaders, Alissa Brandt and Matt Janssen, give us insight into the unique joys and challenges of designing student housing. They touch on Gen Z expectations, trend forecasting, sources of inspiration and what’s next for student housing.
Alissa Brandt, Interior Designer, VP of Interiors
Q: What do you like best about designing student housing?
A: This particular market is always evolving based on what is happening in the world and how these influences affect them personally. The research is fascinating; students’ wants and needs are highly reflective of the current economic trends, environmental challenges, and social justice structure of their communities. They are pushing back on the status quo and are committed to making a difference for themselves and for others. They demand sustainability, are financially savvy and want real authentic design, not products that mimic the real thing and they are so open–minded and fluid.
Verve Bloomington
Q: What’s something that has you excited about future work in this sector? What trends are you seeing?
A: Design remains on the cusp of what is next. Gen Z doesn’t want what everyone else has, they want what comes next. They are clever and creative and so multi-experiential.Designing for Gen Z requires you to consider all of the possible ways different people may do the same thing and tailor a design to allow each person to embrace spaces as their own. It is about creating opportunities for connection, engaged active behavior, solo thoughtful work, and everything in between for EACH person. One size does not fit all, and their lifestyles require flexibility be built into their environment. Wellness is a major consideration in designing for Gen Z. This generation prioritizes the need to take care of themselves, they crave access to nature, and they think about their health holistically not just physical wellness, but emotional, spiritual, and psychological well-being are all equally important.
Q: What’s uniquely challenging about designing student housing?
A: The obvious answer is timing. Everything revolves around the opening date. You simply don’t have any flexibly in delivering this product as students have signed contracts and school is starting, but that is more logistics and process.
The more interesting challenges are understanding what students wants are specific to the University location. What drew them to this particular college/university? You have to dig in, research, and understand the regional and local context in order to find ways to celebrate those, while also being mindful to not over commit to this as a concept as not everyone finds the same idea appealing.
The other fun challenge is staying relevant and up to date on trends, what does the demographic want and expect right now? And even more important, anticipating how these desires will morph over the next 2-3 years while the project is in design and construction. There is a delicate balance between being trendy and being relevant. That is the job of the designer to decipher and implement and anticipate the future needs and wants of the residents.
Union on Broadway
Q: What inspires you?
A: Creating spaces where students begin the next phase of their life. This is the first time many are away from home, family and friends and there is uncertainty but there is also tremendous excitement around what the future might bring and what opportunities they will find. Many will have experiences that they look back on for many years. This time in their lives shapes who they become. They develop lifelong friendships and find their own voice. It is really important to me that the design we provide elevates the experience these students have. Connection to the community, the university and to each other are so important to having a successful experience and we, as designers, have the opportunity to design these opportunities into these buildings. We research trends, demographics and psychographics so that we can provide spaces that are experiential, flexible and adaptable to the ever-changing needs of the residents. We get to consider all the types of people and personalities that will use the space and work to create design solutions that appeal to everyone. We always aim to create spaces that evoke emotion and feeling while also making them feel safe and secure.
Matt Janssen, Architect, Design Principal
Q: What do you like best about designing student housing?
A: Designing a building which becomes “home” for someone leaving their family for the first time, or living in their own apartment for the first time off campus, while they pursue an education which will change their life forever, is invigorating. It is exciting to imagine the effect a place or space you design will have on student success and on an overall campus community.
Q: What’s something that has you excited about future work in this sector? What trends are you seeing?
A: There are two areas which I am very excited about right now: the effect design can have on student wellness, both mental and physical, and the ability for design, and the design process, to open up and create an environment of community inclusion and a sense of belonging wherein all are heard, all are seen, and all are appreciated for who they are and what they bring to the table. The developments in green technologies, including mass timber systems and the inclusion of biophilia in student housing, is exciting especially when thinking about student wellness.
Cadence
Q: What’s a memorable moment from your career?
A: When the Cadence first opened, seeing the two buildings greet us coming into downtown Tucson surrounded by the new streetcar, bikes, and pedestrian activity, it was exciting to see the realization of everyone’s hard work to bring this vibrant, mixed-use, urban experience to this gateway location. That being said, the opportunity for my daughter to move into The Standard at Seattle this upcoming fall is going to be quite memorable. Having her live in a building I designed is both exciting and nerve-wracking.
The Standard at Seattle
Q: What’s uniquely challenging about designing student housing?
A: Universities run on an annual schedule which does not change. As a result, projects must open on time and ready to go, typically by fall term. This creates an environment wherein decisions must be made quickly and efficiently. Being able to pivot, strategize, and problem solve when change happens is invigorating. Communicating with multiple stakeholders to understand everyone’s point of view, what their needs are, and how we can symbiotically mesh the various uses (residential, learning, offices, amenities, …) into a singular, holistic design which helps support student success is as rewarding as architecture gets for me.
Q: What interesting changes have you seen in this sector over the years?
A: It is exciting to see conversations of community and pedestrian activity be more of a topic of discussion rather than automobile parking. More and more, the design of alternative means of transportation in and around campuses, and how student housing ties into and supports those systems, will be critical now and in the coming years.
Vi Hilbert Hall at Seattle University
Want to get to know more of the Student Housing Team? Learn about Jason Jones and Cindy Schaumberg here.
An Interactive Timeline of Ankrom Moisan’s History
In celebration of Ankrom Moisan’s 40th anniversary this year, we look back and reflect upon the firm’s explosive growth, gathering the most significant and noteworthy projects and moments from AM’s history and culture. The result of all our hard work of digging, interviewing, and assembling information is an immersive, interactive timeline of milestones.
Take a walk down memory lane, reminisce, and celebrate 40 incredible years of Ankrom Moisan exploring beyond the expected. For the best experience, use Google Chrome on a desktop computer to view the timeline. If trouble scrolling is experienced, use arrow keys to navigate the milestones.
Graphic Design by Filo Canseco.
Research and Copy by Jack Cochran and Mackenzie Gilstrap.
Meet Our New Materials Library Coordinator
Tell us a little bit about yourself. What’s your professional experience? What are you passionate about?
I have always been in design one way or another my whole life. Starting out my career at a design firm in Corona Del Mar, CA. I mostly worked on model homes for large builders in northern and southern California. Moved back to Seattle and spent many years working at Nordstrom as a fashion coordinator, producing fashion shows and trend forecasting for in the northwest and southwest region. Returning to my roots, I started an interior design business which I focused on private residential design in 2019. I am a service-oriented person with a passion for making people and surrounds feel welcoming and beautiful. It’s important to me that I’m resourcing from the best reps in the industry to provide quality products to our architects and designers at AM.
What’s most exciting about your new role? What impact do you hope to have?
I’ve been working from home over the last few years and really missing the energy of being around creative people. It’s invigorating for me to be a part of a prestigious group of designers and architects at Ankrom Moisan. I hope I can have a positive impact on the Seattle materials library by becoming a trusted resource among all the groups here at Ankrom Moisan.
What are some materials you consider particularly relevant right now?
Mindful materials. Thoughtfulness in how and where products are manufactured, the life cycle of the material and how it effects not only the environment in production but also the end user’s environment.
Product innovations post-pandemic. Touchless technology in kitchens, stylish wallpaper with anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties, switchable privacy film for windows or glass partitions for interior spaces instead of blinds or curtains. There are too many innovations to list!
How do you curate a materials library that can support the variety of project types AM does (from urban living to healthcare)?
It’s a dynamic balance. The most critical element is open communication with the design team and knowledge of the resources available, both digitally and locally. It helps to know which product types the designers want at their fingertips in the library and which ones they can order online or through a rep and can be delivered quickly. It’s important to be responsive, flexible, and open to changing it up as needs evolve.
How do the materials needs differ between project types?
There are several factors that play into this, and it touches on everything from codes and standards to end user needs to project material goals. The requirements for flooring in a healthcare setting are going to be different from those in a hotel or a workplace lobby. The furniture and finishes we select for a senior living project need to be safe and comfortable for seniors and that often looks different from what we select for a student living project.
Any products or design trends that you’re currently into?
Quiet Luxury. Approachable luxury design with a focus on a mixture of contrast textiles like leather, boucle, wool, mohair, linen, and silks in hushed warm tones and ambient light. This creates an environment not only visually pleasing and alive but also tactile.
Curves. Juxtapose the squareness of a building or room, curved furniture is making a strong presence in design. A throwback to the 70’s but in updated fabrication and colors, the soft rounded and comfortable edges are a new way to add drama and ergonomics to a space.
Rian MacLeod, Materials Library Coordinator
How Architects are using Artificial Intelligence in the Design Process
Revolutions in digital tools and technology are rapidly changing the landscape of many different industries across the globe. One of the latest innovations in digital technology is the widespread use of Artificial Intelligence, or AI. Two Ankrom Moisan architects, Michael Great and Ramin Rezvani – Director of Design Strategy and Senior Project Designer, respectively – have recently begun to incorporate AI software into their design process, receiving encouraging results.
Before the advent of Artificial Intelligence software, precedent images sourced from Pinterest or similar could be used to establish the initial aesthetic direction of a project. Because not every feature of an image would be relevant for a certain project, these images were often cropped and/or collaged together, leading to unnecessary confusion if clients became attached to specific features in precedent images that were never intended to be a part of the final design. AI-generated images have the potential to circumvent that issue, providing inspiration imagery that is specific to a particular place, project, client and design.
Example of an AI-generated precedent image.
Recently, Michael and Ramin have been using AI to create precedent imagery for their projects. In their experience, renderings created by AI software such as Midjourney assist in streamlining the design process and ensuring that clients are on the same page as designers when it comes to project design and direction.
For many, Artificial Intelligence still represents an enigmatic, complicated technology of the future, reserved for the plots of science fiction movies. However, recent developments in technology have made AI and its uses more widespread and accessible than ever. To explain how AI can be utilized to generate unique outcomes and facilitate a cohesive design language for a project, Michael and Ramin sat down to answer some questions about how Midjourney is integrated into the projects they work on and to dispel common misconceptions about the technology.
Michael and Ramin together in the Portland office.
Q: When did you begin incorporating AI into your approach to project design? Why was this something you decided to do?
Michael:
Our adoption of AI software has aligned with the technology’s continual improvement. Initially when we started experimenting with architectural imagery, it was giving us broad stroke building concept imagery. These were by no means a “design” but it got Ramin and I thinking, ‘Oh, this technology might be evolving to a place where we could utilize it more in the design process, let’s trial this a bit and see what we can get out of it.’
Part of my interest there is that historically architects have used precedent imagery to describe things that don’t exist yet, or to get clients aligned to what the design intent might be? Language doesn’t often get us to a full understanding. So, I think architects have always used imagery, whether that’s precedent imagery or rough sketches to just get alignment about the direction of a project aesthetically. Both Ramin and I have always thought it was strange that in this process you are often using existing buildings to convey new ideas. I think the advantage of using Midjourney and AI is that we can accomplish the same general task of conceptual alignment but show clients unique imagery that is specific to their project, place and aesthetic.
Ramin:
We just started playing around with Midjourney when it came out. It was really exciting and interesting, and we had no idea what it was, or what it could do, or how powerful it was the first couple of times we were testing it out. Then we tried to make it do something specific, and that’s where it started getting fascinating, because it’s potentially a huge shortcut for certain things- especially with generating concept imagery.
We kind of hit a wall with a project where we wanted to be able to quickly visually convey something that didn’t exist. We had some loose ideas influenced by some projects that only exist at a completely different scale than what we were looking at. We thought ‘let’s see if we can figure out how to combine all of these ideas and generate imagery to illustrate to the client where we are going with this.’ Through that process, getting imagery close to what we were trying to do was mind-blowing.
Final project design renders created by Michael and Ramin that were influenced by AI imagery.
Q: Ramin, you’ve said that AI is “like a paintbrush or any creative tool, you just need to figure out how to use it,” and Michael, that “it’s a language. You have to learn it, just like any software.” How did you both go about learning to use these tools, and how long did it take you to learn the language, so-to-speak?
Michael:
I don’t know how far we actually are on that journey, and I think we have a long way to go. There are a ton of resources out there, though, in terms of helping you learn the language through prompt editing. But this is moving so fast that there is now software that will do your prompts for you. You can just add in a few descriptive words, and it’ll fill in the rest, writing it in the way that the AI software wants to see it. Every time you use it, the more you use it, you learn something about what the output is. The more trial and error you go through, the faster you get at getting to an image you can use.
You have to think differently about the words you are using to get the imagery desired. It’s a shift in how you think since you have to use fewer words to get your idea across. You must be specific and pointed while still giving the software enough information. From that standpoint, I feel like the faster you can get your mind into that mode of thinking, the better off you will be as AI continues to develop, because the premise of utilizing language to direct output will only accelerate from here.
What we all have to adapt to and learn is how to use language to describe what we want machines to do. But even that is probably a couple years from being obsolete. There seems to be an updated version of Midjourney every month that’s substantially better than the last. Even since we last talked, they’ve come out with reverse-prompt capability. So instead of putting a text prompt and getting an image, you can do the opposite, dropping in an image and getting a prompt. By doing so you can start to understand the language in reverse because you’re dropping in an image and the AI is telling you what it sees in text.
Ramin:
I’ve been using it a lot, trying to figure out how to create very specific imagery. Like Michael said, it’s a lot of trial and error. To be able to get usable images, it has definitely required a shift in the way that I think due to the way that the prompts work. I’ve been approaching it almost like a science experiment, changing the prompts slightly with each iteration to see what I get back visually with each update. But also, it’s not like you can master it because it’s changing so rapidly. The next versions will likely have a completely different interface, so the way that you write prompts will likely change too.
Q: Can you walk me through the typical steps of using Midjourney to create precedent imagery?
Michael:
The process right now that we’ve been utilizing is that we’re trying to plug it in to an existing process. On a lot of our projects, we start by charette-ing and brainstorming, trying to develop a cohesive concept. AI software like Midjourney increases the speed at which we can reach solutions, because we’re not all going in different design directions.
What we’ve tried to do initially is take the guiding design principles for a project and feed those words into the AI to see what kind of visual representation it would create with our initial thoughts. So again, trying to accelerate the process a bit and get to visuals through words that we’ve already talked about or discussed to create alignment on design direction. As the technology evolves, there will be other ways for us to utilize it, maybe in final renderings, for instance. But right now, I think coming up with precedent imagery is the best use of it.
Visual breakdown of how guiding design principles and text prompts are used to generate new precedent imagery renderings with AI software.
Q: [You’ve] said that clients often don’t know what to make of design renderings when they learn that they were created by AI. What are some common misconceptions or misunderstandings about Artificial Intelligence that you’ve encountered since you began using it?
Michael:
The most common misconception that Ramin and I have run into is that the AI-created images are just precedent imagery pulled from the internet. You have to explain that it’s not a search engine, it’s not finding an existing image on the web. Often, I have to describe what it does in shorthand for people to understand it.
Ramin:
One of the things I noticed right away was people asking ‘doesn’t this take the creative process out of architecture now that you have this image designed by AI?’ At least for the time being, I don’t feel that way. As a design team, you still have to generate the foundational ideas and coax the AI to output something that aligns with your goals and vision. It’s a quick way to get the team on the same page and discover interesting emergent qualities from concept intersections that you may not have discovered on your own. In our current workflow AI produced visuals are intended to draw from and quickly study a whole bunch of different ideas to curate the most interesting aspects of each, based on what we asked the software to do.
Q: Do you have any fears surrounding the use of AI or the rate at which it is evolving, a la Terminator’s Skynet?
Michael:
Like any new technology, it absolutely has the ability to be used in various ways. I mean, there’s no way around that. I think there’s many applications of AI that could be negative, primarily in terms of its ability to manipulate people. But in terms of what we do, there’s not much risk if you understand it’s just one tool out of many that we can use. It’s not like Midjourney will actually produce architecture. It produces ideas that a designer still has to understand, edit, and synthesize into a project’s end design.
Ramin:
It’s hard to tell right now what is going to change and how much it will change. I’m definitely concerned about it, not just for the field of architecture, but for humans. In general, I feel like no technology has advanced this quickly before and it will continue to accelerate. There are just so many unknowns but I’m sure we will quickly see AI implementation in daily life. I think that we’ll know a lot more in the next five years or so.
AI process design results, highlighting the Midjourney-generated concept renderings that Michael and Ramin synthesized and incorporated into the initial massing render for a project.
Q: With the rapid speed at which AI changes and evolves, how do you envision the future of AI as it relates to architecture? What about the future of architecture as it relates to AI?
Michael:
I think that AI continues a theme that has remained consistent throughout the last 100 years in terms of how architecture utilizes technology. Usually, it’s used to speed up the design process. One thing about architecture that’s so different from a lot of other professions is that it still relies on artistry, but there’s always a ‘hurry-up’ type of attitude, we are often pushed to develop designs and drawings faster and faster because of project economics. So, we’re always looking for tools to speed up the process. In addition, architecture is a broad profession. There are people doing wildly different things in the profession their whole career, and I think that could get streamlined.
Outside of Midjourney, there’s a whole slew of AI implementations using other design and construction software that’s meant to speed up how fast we can produce a construction set with fewer people. I think inevitably, that’s where architecture has always gone. 100 years ago, it took 40 people in a room, drawing a set for a high-rise tower by hand. I think in the future, a 40-story tower can probably be designed and drawn by two people. Eventually, the industry will get to a point where one or two people can accomplish that same task in half the time it takes now.
I would say that right now, as designers, we are not spending enough time understanding the place, the people using the building, and the environment surrounding a project. We’re rushing through a lot of those elements to get projects built, so I think where you end up by incorporating AI into that process is more thoughtful buildings, because we don’t have to spend as much time crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s. We can actually think about the project and the building rather than drawing it, and to me, that’s pretty exciting. Architecture can’t do anything but get better through this process. I don’t think anything gets worse. It just gets better.
Ramin:
In my mind, there’s no doubt that any areas of inefficiency in the architectural process right now, some of which will be resolved using AI. It’s going to accelerate and amplify the amount that an individual can do by themselves, so I think it’ll take fewer people to do the same amount of work.
I think it will allow us to study way more aspects of a project quickly and, like Michael said, make projects significantly better by understanding more of the site’s parameters. It feels like an amplification to me now, but who knows what will happen in six months?
AI-rendered precedent imagery from other projects.
Compared to other Pacific Northwest architecture firms, Ankrom Moisan is a pacesetter in terms of integrating Artificial Intelligence and other digital tools. Few competitors use AI, if at all. International firms, though, tend to use AI software for design-based research. However you cut it, the digital tools of imagined sci-fi futures are closer than it seems, and may, in fact, already be here. It’s a massive paradigm shift that will take some time to get used to, but the good news is that when the AI overlords take over, we will already know how to deal with them.
By Jack Cochran, Marketing Coordinator
Dignified Healing Spaces
Does design have the power to enhance dignity?
Many of us have the privilege to go about our daily lives unaware of the powerful role the built environment plays in supporting our feeling of being celebrated and respected. As architects and designers, we must place inhabitants’ dignity at the forefront of our design priorities. Our work has the power to create spaces that have far reaching and lasting impacts. Few places need this perspective more than spaces that serve predominantly underserved, underrepresented, or socially stigmatized communities.
To start, what is dignity?
Dignity is the right of a person to be treated ethically as well as being valued and respected for who they are. For healthcare professionals dignified care means recognizing and honoring patients’ capacities and ambitions. While patient dignity is a core tenant of healthcare staff training, it is also critically important to consider the role of the built environment to support dignity for both patients and staff.
Dignity can be defined by four main factors:
- Respect – Respect includes self-respect, respect for others, respect for peoples’ privacy, and confidentiality.
- Autonomy – Autonomy includes having choices, being able to make decisions, rights, needs, and independence.
- Empowerment – Empowerment includes feelings of being important and valuable, self-esteem or self-worth, and pride.
- Communication – Communication includes clear information, language, intuitive wayfinding and directional cues, and privacy.
Here are five considerations for designing dignified environments:
Design as a Beacon
Too often, mental health and treatment program facilities exist in hidden spaces kept out of sight from the public. We aim to create spaces which bring a sense of pride to those who enter. By considering each step of the end-user experience, from the street approach to the quality of finishes, we aim to thoughtfully apply design aesthetics to create a welcoming facility from the very earliest interactions. Welcoming patients, clinicians, and the community into a space that is beautifully designed to support the specific needs and identity of the users is a meaningful way to communicate the intrinsic value of the patients and clients within those spaces.
In initial design discussions, Compass Health requested a sense of grandeur within their new facility located in Everett, Washington. After years of making do with an aging building, the goal for their Phase II building, housing both inpatient and outpatient behavioral healthcare, was to create a space that anyone would feel proud to enter. The stigma of mental health treatment was stripped away by prioritizing a grand, double-height entry and foyer that highlights exterior garden space. The exterior finishes were selected to be warm and welcoming.
Compass Health’s Phase II: The entry design uses scale, richly colored materials, and nature to evoke a warm welcome to all who enter.
The Power of Choice
In design, when we do not acknowledge the vast spectrum of human needs, we strip away the ability to exercise autonomy and control over our surroundings. Design that is mindful of autonomy, considers a variety of mental states, capabilities, traumas, and preferences to create dynamic spaces which allow people to choose the experience that fits their needs best in that moment. Avoiding the stress of being in an uncomfortable space allows patients and clients to receive care while in the best possible mindset. It also reduces negative associations that may become barriers for seeking care in the future. In many cases, mental health, housing, or medical facilities unintentionally strip away the opportunities for personal choice due to logistics and procedures, but thoughtful communication with providers allows designers to construct opportunities for choice and autonomy within even the highest acuity patient types.
The design team on the Alameda Senior Respite and Primary Care Facility acknowledged the importance of choice and autonomy in the design of the new 30,000 sq. ft. facility serving Alameda County in California. The design, which creates permanent supportive housing for an aging subset of the local homeless population, thoughtfully addresses the need for individual choice by completely rethinking the approach to lighting design throughout the building. Acknowledging the impact of harsh or bright lighting, uncomfortable lighting when resting, or a lack of lighting when trying to read and relax, the design team prioritized indirect lighting throughout all patient spaces, designed hallways outside of bedrooms to dim to the lowest levels allowed by code during quiet hours, and coordinated a wall sconce with controls at each bedside for residents. These simple, yet impactful, solutions allow residents to have autonomy over their surroundings in a way many of us would take for granted.
Safety over Security
We deserve to feel safe in our environments, and increasingly, facilities are moving towards providing a friendly face at entry points to help visitors feel welcome in lieu of uniformed security, which can be particularly traumatizing for many populations. Through collaboration with staff and clinicians, we can facilitate safety by designing clear pathways of visibility for observation and engagement that does not feel intrusive. Doing so allows visitors and residents to maintain their sense of independence and autonomy while remaining safe. Intentionally designed spaces which focus on relationship building increase the safety of patients while also increasing the likelihood of positive experiences and returns for subsequent care in the future.
The inpatient floors for Compass Health were laid out around a central nurse station allowing care teams to maintain a direct line of sight to all patient spaces, including the outdoor patient areas. Whereas other facilities require patients to be accompanied by a staff member to outdoor or group spaces, the clear paths of visibility allow patients to move from space to space unaccompanied, fostering independence while ensuring staff are aware of any interactions which may require their attention. Similarly, opportunities for passive observation in outpatient areas allow for easy circulation and a friendly face at various reception desks to assist first-time visitors and clients, as well as to foster connection with staff in various areas throughout the lobbies.
Compass Health Phase II: The building massing prioritized sightlines for the on-unit nursing and care team from the earliest diagrams (left). Interior design focused on maintaining the connection between staff and patients (right).
Whole Person Healing
If we consider the physical, mental, emotional, and social determinates of health in the design and programming process, we can create transformational facilities that help bolster the entire community. By creating space for additional programs and prominently locating basic needs near entries, each visitor can easily access support. Furthermore, designing medical care with counseling and housing opportunities provides a holistic approach to wellness that caters to a vast spectrum of needs, removing the barriers of care that occur when visiting many different facilities for the same services. Integrating community spaces into our designs allows additional social needs to be met that may not be related to specific medical needs, while inviting the community into spaces shared by diverse populations humanizes the experience of those seeking treatment in those spaces.
The core tenant of Central City Concern’s Blackburn Center is to “help people’s health through comfort, community, and safety.” The center, which serves people experiencing homelessness, poverty, and addiction in the Portland, Oregon area also aims to create a supportive housing project which incorporates mental and physical health resources under the same roof. The design carefully integrates a complex series of support systems that begin on the ground floor with commons area, teaching kitchen, pharmacy, and community services. Moving up a floor, the medical clinic supports the housing residents onsite. Housing includes palliative care, two floors of single room occupancy housing, and a floor of apartments for permanent housing, which supports people nearly ready to live on their own. The design aesthetics and function aim to create a fulfilling and enriching home-like experience that bolsters residents in all aspects of health and wellness, truly treating the whole person.
Nature as Medicine
Biophilia states that we, as humans, are part of nature and are inherently attracted to, and supported by, natural environments. Using nature as a tool to promote healing and wellness is a key part of providing users with the respect and dignity they deserve. Many at-risk populations receive care and housing in aging spaces that do not receive quality daylight, and access to outdoors is deemed too unsafe and difficult to monitor. By incorporating nature connections such as views, natural materials, fresh air, and plants into the requirements for healing spaces, we ultimately acknowledge the humanity of the occupants within a space. Whether they are patients, residents, visitors, or staff, everybody benefits from contact with nature through positive distractions, lowered blood pressure, increased resilience to environmental stressors, and the benefit of aligning our sense of time and place with the observable natural rhythms of the world around us.
Early on in Compass Health’s design process, the importance of fresh air and contact with nature was identified by the client and design team. As a result, the earliest building massing schemes explored how to bring nature as far into the building as possible. The resulting form for the inpatient floors is two separate wings positioned beside deeply cut rooftop gardens with a central connection space that serves as the primary gathering and dining area for the inpatient population. Each of the two floors of inpatient treatment have access to dedicated outdoor garden spaces that are designed to allow residents to move freely between interior living spaces and outdoor areas. Beyond the patient outdoor spaces are extensive green roofs which are visible from interior spaces in the public, staff, and patient spaces. This impactful design decision will support the healing and restorative vision of Compass Health’s mission to treat the whole person.
Compass Health Phase II: Both inpatient floors provide residents, staff, and visitors views of nature by utilizing the space between buildings for extensive green roofs.
Why design for dignity?
By implementing these five strategies, designers can create spaces that honor the core aspects of dignity by respecting each visitor and their unique place in the world, supporting their autonomy through choice, empower occupants as they move through the space, and ultimately communicate equitably inhabitants. The resulting designs are spaces which can be as meaningful as they are beautiful while actively participating in the health and growth of our communities.
By Ashlee Washington, Senior Associate
Indoor / Outdoor Air Quality
The Do GOOD / Be WELL scholarship encourages Ankrom Moisan employees to research an open-ended topic of their choosing and share the practical results of their findings with the firm, industry, and community at large. The scholarship, started in 2017, is sponsored in memory of former AM employee Carolyn Forsyth, an inspirational leader and unyielding force for change. Intended to honor her legacy of sustainability, equity, innovation, advocacy, education, and leadership, the DGBW scholarship elevates and empowers new and inspiring ideas within Ankrom Moisan and the broader field of architecture, pushing us all, as the name implies, to do good and be well.
As the recipient of the 2022 Do GOOD / Be WELL scholarship, Cara Godwin encouraged Ankrom Moisan employees to not only learn about air quality but to measure their own. Cara implemented a program that provided home air kits, consisting of a HEPA filter and an air sensor, to be checked out and taken home.
By using air sensors that provided a real-time air quality score, participants were able to better understand how opening windows, cooking, and running exhaust fans impact indoor air quality. The program also encouraged people to be Citizen Scientists by gathering data in their own respective environments and automatically sharing it to the Purple Air network map in real time, increasing the pool of scientific knowledge that design decisions can be made from.
Kaiterra Egg air sensor utilized in Cara’s research study.
The (Overlooked) Importance of Air Quality
Designers of the built environment are deeply familiar with energy scores and water scores, but air quality has been less defined and is often left unconsidered—Cara hopes to change that.
Cara has lived in the Methow Valley for twelve years now, an area which often deals with wildfire smoke. Cara and her husband had indoor air quality at the front of their minds when they built their home in 2011. Their son has had respiratory issues since birth and asthma since just before his second birthday, which led the pair to learn more about indoor and outdoor air quality. “We are a ‘Clean Air Methow Ambassador,’ we have been interviewed on a podcast, interviewed by a health reporter, and often my son’s photo and story are used in discussions about air quality,” Cara stated. “This scholarship seemed like a natural way to share this information with coworkers and hopefully have a positive impact on future building designs.”
The Godwins: Cara, her husband, and her son.
Even if you have not personally noticed issues with air quality, you are likely being affected by air pollutants. More and more research talks about PM2.5 – fine inhalable particles with diameters that are 2.5 micrometers or smaller – and their long-term effect on our lungs. PM2.5 sources include chemical exhaust from industries and automobiles, wildfire smoke, pollen, dust, and hundreds of other chemicals. EPA and other clean air groups are focusing on education for people to understand air scores and sources. This study helps expand those efforts.
The Findings from the Air Sensors
The most common response from kit recipients was about cooking. It is uncommon for range hoods to be used every time a cooktop is utilized, though that is the recommendation. After receiving their results, many participants noted they will use the hood more often. One participant noted that their charcoal recirculating exhaust fan was not adequate on its own and required a window to be open for proper ventilation.
Another finding was that pets do not seem to have a negative impact on air quality. Running the HEPA filter had noticeable positive impacts for participants with seasonal allergies and asthma.
In a survey filled out after using test kits at home for a few weeks, participants were asked what they might do differently in future designs after receiving their own personal air quality scores. Several responded by advocating for electric cooking over gas. A few mentioned advocating for operable windows and making operable windows open further. There is a desire to avoid using charcoal recirculating fans for kitchen exhaust. Others mentioned trying to design for air changes above code minimum and running the whole house exhaust longer.
Awair air monitor in use.
Swapping Cooktops to Improve Air Quality
During this time, Cara was looking into replacing her propane cooktop with an electric induction range and took the opportunity to tie her search in with her research proposal, using the information gathered from the use of the HEPA filter and air sensor to guide her purchase decision, and sharing the results with the firm. This choice was supported by Cara’s experiences with indoor air quality monitors, as they have demonstrated that cooking has the greatest impact on air quality in a home. Cara swapped out her propane cooktop for a gas one, as well as her exhaust hood in hopes that a quieter exhaust hood would be used more. Finding the right induction range was the tricky part. The options seem limited, and costs vary greatly.
Her research found that the difference in cost is dependent on the size of the magnet, and that the size of the magnet, or burner, should match the size of the pan being used. This is because a pan too large for a burner will not heat up efficiently, and food will not be evenly cooked. The main obstacle in sourcing a new cooktop was related to finding black appliances, which have even fewer options. In the end, Cara switched to black stainless steel. For the exhaust hood, quieter options require an 8” exhaust duct. Cara’s pre-existing duct was only 6”, meaning it was not feasible to replace the exhaust duct in the roof assembly, so the new hood is only slightly better in terms of noise level.
For the actual experience with induction cooking, Cara states that “it has been a real pleasure to cook with. The cooking is more even, and water does boil as fast as everyone says. There is also peace of mind with all the recent news of harmful chemicals coming from gas cooktops.” The original concern with the propane cooktop had to do with CO2 levels rising during seasonal times of wildfire smoke when fresh air is closed off, but the benefits of an induction range have expanded to all year round. Cara recommends induction over gas to anyone building new construction, and in her case, with someone with respiratory issues in the house, switching is a great option.
Cara’s new black stainless steel induction range with hood.
Applying the Research to our Designs
If you have not experienced it yourself, you probably know someone who has had to alter their plans or take medication due to allergies to pets, perfume, or wildfire smoke. At Ankrom Moisan, we talk about designing for all users and that should include designing for respiratory sensitivities.
This study will hopefully help influence future building designs to take user sensitivities into account, and therefore create buildings that are a haven from pollutants and irritants during times of poor outdoor air quality. And in times of good outdoor air quality, our spaces should reduce known contributors to poor indoor air quality.
One example of how we can design more inclusively is to consider air quality and pet allergies. Many residential communities today allow dogs but that can exclude people with allergies from living there—unless the air quality improves and the building, as well as furnishing, is designed to minimize pet dander. Our designers, armed with the findings from Cara’s research, can also advocate for features that will benefit everyone such as electric induction ranges, quieter exhaust hoods and operable kitchen windows
Though indoor and outdoor air quality is a consideration that is often forgotten, Cara’s DGBW research program illustrates the importance of bringing all aspects of wellness into a building’s design, and redefines how we explore beyond, changing what designing for inclusiveness can mean.
By Cara Godwin, Practice Manager
Employee Spotlight: May Au
It seems that May Au was destined to be an artist. Her sketches appear in the firm’s “AM is Sketchy” Teams channel to the delight of many, inspiring her coworkers to embrace their creative side and see things from a new perspective.
Architect and artist May Au poses atop Ankrom Moisan’s Portland office.
This began as a result of the recurring Thursday drawing classes, the products of which are shared on the AM is Sketchy channel. May received enthusiastic feedback from her colleagues, who wanted to know more about her process. “A couple of people were interested in learning how I draw,” May said. Roberta Pennington asked May if she would share her process with the firm, and although May was hesitant at first, she eventually agreed, but not before deciding to spruce up her presentation. “I thought it would be kind of boring if I just drew on live,” May explained. “I thought that during this precious lunch hour, people would probably want to draw more than watching me, so I thought ‘I should speed that up in Procreate and record the process.’” Even her management team took notice of May’s art; Ryan Miyahira asked May to share her sketching process at a team meeting. Luckily, she already had recordings of her sketching process from a trip she took to Nice, France. May paired her time lapse videos with narration and music recorded by her husband and Emily Bear, respectively. The videos were shared on the company’s Teams channels, catching the attention of many, and causing May to be nominated for an employee spotlight feature.
May was drawn (pardon the pun) to painting in kindergarten, when she took note of artwork hanging on the walls of her classroom and aspired to learn how to draw and paint when she grew up. Her older sister encouraged this newfound passion, singing May original songs such as “I’m a Little Painter,” which she particularly loved.
In college and at the beginning of her career as an architect, May attended live drawing sessions to draw models, and would often check out books on the sketches of her favorite artists – Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, and Rembrandt – from the school library when she was supposed to be studying. These habits strengthened her eye for detail, a trait which she would rely on in her work as an architect. She explained the connection between her sketches and architectural work, saying “in general, architects must detail projects out quite a bit. We need to be efficient, and we don’t want to do the work incorrectly, so you always have to check yourself and ask, ‘am I doing it in the right way?’.”
May’s sketches of various buildings in France, Japan, and Hong Kong.
This work ethic overlaps with May’s artistic process in the sense that her sketches begin with ‘bigger picture’ concepts, like lines and shapes, and gradually moves towards finer details, though she often takes a step back to ensure that both the bigger picture and smaller intricacies are balanced and in harmony. She applies this process to all projects she undertakes, explaining, “If somebody gives you a task or big issue, it’s helpful to break them down into steps to tackle them one by one, rather than being overwhelmed by it. After you finish, always stand back and question the work, then you’ll find your own mistakes without other people telling you.”
May’s sketch of Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Hong Kong.
Illustration is not the only artistic talent that May holds. Before becoming an architect, she made and sold pottery. May disclosed, “I couldn’t make a living out of pottery, so my sister suggested that I look into architecture. I thought ‘ohh, that’s so different because clay is so soft and so flexible, and architecture is not.” Though she no longer makes pottery, her love for the craft remains. May views herself as more of a potter than an architect. “I don’t [do pottery] anymore, I get addicted to it,” she jokes. “I cannot stop. A few days ago, I found a pottery studio in my neighborhood. I was too excited; I couldn’t fall asleep.” In addition to her past as a potter, May has taken classes on Chinese calligraphy and oil pastel painting throughout her architecture career, and illustrates cartoons for her church’s newsletter.
One of her dreams was to become a rendering artist, however, since rendering is no longer done by hand, May pivoted to learn more about detailing, a decision which brought her – at the suggestion of a friend – here, to Ankrom Moisan. May saw this opportunity as a way to build a solid foundation in the field of architecture, as well as a chance to be exposed to a more diverse range of projects than previous positions she had held.
May says that she has learned to be more efficient, as well as the art of detailing, since starting at Ankrom. “I’m very thankful to mentors like Sean Scott, James Lucking, and David Dahl that really helped with my detailing,” May said. “Without them, I wouldn’t be able to do much, or wouldn’t be able to [detail] correctly.” She believes that her attitude has changed too. “I’ve learned to be more patient. Patient of my own growth,” she reflected.
A watercolor painting of an alleyway in Nice, France, completed by May in 2022.
Though she primarily works on residential projects, May’s favorite type of work are cultural buildings “that are for public use,” she says. “Residential buildings are what we do, and they’re my second favorite type of architecture since we eat and live in those buildings every day.”
As an architect, May is inspired by the ability to “explore the possibilities in a space and to be creative and not necessarily stuck with what we see, but to come up with many different ideas.” As for her art, she finds that her creative impulse is sparked by the mood and the lighting in the composition of an image. While there is not a single subject May does not enjoy drawing, she wants to improve her portraits, since they can be so challenging. “It takes a lot of work. If I can draw people’s emotions, and capture that [essence] where it’s like ‘that person looks like that person,’ I’d be happy,” she explains.
May has plenty of sage advice for young professionals who are just starting out in the field of architecture and interior design. She stresses patience with oneself and self-confidence. “People blossom at different stages, so don’t be too impatient with yourself,” she says. “Learn to be humble, but at the same time, learn to be a leader. Know your own strengths. Know what kind of path you want to go down, and fight for it. Don’t let other people decide what you can do.” May also acknowledges the virtue of tenacity, stating “we have to fail before we succeed.” As a final piece of wisdom, May offers, “be able to learn to embrace the details, not just ideas,” a philosophy that she clearly lives by, evidenced by her beautifully detailed illustrations.
By Jack Cochran, Marketing Coordinator
Where are the Women?: Closing the Gap
Backed by Ankrom Moisan’s Do GOOD / Be WELL research scholarship and galvanized by a noticeable lack of women in architecture, Amanda Lunger, Elisa Zenk, and Stephanie Hollar set out to determine why women are not at the forefront of the field, and what can be done to get them there.
Elisa Zenk, Stephanie Holler, and Amanda Lunger in AM’s Portland office.
The Research
Amanda, Elisa, and Stephanie did this by administering all-office surveys, holding conversations with women in the field of architecture, evaluating their own individual experiences at Ankrom Moisan, and conducting case-studies that observed the structure and operation style of women-led architecture firms. The all-office survey contained twenty-two questions and was answered by 158 participants, both male and female. As for the conversations with women in architecture, fourteen of those women were current AM employees, and ten of them former AM employees.
What these conversations, surveys, and case studies revealed was eye-opening, but not out of left field. A substantial disparity exists between men and women’s experiences in the architecture industry. This article will highlight the primary problems afflicting women in architecture and provide methods for both firms and individuals to combat and overcome them.
Amanda, Elisa, and Stephanie identified 6 key issues:
- An Unclear Path to Leadership
- Burnout
- Pay Disparity
- Balancing Motherhood and a Career
- The Road to Licensure
- Feeling Out of Place
While these findings may paint architecture as a lopsided and unfair industry, the good news is that there are many ideas and suggestions for how to boost equity and support women in architecture. Some of the ideas, presented at the 2022 AIA Women’s Leadership Summit in San Jose, California, which Amanda, Elisa, and Stephanie attended, range from celebrating the successes of other women, reminding individuals to ask for help when needed and remembering that it’s okay to say no, to making time to mentor younger women, and delegating and sharing opportunities with other colleagues. Some suggestions are as simple as taking ten minutes at the beginning of every meeting to create a psychological safety zone, so that everyone feels like they belong at the table and can express themselves without fear of rejection.
Jennifer Sobieraj Sanin, Elisa Zenk, Stephanie Hollar, Mariah Kiersey, and Amanda Lunger at the 2022 AIA Women’s Leadership Summit.
Additionally, Amanda, Elisa, and Stephanie have provided their own insights for how Ankrom Moisan, and other architecture firms, can remedy the gap between men and women in the field. Other potential solutions suggested by a variety of sources—from interviews with women in the field and from solutions other firms have implemented—synthesized through Amanda, Elisa, and Stephanie’s research will be interwoven with the six key issues they identified.
An Unclear Path to Leadership
Leadership is a common goal for both men and women in architecture. 70% of the people surveyed by Amanda, Elisa, and Stephanie stated that they would like to be in a leadership position. Unfortunately, women seemed to feel that goal was out of reach. One employee surveyed responded that they “truly wish to hold a leadership position someday but have zero expectations that they would ever make it into [one].” Another answered that a leadership role was desirable but seemed like “you are inundated with paperwork and peopling and are no longer a part of the design of architecture.” The desire to still be a part of hands-on design processes may be a factor in forgoing the pursuit of leadership roles, but it is not the sole reason leadership can feel out of reach to female architects.
This dashing of expectations may be attributed to the observation that the path to leadership roles is less than clear for women in architecture. 35% of women felt that they didn’t understand the path to leadership at Ankrom Moisan, whereas only 20% of men felt that the road to leadership was beyond their grasp. There were some other survey respondents, however, who saw this lack of clarity regarding career advancement as a challenge, stating “I have no one to look up to that looks like me. So, I’ve decided to become that person – a leader.”
Survey results highlighting an unclear path to leadership positions.
One reason the ladder to success might appear so esoteric is that a lack of evaluations and constructive feedback can work as a barrier against career growth and advancement. Luckily, through their research, Amanda, Elisa, and Stephanie were able to gather ideas for how to break down this barrier and make the path to leadership clearer. These suggestions range from designing strategic plans like PEP employee evaluations and check-ins for developing staff into leadership roles and standardizing them across teams, to adding peer reviews to the evaluation process for a broader spectrum of feedback.
Taking these suggestions to heart, Ankrom Moisan’s Career Pathways Program establishes resources for employees to understand the path to leadership, making it the most significant action item to come from Amanda, Elisa, and Stephanie’s research. Another key solution that emerged from this project was the hiring younger staff for employees to mentor and lead, thus creating ‘inward facing’ roles for many of the architects that desire to hold a leadership position and providing younger hires with mentors that they can look up to and learn from.
Burnout
When employees take on additional work and responsibilities beyond their regular role, they become overworked and have little energy left for their regular duties. Adding newer, younger staff to architecture teams would also help solve the burnout problem, which is primarily caused by a staff shortage. Unfortunately, it seems that burnout happens to women at a disproportionate rate. 46% of women have felt overwhelmed by their responsibilities at work, which is drastically more than the 29% of men who feel that way.
Survey results related to staffing, workload, and burnout.
The feeling of being overcome by professional obligations often prevents employees from wanting to advance in their career, as well, as that advancement presumably comes with even more responsibility. One survey response elucidated, “I enjoy working with the people and the clients we have, but not always having the resources to staff a project can lead to burn out, make it hard to want to be involved in any initiatives, and really leads to questioning what it means to [want] to advance.” Some of the solutions suggested by Amanda, Elisa, and Stephanie to combat this are to focus on hiring and retaining emerging professionals, ensuring that employees who feel overwhelmed have the opportunity to move to less demanding projects with lighter workloads, and designing strategies to ensure that staff are not spread too thin, or constantly in ‘survival mode.’
Pay Disparity
It’s common for employees who take on extra work to receive a pay raise with their new responsibilities. This is not always the case, though, and sometimes individuals must negotiate to secure an increase in their salary. Yet again, this is an area that is not entirely equitable. In fact, negotiations have the largest discrepancy in attitude between men and women in architecture. 46% of women surveyed admitted that they do not feel comfortable asking for a raise or a promotion, which compared to male respondents’ 11%, is eyebrow-raising. One discerning observation that reveals why this is the case indicated that “women typically ask for a raise after they’ve [proven] that they’ve done something, but men ask for a raise in anticipation that they’re being asked to do something.” Ultimately, this means that women may be doing more work for less reward than their male counterparts, as they feel they must go above and beyond before they are entitled to additional compensation.
Survey results related to negotiations.
Another component to this issue is pay transparency. Not knowing the pay range for a position when entering negotiation can set a person up to settle for less than they deserve. Additionally, a lack of transparency can prevent people from wanting to negotiate in the first place. As one survey respondent put it, “I haven’t been super confident, and I didn’t want to come across as pushy. I also didn’t do it because I wasn’t aware what other firms offer.” A potential solution for this, it seems, is offering confidence and negotiation workshops for women while proactively checking in on pay and role satisfaction, ensuring that companies are candid about the salary ranges for all their positions prior to negotiations. A case study observing Jeanne Gang’s Studio Gang found that knowing the baseline salary for any given position is key for enacting change, for yourself and others.
Because pay has been ranked as the second most important aspect of an individual’s career in an AMA office-wide survey, just after work-life balance, being transparent about salary ranges is crucial for both recruiting and retaining employees. It’s known that staff who feel that they’re being paid below the market value are 49.7% more likely to search for a new job within the next six months in comparison to employees who feel they are compensated at or above the market rate (Payscale). While about a quarter of both men and women were unsatisfied with their earnings, there were 27% more women than men who felt that the pay range for their role was not clear enough. Proposed solutions for ensuring pay ranges are as transparent as possible include conducting regular pay audits to identify and correct inequities, publishing pay ranges for each role, and communicating with staff about how those ranges are determined.
Outreach is another method to secure the place of women in architecture that great strides can be made in. By talking with female architecture students, conversations can be started around fair wages and negotiation, so that the next generation of women architects are already equipped to face the challenges of the industry. Additionally, encouraging employees to take part in programs such as Architects in Schools, ACE Mentorship, and the Boys and Girls club can expose more youth to the field of architecture, ensuring that its future is bright, and that burnout no longer holds back staff from doing their best work.
Balancing Motherhood and a Career
One area that undoubtedly impacts women and their careers more than their male counterparts is having children. Of the surveyed employees, half of the men who responded did not believe that having kids impacted their careers, while only 30% of women could say the same.
Graphic representations of the impact childbirth has on the careers of women.
Often, female architects start families at crucial career pinch points. If they choose to have children, it is not uncommon to return from maternity leave and be denied the same level of responsibility that they had previously held for years. The professional uncertainty tied to having children can mean that working women have to choose between one or the other. Some women try to juggle both motherhood and advancing a professional career but find that “being a mom and an architect, [it can feel] like both suffered.” Others draw a line, declaring that they are “not willing to sacrifice [their] personal or family time in order to advance [their] career.” Still, it’s hard not to feel like they are missing opportunities male counterparts don’t have to give up.
Illustration of how children come at a pinch point for many women’s careers.
There are ways to counter this feeling, though. Firms can provide better parental relief, for both men and women, normalizing child-rearing as the responsibility of both parents, rather than the sole responsibility of a mother. Promoting flexible work schedules can also help parents look after their children without sacrificing their career. Finally, firms can subsidize childcare, reducing the need for mothers to have to choose between their kids and their careers. At MOYA Design Partners, a childcare stipend is included as part of the work benefits project. Another case study found that Architects FORA, a 100% women-owned firm, is staffed completely remotely to provide as much flexibility as possible for employees with families. Whether children are young or old, this surely makes a difference in balancing professional obligations and a healthy home life.
The Road to Licensure
Motherhood is not the only thing that can set back a woman’s career. Licensure also serves as a roadblock on the path to leadership, especially for women. Although 61% of male architects are licensed, only 40% of women are. Employees that spoke to Amanda, Elisa, and Stephanie stated that “becoming licensed has been a daunting task.” Though supervisors can be supportive, encouraging employees to take the Architecture Registration Examination, “trying to excel with work responsibilities, office initiatives, and activities leaves little time for work-life balance, finding time to study for the ARE’s, and general decompression from it all.”
A healthy work-life balance is integral to both quality of work and quality of life. It’s necessary to protect this balance without penalizing employees who forgo studies and examinations that occur outside of working hours. Suggested solutions include incorporating ARE study and testing hours into staffing plans, reexamining the requirements to become a principal, and offering greater incentives for passing the Architecture Registration Examination and completing the process licensure. If these steps are undertaken, it’s possible that firms will see more licensed female architects, and women architects in leadership roles.
Feeling Out of Place
Outside of architecture firms, women face even greater challenges. “It’s difficult to be taken seriously as a woman in architecture, especially as a young woman,” one survey response said. “Not so much amongst other architects, but to GCs and consultants I feel like we have to prove our knowledge and worth 100 times over.” Another respondent noted that “it’s really hard when you’re asking someone like me, [a] thirty-something-year-old woman to bring in business. I have nothing to relate to 65-year-old men. How am I supposed to cultivate those relationships and bring in business?”
These challenges often originate from sexist stereotypes and beliefs regarding the kind of work women can do. The best way to put an end to beliefs like this is to train staff, especially men, to be allies to women in their field. It is imperative that men are aware of the challenges that women face in architecture, that way they can advocate for their co-workers in beneficial, productive ways. Firms can also accelerate the implementation of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategies, and work with (or continue to work with) women-owned consultant firms to ensure that women in architecture are supported and celebrated.
Of course, it must be acknowledged that none of these issues stand alone. Many of them intersect in complex ways, preventing women from making the most of their experiences in architecture. For example, having children can prevent female employees from taking the time to complete licensure, which may bar her from working on more projects that could potentially advance her career to the level of leadership. Alternatively, having too much work and being spread too thin can stop her from mentoring younger staff, taking the ARE, or even deciding to have kids. These are tough choices that nobody should have to make; a career and a family should not be mutually exclusive.
Making Progress
What is worth celebrating most, though, is the fact that Ankrom Moisan is already executing many of the ideas recommended by the DEIB Council to fight these issues. Benefits like Flex holidays and remote and hybrid work options allow women with families to devote time to both their career and their children, on their own schedule. Programs such as AM Learn encourage employees to continue their professional growth through educational opportunities like the office’s regular Lunch & Learn sessions. Annual DEI surveys and listening sessions from The Diversity Movement promote conversations around these topics, certifying that everybody’s voice is heard. Do GOOD/Be WELL research projects provide an outlet for investigating critical issues to improve overall company culture.
Furthermore, Ankrom Moisan is committed to establishing clear career pathways, explicit evaluation criteria, and equitable pay transparency for all positions. This initiative led to the creation of the Career Pathways Program, a practical resource which summarizes the relationship between roles and titles in architecture, interior design, and practice services, with the hope of clarifying the pathways for professional development and growth available to Ankrom Moisan employees. Informative charts and diagrams illustrate our disciplines’ roles, role summaries, and evaluation criteria at all levels. All of this goes to ensure that our HOWs are fully embodied, every day.
There may be a lot of challenges when it comes to safeguarding gender parity in architecture, however, what Amanda, Elisa, and Stephanie have done with their Do GOOD/Be WELL research project is confirm that there are plenty of actionable solutions that guarantee the future of architecture is indeed female.
Amanda Lunger, Stephanie Hollar, and Elisa Zenk in the Portland office.
By Jack Cochran, Marketing Coordinator
Where are the Women?: The Research
The Do GOOD / Be WELL scholarship encourages Ankrom Moisan employees to research an open-ended topic of their choosing to discover and share the practical results of their findings with the firm, industry, and community at large. The scholarship, started in 2017, is sponsored in memory of former AM employee Carolyn Forsyth, an inspirational leader and unyielding force for change. Intended to honor her legacy of sustainability, equity, innovation, advocacy, education, and leadership, the DGBW scholarship elevates and empowers new and inspiring ideas within Ankrom Moisan and the broader field of architecture, pushing us all, as the name implies, to do good and be well.
For their research scholarship, Amanda Lunger, Elisa Zenk, and Stephanie Hollar ventured to ask: Where are the Women?
Amanda, Elisa, and Stephanie atop Ankrom Moisan’s Portland office.
The idea came to them naturally. During the firm’s 2020 Women’s Day celebration, Elisa noticed that some of the AM statistics shared didn’t seem to tell the whole story. “The women in architecture numbers were getting buried in the celebration of the fact that our office had this large percentage of women,” Elisa explained, “but when we looked into it, most of that percentage was made up of women in the interiors department and various overhead positions.” The real number of women in architecture was not as equitable as it could be. “I think I already knew this intuitively, that women are underrepresented in design roles,” Amanda disclosed, but “once we actually looked at those numbers, that was kind of shocking to me.” Stepping back to all architecture roles, not just design, women only make up 37% of architecture staff nationwide, according to AIA industry data collected in 2019. Amanda, Elisa, and Stephanie all knew that there should be more women in the industry and began to question why that was not the case. They were also interested in solving that problem at our firm, pushing AMA beyond industry trends.
After Amanda, Elisa, and Stephanie discussed this observation, they agreed that they had seen too many brilliant women, presumably on track for leadership, leave the field. “We were talking about these women who were really rockstars in the architecture department who were leaving,” recalled Amanda. “We were speculating as to why the industry seemed to have that problem.” Whatever the cause, it was clear that some women were dissatisfied with their experiences in architecture.
Stephanie recognized that the issue of women in architecture leaving Ankrom Moisan for other opportunities was one that needed a deeper investigation. It was also a problem that affected her directly. “The women who we saw leaving at that time were older than me and in architecture, but then they left. I saw them as people that I was looking up to [that] were mentors and having them leave really created a gap of future women architecture leaders,” she remarked. “It makes you kind of question your own career sometimes. Like if all these other women are leaving, it’s like, OK, what am I doing here? Like what are they finding elsewhere?”
In fields traditionally dominated by men, like architecture, same-sex mentors are paramount to the success of early career women. Female designers are more likely to aspire to career advancement if they see someone like them at the top. This role-modeling is critical for the retention and professional growth of our talented female architects.
The consequences of the lack of female representation in architecture was further emphasized by Amanda, “Being a woman in architecture, I’ve run into a lot of experiences in dealing with colleagues where I felt very misunderstood and kind of lonely as being a gender minority or marginalized gender in this industry. I’ve had personal experiences sitting in a meeting with consultants and some of my project team members, who are all men. At the beginning of the meeting, they’re all talking about working on their cars, or fishing, like these shared hobbies that they have. I had a hard time finding common ground. It was hard to know where to start [building rapport] in some of those cases. I felt like I got overlooked a lot of the time.” Elisa felt similarly, noting how being the only woman in the room “makes it hard to have a voice or feel comfortable having a voice. There’s not always room at the table, even if you’re sitting there.” Elaborating on this idea, Amanda reflected, “I feel like I was always looking for a woman who had been in that position before and could give me advice like how to cope and how to get through it. But those mentors just weren’t there.”
The exodus of women from established architecture firms becomes even more lamentable once one recognizes that the leadership positions and characteristics women tend to embrace are critical for the future success of the firm; roles and traits such as “inspiration, participative decision-making, setting expectations and rewards, people development, and role modeling” (McKinsey, 2018). Simply put, a workplace with more women is a workplace with more creativity, productivity, and profitability (MIT News, 2014). The lack of women in architecture is intrinsically detrimental to everyone in the industry.
The healthcare team working together in the Seattle office.
Amanda, Elisa, and Stephanie’s interest in what happened to these women came at the right time. It was about a week before applications for the Do GOOD / Be WELL scholarships were due, and after their initial conversation, Amanda thought, “maybe we should turn this into a research project, that way we have time set aside to really look at it. I mean, nobody else was doing this research, so it kind of felt like, well, if we don’t do it, who’s going to?” The group quickly put together an application and submitted it before the April 2nd deadline, a date shared with Carolyn Forsyth’s birthday.
Many of the data points collected during the project’s research were gathered from conversations with women architects about their professional experiences, career goals, the tools that helped them succeed, and what they thought firms could do better to support their growth. Additional observations came from personal experience, while other statistics were sourced from the AIA. The bulk of Amanda, Elisa, and Stephanie’s AMA-specific statistics originated from a firm-wide survey they conducted, which gathered responses from 158 participants, both male and female.
Graphs illustrating the research project’s interview and survey process.
Stephanie disclosed that the study they conducted was designed to provide “specific points that we could apply here at Ankrom to help [combat the disappearance of women from architecture].” The idea was that by identifying the roadblocks that women face when advancing in their careers, they will be able to more confidently advocate for themselves and the resources they need to grow as professionals. The research is an important first step in Ankrom Moisan’s journey to bringing gender parity to the architecture department and increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the firm overall.
Read part two, here, to learn more about what the research uncovered.
By Jack Cochran, Marketing Coordinator
Living Our Hows Series
These are our Hows, the values by which we work and play. We created our Hows a few years ago through a decade-long process (stay tuned for a future post detailing that process!). We encourage everyone to show up in life and at work authentically, to seek connections and embrace the work we do with enthusiasm and flexibility. We’re a hybrid firm, and we work differently.
Our workplace design team has put together a six-part series that touches on our Hows and the way they come to life at AM. Click the links below to read each article in the series.
Jessica Kirshner, Interior Designer
Kaci Mespelt, Interior Designer
Roberta Pennington, Senior Associate Interior Designer
Aaren DeHaas, Associate Interior Designer
Rebecca Brock, Associate Interior Designer
Kerstyn Smith Olson, Content Coordinator
Interiors Innovator Karen Bowery Retires After 40 Years with Firm
After 40 years of setting the standard for how architecture and interior design intersect, Karen Bowery, Executive Vice President and Director of Interiors of Ankrom Moisan, is retiring from the firm and her role in The Society on February 28, 2023. Her decision is based on the feeling that it’s time to turn over the reins to a new generation so she can enjoy the next chapter of her life.
Karen Bowery atop the Portland office.
Karen is a real Portland trailblazer. She’s been an integral part of Ankrom Moisan since its founding and a visionary in interior design throughout her career, launching the interiors group when the firm first started in 1983. She’s been at the table since the beginning, creating space for women in architecture and interior design. In the early 1990s when Ankrom Moisan established a Board of Directors, Karen was one of the original four members.
In 2016, Karen launched The Society to focus exclusively on interior design for the hospitality industry. In six short years, The Society has secured a coveted spot on the “shortlist” for the most prestigious hotel brands in the world – Hyatt, Hilton, Mariott, and the International Hospitality Group (IHG) – and is a three-time international award nominee.
At the forefront of interior design for her entire career, Karen was one of just ten students to have graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville’s Interior Design Program in 1978, when interior design as a field was in its infancy. She has been a true leader for interior design, forging her own path without a roadmap and going on to influence the practice on a monumental scale.
Karen, circa 1980.
Building Ankrom Moisan’s Interiors division from the ground up, she pioneered the field’s best practices and laid the foundation for today’s designers and interiors teams to flourish. Her unwavering attention to the lifestyle and behavior patterns of the end user, combined with her keen understanding of consumer trends and future-focused insights, has cultivated a reputation for the firm as having one of the best Interiors groups in the country.
“We design experiences, we design spaces, and we design points of view,” says Michael Stueve, Ankrom Moisan principal. “Karen’s greatest design has been Ankrom Moisan’s Interiors department. She designed it, envisioned and made a plan for it, and then she became the ‘general contractor’ and built it. Many in the industry look at the Interiors division model Karen created here and how it operates. From my perspective, the biggest impact she’s had is in innovating a new sort of Interiors team model.”
Karen has also been a leader in understanding how data helps inform design. She established the firm’s research department, which feeds into the firm’s emphasis on user experience. She has always been driven by the idea of intent: when guests walk into a space, she believes they should feel like they are meant to be there, that it is a place that defines them, supports their unique perspective, and honors their lived experience. This speaks to Karen’s expertise as a leader, as well. She has always been there for her team, ensuring that everyone feels supported, heard, and like they belong.
Dave Heater, Karen, and Tom Moisan in 2016.
“What Karen created with her dedication and hard work in unparalleled,” adds Dave Heater, Ankrom Moisan president. “This includes what she’s built and how deeply she cares about the company and the people she has hired and helped nurture in their careers.”
Under her leadership at both Ankrom Moisan and The Society, Karen and her teams have received numerous awards from the American Institute of Architecture, and the International Interior Design Association Oregon and Pacific Northwest chapters, along with Gold Key Awards for Excellence in Hospitality Design, TopID Awards from The Hospitality Industry Network, Senior Housing News Architecture & Design Awards, DJC Oregon Top Projects Awards, and Environments for Aging Design Showcase Awards, among others. Additionally, The Society has ranked on Interior Design Magazine’s Top 100 Rising Giants list for the past two years.
Karen’s vision for the Interiors team has always been to “be the best.” She’s fostered an entrepreneurial drive which allowed her team to seek and take new directions, and under her direction many employees have become the “firsts” in their role. Karen’s involvement with the interiors team extends beyond her role as founder and executive vice president. Karen is a mentor and a friend to all who have worked with her. Her leadership, courage, work ethic, vision, and laughter have been a guiding light to many of her teammates and will be dearly missed once she is gone.
Karen at an Ankrom Moisan Happy Hour in 2022.
Leah Wheary Brown, Vice President of Interior Design Strategy, stresses Karen’s impact, stating “One of Karen’s lasting influences that she fought for from day one is how she helped move our profession from being viewed merely as decorators, into having a seat at the table as an integral part of the overall project design process.”
Though she has had many highs throughout her career, some of Karen’s legacy-defining milestones – aside from her work founding the Interiors department and The Society, her advocacy for environmental sustainability, and her achievements representing women in architecture and interior design – include spearheading the interior design for the projects located on Macadam Avenue. Originally designed for renowned developer John Gray, Ankrom Moisan made this property its first long-term headquarters in 1985. Over the following decade, Karen and the firm worked with Gray on several projects that came to characterize the Macadam area of Portland, including the celebrated Water Tower at Johns Landing.
Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, Washington, also holds a special place for both Karen and Ankrom Moisan. From the groundbreaking, through renovations, updates, and new additions, Karen and the firm played a key role in helping to shape this iconic Pacific Northwest resort and surrounding property. As Ankrom Moisan’s first hotel project, it was also the launching pad for Karen’s focus on the hospitality industry.
Additionally, working with developers like John Carroll and Homer Williams, Karen was instrumental in the transition of Portland’s Pearl District from abandoned railyards and warehouses to vibrant neighborhoods. Karen created a unit customization program and pushed for staffing the sales offices of Pearl District projects with Ankrom Moisan designers to help buyers customize their units, a practice that was previously unused, but which has now become the norm. Following the success of Portland’s Pearl District, Karen helped broaden the firm’s focus toward other forms of housing, in particular for the growing market of senior housing.
When Ankrom Moisan relocated its founding office in 2016 to 38 Davis in the Old Town area of downtown Portland, Karen led the project team in designing this new space to directly reflect the firm’s mission, values, culture, and identity.
Suffice to say, Karen’s impact on Ankrom Moisan is felt not only through the spaces we inhabit that she designed and the practices we follow that she created, but also through the connections she’s made and the lessons she has taught us, whether those are lessons in overcoming obstacles or in remembering to have fun with the process. According to Interior Designer Katie Lyslo, Karen “has taught [her] to take design seriously, but [to] still have fun doing so.” Looking back at her portfolio, it’s evident that Karen has had a lot of fun over the course of her career.
Karen at an Ankrom Moisan Holiday Party in 2014.
Karen will turn over leadership of Ankrom Moisan’s Interiors group to Alissa Brandt and Leah Wheary Brown, who have worked alongside her for 22 and 19 years, respectively. Brant and Wheary Brown will build upon Karen’s lasting imprint while cultivating their own vision for the firm.
Alissa Brandt, Karen, and Leah Wheary Brown.
Casey Scalf, a Design Principal and founding member, will become the Director of The Society when Karen retires.
“I’m extremely excited to further the legacy that Karen created,” says Alissa Brandt, Vice President of Interiors. “This is a time of constant change and staying stagnant is not an option. That’s what is most exciting about interior design – it’s never going to be the same, even when you’re working with the same client. There’s always an evolution, and Karen has consistently kept Ankrom Moisan at the forefront.”
“A big part of Karen’s success and legacy is what she’s leaving behind,” Leah reflects. “She has been integral in shaping the interior design industry. Karen helped me learn to think strategically, but to also understand where we need to go in the future to be relevant, to move with evolving changes in the industry, with development, with clients, and with our own practice.”
Karen and Leah in 2011.
“Karen has designed a self-sustaining model and has been the gasoline in the tank for our Interiors team,” says Michael. “When she transitions to the next chapter we’re not going to run out of gas. The energy she has put in is a renewable resource for the department. I’ve heard her say, ‘My greatest purpose is to give people wings to soar.’ I’m going to miss her a ton, she brings so much here, and she has empowered us for the future.”
As Karen begins a new chapter in her life, we would like to wish her well and thank her for all she has accomplished for the firm over the past four decades. The impact she has had on the field of interior design will be lauded for decades to come, and her absence will be painfully noticed.
by Jack Cochran, Marketing Coordinator
Living Our Hows (6 of 6): Lead with Heart
Ankrom Moisan takes our Hows very seriously. Our Hows are the values by which we work and play. This post explores Lead with Heart and is one of a six-part series that touches on our Hows and the way they come to life at AM. Stay tuned for future blog posts revealing more about AM’s Hows.
At Ankrom Moisan, our mission is to create places where people and communities thrive. Our goal is to provide a place of safety and comfort that is purposeful and sensitive, both to our client’s visions and to users’ needs. Through our integrated design approach, our team works to identify project challenges and propose solutions. Although these conversations can be hard, our clients appreciate this transparent and collaborative method of problem solving. We work closely as a team on every project with our clients to design spaces that address their concerns and closely align with their goals and company culture.
This is our work: Purposeful and sensitive, both to our clients’ visions and to users’ needs.
📸: by Andrew Nam
Q. What drives the planning and design for mission-driven work?
A. The driving factors for mission-driven work are similar to other projects in that we consider the specific type of work each of our clients do, their culture and what their company represents. The difference with mission-driven work is that much of what they do directly touches and impacts individuals in the community they serve. Many of these organizations are working to better lives within the community around them and a lot of this work involves helping people through tough times. The nature of their work and the topics discussed can bring up a lot of sensitive issues. Our goal is to find a way to design a space that addresses their clientele’s insecurities, privacy concerns and sensitivities. Keeping these items front of mind is key to a successful project.
Q. What makes mission-driven work unique to other projects? Are there any unique planning needs or sensitivities that need to be considered?
A. Several of the organizations we’ve worked with are in place to help people through challenging moments in their lives, from counseling and support services, to prevention, each come with unique needs. It’s essential to meet the psychological needs of both the employees working in the space, and those of the visitors. Ensuring basic safety is an important first step. We aim to bolster feelings of security and support, for example for some organizations it’s important that visitors have their own waiting areas, ensuring private, judgement-free zones. Beyond psychological needs there are physical safety requirements for both employees and visitors that need to be addressed and this can be a delicate balance between providing a space that’s inviting, but also ensuring physical safety.
📸: by Andrew Nam
Q. How do you meet the organization’s needs and provide a carefully considered design within budget?
A. It’s important to understand the organization’s goals and any difficulties they face. We always do an extensive programming phase with clients, a deep dive into not only their space needs but a close examination of their function, culture, and how they want to be perceived by their community. Having these conversations up front, along with the conversations around psychological and physical safety, help us to create a well-balanced space. These can be tough conversations to navigate but they’re particularly important to create a successful design in the end.
Regarding budget, having this conversation up front helps to inform the options we put forward. It’s important to specify appropriate finishes that reflect each organization and represent their outward public appearance. We are also mindful of how long it is until the organization’s next anticipated relocation or renovation. Some organizations won’t have the opportunity to create a new office for themselves for another 30-50 years, therefore specifying durable, timeless selections is crucial to design fresh, welcoming spaces that stand the test of time. In the end, it’s these organizations that are truly leading with their hearts, and we are here to support and uplift them in the best ways that we are able!
Aaren DeHaas, Associate Interior Designer
Rebecca Brock, Associate Interior Designer
Employee Spotlight: Michael Bonn
When designing affordable housing projects, Principal Michael Bonn puts a piece of himself into his work. Sometimes multiple pieces. He goes above and beyond in his endeavors, connecting with clients through the one-of-a-kind furniture and art he designs, which are often surprises, only revealed at the end of construction.
Michael in his home woodshop
Art pieces attached to the walls of a project are usually discussed early on or along the way to ensure clients know what they’re getting. For furniture, Michael works alongside the interiors team during the procurement process, choosing items to design and bring onto the project himself.
Often, Michael makes use of regional features and project characteristics to inform the design of his custom artworks and furnishings. For example, to honor the fact Wy’East Plaza was constructed on Multnomah tribal land and named after the Multnomah people’s title for Mt. Hood, a stylized art wall was installed in the building’s lobby depicting the silhouette of the iconic stratovolcano.
Chairs and art wall designed by Michael and built by Walsh Constuction for Wy’East Plaza
Though it started as a way to preserve and honor trees removed from project sites in a sustainable and creative way, Michael’s furniture pieces have become a tradition in the affordable housing projects he completes. It’s a fun way for him to engage with the projects on a deeper level. It’s also a thoughtful gift for his clients, since the salvaged lumber Michael designs around comes from older, heritage trees found on the property, which are cut down, milled into dimensional lumber, and dried over the course of construction. Giving them a new life as art and home furnishings means they can continue to be enjoyed by those who live there, like at the Orchards at Orenco, where a large cottonwood tree was transformed into wood tile art and a pair of lounge chairs for the project’s foyer, and a sizable beech tree was crafted into a farm-style dining table.
Wood tiles and Cottonwood lobby chairs designed by Michael for Orchards at Orenco
Tactile handwork is a huge part of who Michael is-it’s how he likes to express himself. That’s why he was drawn to architecture in the first place; Michael loves the craft of designing and building things, especially when they have an impact on people’s lives. This is also why he finds affordable housing projects so fulfilling. He believes that elevating people’s lives through quality housing can be foundational to elevating other aspects of their lives. As for the handmade furniture, he sees it as a unique way to provide residents with something tangible that they can interact with.
Table designed by Michael for Orchards at Orenco
Furniture isn’t the only surprise Michael gives his clients. He has a tradition of making holiday gifts for those he has worked with. This year, he crafted twelve small tea boxes from white oak and leather sourced from the Oregon Leather Company, just down the street from the Portland office. The boxes snap closed with a button, and are laser engraved with Ankrom Moisan’s logo. Filled with festive holiday tea, there’s no doubt that Michael’s thoughtfulness is a refreshing perk to working with him.
Custom tea boxes created by Michael for his clients as a holiday gift
Off the clock, Michael’s hands hardly idle, but that doesn’t mean he’s overworked. His woodshop is the sanctuary where he recharges his battery, which makes sense; he’s been working with wood since he was big enough to hold a hammer. He has his dad, who was very generous about letting Michael make a mess in his shop when he was a kid, to thank for that. His longtime passion is evident at home-every room has a piece or two that Michael made himself.
Cedar chandelier designed and built by Michael for his home
Michael’s inclination for building and making a difference led him to Ankrom Moisan back in 1997, right out of school. Because he was so green, he credits AM with teaching him almost everything he’s learned as a professional.
The thing he loves most about Ankrom Moisan, though, is the people. Some of his closest friendships have been forged here over the last 20+ years. He says that these friends are people that support him in all kinds of ways, both professionally and personally. It’s a good thing Michael has such supportive friends at AM; once his house fills up, they may just have to take some of that furniture off his hands.
By Jack Cochran, Marketing Coordinator
Spotlight: New Hire Emily Feicht
Q. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I grew up here in Oregon and have always had a real passion for the northwest. I love the rain, trees, coffee and all the culture that comes with it. I went to college at University of Oregon and graduated with the first COVID class in 2020, and knew I wanted to stay here and design beautiful spaces in the area. I began my career navigating the world of interior design at a small architecture firm in Salem for close to two years. Now, I am a fully remote part of the workplace team at Ankrom Moisan, I live in Corvallis with my kitty Maddy, and come up to Portland once to twice a month to work in the office.
Q. What has your experience been like at Ankrom Moisan these first few months?
I’ve had the best time! I love the incredibly supportive environment between peers, coworkers and supervisors. I’ve never worked with so many other interior designers at one time and feel fortunate to be encouraged to do the work that makes the project successful and the work we are good at! Especially concept design. I also love the reassurance from my team to be involved in IIDA and be integrated with Oregon’s interior design community.
Q. Favorite moment at Ankrom so far?
I am a thrilled for the holidays and all the festivities, so I loved getting dressed up and going to the holiday party! It was so fun to see everyone with the black and white theme and having seasonal cocktails and food!
Q. As one of Ankrom’s first few fully remote Workplace Interiors Team members, how has it been?
I have felt set up for success since day one – I’ve been impressed from the beginning with how equipped AM is to support their employees in any environment!
I also felt like the process of integrating myself with my team was seamless (both workplace and the larger AM team). When I get to come visit and work in the office, I may not know everyone, but I’ve found it comforting that people are so warm and willing to introduce themselves. Say hi, even if we’ve met before, I love it!
Welcome to the team, Emily, we are lucky to have you!
Emily Feicht, Interior Designer
📸: Oregon Coast by Eric Muhr
📸: Holiday portrait by Evrim Icoz
Promotions Announcement 2023
Over the past year, we’ve accomplished a lot. From designing seven award-winning interior design & architecture works and completing one of the largest zero-energy affordable housing projects in the Pacific Northwest, to raising over $167,000 for Food Lifeline during the annual A.M. Trivia Night, Ankrom Moisan’s employees have been responsible for a year of immense growth and success.
For Exploring Beyond the Expected, 35 employees throughout our Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle offices received promotions in the last year. These outstanding employees include:
Executive Leadership
- Alissa Brandt, Vice President of Interiors – Portland
- Leah Wheary Brown, Vice President of Interior Design Strategy – Portland
- Emily Lamunyan, Director of Marketing – Portland
Principal & Director
- Casey Scalf, Director of The Society – Seattle
- Matt Janssen, Architecture – Portland
- Laurie Linville-Gregston, Architecture – Portland
Senior Associates
- Michael DiBiase, Architecture – Portland
- Clare Goddard, Interiors – Portland
- Stephanie Hollar, Architecture – Portland
- Nandita Kamath, Architecture – Seattle
- Megan Kim, Architecture – Seattle
- Amanda Lunger, Architecture and Practice – Portland
Associate Principals
- Jenny Chapman, Architecture – Seattle
- Scott Crosby, Architecture – Seattle
- Francis Dardis, Architecture – Portland
- John Eidman, Architecture – Portland
- Tania Feliciano, Architecture – Portland
- Cara Godwin, Architecture – Seattle
- Bronson Graff, Architecture – Portland
- Kimberleigh Grimm, Architecture – Seattle
- Rick Heiserman, Architecture and Practice – Portland
- Scott Hopkins, Architecture – San Francisco
- Jason Jones, Architecture – Portland
- John Schupp, Architecture – Portland
- Sean Scott, Architecture – Portland
Associates
- Hans Fagerlund, Architecture – Seattle
- Doug Grove, Architecture – Seattle
- Jessica Kirshner, Interiors – Portland
- Michael Lama, Architecture – Seattle
- Keith Larson, Practice – Portland
- Sakura Moriya, Interiors – Portland
- Annabelle Nikolov, Architecture – Seattle
- Melanie Pakingan, Architecture – Seattle
- Christie Thorpe, Interiors – Portland
Business Services
- Minh-Toan Vu, Junior Systems Administrator – Seattle
For all your hard work, it is our pleasure to say, congratulations. Thank you for being what makes Ankrom Moisan a top design firm and best place to work, not to mention a source of inspiration and community to many. We look forward to witnessing the heights you will reach in 2023.
by Jack Cochran, Marketing Coordinator
Living Our Hows (5 of 6): Share Openly
Ankrom Moisan takes our Hows very seriously. Our Hows are the values by which we work and play. This post explores Share Openly and is one of a six-part series that touches on our Hows and the way they come to life at AM. Stay tuned for future blog posts revealing more about AM’s Hows.
At Ankrom Moisan we highly value and prioritize mentoring relationships to share skills, create career growth and nurture our culture. Over the course of testing and establishing a mentorship program the past two-years, the most successful and beneficial mentorships embody leading and learning between both individuals. When a mentorship relationship is established without dedicated “mentor/mentee” roles, both individuals can remain receptive, which allows for open communication and knowledge sharing resulting in everyone’s growth.
Roberta Pennington, Senior Associate Interior Designer at Ankrom Moisan, has this to say about her experience with mentorship:
“My mentorship team consists of two people who are not related to my area of practice. With their neutral view, I was able to see my contributions to the team and the firm out of context. Our conversations helped me to better understand what role I want to pursue and, even better, redefine the roles that were available.
Apart from the professional advice, it’s reassuring to see my colleagues are human and have similar stressors related to family and health. My mentors/mentees helped me to manage expectations around being healthy and successfully performing my job.
We still meet quarterly despite each of our respective busy schedules. I love this commitment we made. It’s attainable and shows we care about the other’s well-being.”
The following tips support this method of mentorship:
Be Open to Vulnerability:
When genuinely connecting with one another, it can feel truly vulnerable to share openly about the successes and ever so humbling lessons being learned at any given time. We’re putting ourselves out there when we invite another to problem solve with us, while knowing that we each bring something to the solution, and that neither person needs to have all the answers to every question. When we meet with a professional outside of our department, or when we invite guest speakers to address goals beyond our scope or abilities, we allow ourselves to be vulnerable, which opens us up to further mutual growth and connection.
Value the Mutual Commitment:
Showing up is a first step, but a commitment to the mentorship also means being prepared to answer questions and share experiences mutually. Respecting one another’s time is also integral to the mentorship. To do so create recurring meetings in advance, honor this reserved time, and communicate clearly when you need to reschedule.
Establish Goals:
Determine where the mentorship will take place, and for how long. Within the mutually agreed-upon boundaries, share your interests, strengths, and weaknesses with each other. Conversations that encompass these vulnerable topics can foster an environment in which you can better establish goals and review them together. Thereby offering opportunities to both shore each other up and hold one another accountable. Create a road map of topics you will discuss, along with activities to share as learning experiences.
Good Questions:
Sharing openly leaves room to take initiative to lead the conversation and actively listen. Have meaningful questions prepared so you can uncover the insight you are looking to gather. Don’t be afraid to dig deep and listen with intent! Unexpected jewels can be uncovered when the right questions are asked.
Express Gratitude:
Take the time to discuss what you have learned from each other, and express gratitude for the time invested in you. When the opportunity arises, speak positively of each other to others. When gratitude is expressed the positive effects ripple outward. And don’t forget to celebrate achievements together!
Using this method of mentorship at Ankrom Moisan has made the workplace a welcoming environment. Every member of the team has talents and skills to be shared and can create a stronger connection. Growth is achieved at a rapid rate with mutual respect and understanding!
by Kaci Mespelt, Interior Designer, and
Roberta Pennington, Senior Associate Interior Designer
📸: Cheryl Mcintosh, featured image
Living Our Hows (4 of 6): Client Trust
Ankrom Moisan takes our Hows very seriously. Our Hows are the values by which we work and play. This post explores Trust and is one of a six-part series that touches on our Hows and the way they come to life at AM. Stay tuned for future blog posts revealing more about AM’s Hows.
At AM, we are proud that most of our clients are return customers. Or, they have been referred to us by a happy customer. Clients come to us after the market has changed or their businesses have evolved – and, right now, whose hasn’t? It’s humbling when someone reaches out to us for help – and, to honor this, we ground our relationships in TRUST.
Client relationships based in trust allow both parties to be a bit vulnerable. They allow us to dig deeper when strategizing to get to the heart of the matter. These in-depth and intimate conversations uncover the key drivers of a project and are used to craft spaces that truly resonate. Client trust gives us the freedom to go beyond our “first good idea” and offer more avenues to consider.
Clients who believe they are being led by a dependable team, feel at ease with the process of a project. At AM, it is our teams’ responsibility to create this sense of ease by sharing our experience, mentoring each other, and staying curious by researching contemporary trends within our industries. Our expertise resides in several market sectors – from workplace to housing to hospitality – and this cross-discipline perspective allows us to see synergies between markets. Design strategies for one project type are informed by the insights of another – creating the multi-dimensional experience that so many are seeking in today’s market.
Central to creating trust with anyone is consistency. At AM, we strive to create a customer experience that is enjoyable for everyone; we do our best to be approachable and available to our clients, to be enthusiastic and reliable, honest, and genuine. It is a part of our DNA to work from this perspective and it allows clients to create their own journeys – trusting that we are here as guides during the process.
by Laura Serecin
Exploring our Design Passions
“It was one of the highlights of my entire working career.”
At Ankrom Moisan, we believe that continued education is a key facet of success and fulfilment. When we make room for the betterment of ourselves, when we feel supported to follow our passions and to live authentically, we all thrive.
In addition to programs such as Lunch and Learns, conferences, and paid educational hours, AM offers two annual in-house scholarships; the Do Good Be Well Scholarship and the Travel Scholarship. Both are open to all staff across all offices.
The annual travel scholarship is an opportunity for our employees to travel while exploring a design topic they are passionate about. They receive 10 days of paid time off for their trip and a stipend to cover their travel expenses. When they come back, they receive additional time to prepare a design presentation and share their findings with the rest of the firm.
Jenny Chapman and Sadaf Quddusi, two previous AM Travel Scholarship winners, tell us about their travel experiences.
In 2021, Jenny visited Italy to attend the Venice Biennale and explore the global design conversation surrounding communal living and how we will live together in the future.
“I think it’s really important that we take time away from our day-to-day work to lift our eyes to the horizon and consider what’s coming next in our industry. The AM Travel Scholarship is a great opportunity to do that, it offers space to think deeply about design.
My experience travelling to the Biennale and exploring different architectural approaches really helped me to refresh my perspective. It was incredibly valuable to see some of the same problems we often face in this region, being solved in entirely different ways in other parts of the world.”
Exhibits from the 2021 Venice Biennale
Sadaf—who visited the UK in 2019 to study mass timber—agrees, adding that “research is so important to what we do. My research in the UK allowed me to be on the leading edge of the mass timber transition in the US. It was something I was really glad to study and share with the firm.”
The Travel Scholarship is an investment in the design culture and community of our firm and industry. It is an opportunity to explore how design betters our environments and our lives.
Our 2023 scholarship is now open for submissions. In January we’ll be sharing the next winning design topic, stay tuned!
by Mackenzie Gilstrap, Sr. Marketing Coordinator
Employee Spotlight: Jenna Mogstad
Last month Interior Designer Jenna Mogstad was named the 2022 Emerging Professional by IIDA’s Oregon Chapter. after being nominated by several of her AM coworkers.
Jenna, who has been with AM for 6 years, has excelled as a designer for many reasons. But perhaps her greatest strength is her passion. As her manager and mentor, Cindy Schaumberg, describes it, Jenna “puts her heart into each project.”
Jenna is fascinated by the psychology of interior design and she approaches her work with a sense of advocacy—taking great care to ensure that the end user will be positively impacted by her projects.
Driven by a desire to help people heal, she gravitates towards trauma-informed design and often applies her skills to affordable housing projects. Jenna enjoys this work because she recognizes that it has a significant impact on people’s lives. Her designs have the power to help the residents of affordable housing communities to feel a sense of safety and stability.
Jenna is particularly proud of her current project Meridian Gardens, an 85-unit supportive housing community designed to serve individuals who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness and are receiving substance use disorder treatment.
Jenna’s passion for design is apparent to everyone working alongside her, as the nominations will attest. They describe someone who “embodies curiosity, empathy, and the ability to innovate” with a “drive to improve herself and the field of interior design.”
Jenna is well-deserving of the title “Emerging Professional of the Year” and we’re incredibly proud to have her on our team.
by Mackenzie Gilstrap, Sr. Marketing Coordinator
Living Our Hows (3 of 6): Be Yourself
Ankrom Moisan takes our Hows very seriously. Our Hows are the values by which we work and play. This post explores Be Yourself and is one of a six-part series that touches on our Hows and the way they come to life at AM. Stay tuned for future blog posts revealing more about AM’s Hows.
Celebrating Roberta Pennington and her Influences on Interior Design
Ankrom Moisan takes our Hows very seriously. Our Hows are the values by which we work and play. This post explores Be Yourself and is one of a six-part series that touches on our Hows and the way they come to life at AM. Stay tuned for future blog posts revealing more about AM’s Hows.
In the Fall of 2021, we proudly announced on social media that Roberta Pennington, NCIDQ was awarded the Legacy Award for the 2021 IIDA Oregon Design Excellence Awards.
Since arriving in Portland over 20 years ago, Roberta has been a leading advocate for the interior design profession, having served many terms on both IDC Oregon and IIDA Oregon Chapter Boards as a voice for interior design advocacy all over the United States. Her colleagues credit her with possessing vast knowledge and contagious enthusiasm, bringing excitement, and understanding to legislative efforts. Roberta puts a fun spin on everyday advocacy, hosting a podcast that dissects movies and TV shows featuring interior designers, and discussing how they do or do not represent the reality of the profession.
Over the years, Roberta has touched many lives through mentorship and community involvement. She helped develop a mentorship program within Ankrom Moisan, which was successfully adopted across all three offices. She is credited with having a management style that fosters immense and rapid growth in junior designers and making everyone she works with feel valued. She openly shares her personal and professional experiences with others, helping our design community to know we’re in this together. Her personal stories bring levity to a seemingly serious, deadline and deals driven industry.
The testimony of those who nominated Roberta for this award in excellence is compelling. From many sources it has been made clear that Roberta is constantly stepping up and helping when needed. That she is dependable and responsible, and always stays true to herself, maintaining a rare authenticity. She embodies everything a leader should be.
With a theatrical background, Roberta brings big ideas to the table and loves to dream of the impossible and work to make it a reality. She also wants everyone to be heard and never shuts anyone down. No idea is a bad idea to her; she welcomes all with enthusiasm and helps to understand why it would or wouldn’t work for a project. Her experience in set design and theatre, her sharp wit and legendary sense of humor, and her myriad of extracurricular interests keep her busy. These inform her design directions, and she brings a truly unique perspective to every project she works on. Roberta is an active advocate for interior design. She can whip out her elevator speech to explain to anyone what commercial interior designers do day-to-day and overall. She’s a great role model for how to communicate the importance of the role in the industry.
Roberta hails from Youngstown, OH and is proud of her upbringing. When a childhood friend announced that he was hoping to open a community theatre in her hometown, she dove into action. She assisted him with selecting a site and campaigned to the Executive Leadership Committee at Ankrom for use of our VIZ Team Services so that this project could have top tier 3D renderings for their community outreach and funding programs. This project is currently underway.
Roberta is the Geek in the details of interior design. She loves BOMA, egress calculations, technical details, and code compliance. She is exceptionally educated and experienced in these areas. These interior design skillsets provide great contrast to the universal myth that interior designers’ only skill is to “pick out” finishes. Roberta takes every chance she can to challenge the many misconceptions of the interior design industry, through conversation, podcasts, educational campaigns, advocacy and leadership. She slays misconceptions with her quit wit, expertise and signature charm. Through seeing commercial interior design as having an impact on the humans that interact with the spaces that we create, she is forever a spokesperson for design, its importance and the impact it has on our community.
Roberta has clearly impacted the industry by inspiring those around her and has already made an indelible difference to the profession of Interior Design, as well as to the people she encounters in her advocacy and playful approach to life.
View her IIDA Oregon Chapter video feature and be sure to check out her podcast @starchitectspodcast.
content provided by IIDA Oregon Chapter
edited by Kerstyn Smith Olson, Content Coordinator
Trivia Night 2022
We’re proud to share that we raised over $167,000 for Food Lifeline during our 12th annual AM Trivia Night last week!
Food Lifeline is a non-profit organization on a mission to feed people facing hunger today while working to end hunger for tomorrow. Food Lifeline’s mission goes hand and hand with our values at Ankrom Moisan. We are passionate about designing affordable housing because we strive to provide stability and security to those suffering in the US housing crisis and many of the people we hope to impact through our housing projects are also facing food insecurity.
The money we’ve raised will make a very real impact in the lives of those experiencing hunger in Western Washington and it was only possible thanks to our generous donors, participants, and volunteers.
Not only did we raise an incredible sum for Food Lifeline, we also had a lot of fun. This year’s theme was “camp chic” and, besides trivia, the evening was filled with good company, incredible costumes, hilarious competitions, and—of course—a dance-off.
If you want to know more about how AM’s Food Lifeline fundraiser evolved into annual trivia with a side of dancing and costumes—we have the full story here.
The music video we filmed to thank our event sponsors.
Center: The 2022 Trivia Champions, Morrison Herschfield!
THANK YOU TO OUR 2022 SPONSORS:
AvalonBay Communities with Brian and Holly Fritz
Aegis Living
Bill Soderberg with Max Wurzburg/Windermere & Red Propeller
Cross 2 Design Group
Legacy Group
Navix Engineering
RDH Building Science, Inc.
The Walsh Group
Willamette Management Associates
A3 Acoustics LLP
Brumbaugh & Associates
Clark Construction
Glumac
GLY Construction
Howard S. Wright, a Balfour Beatty company
objekts
PCL Construction Services, Inc.
PCS Structural Solutions
Rushing Co.
Shaw Contract
Stone Source
Swinerton
Vulcan Real Estate
by Mackenzie Gilstrap, Sr. Marketing Coordinator
Employee Spotlight: Roberta Pennington
Roberta Pennington doesn’t just offer advice to her colleagues; she puts on a pair of mustache glasses and coaches them through challenging scenarios with skits.
For designers, a particularly formidable stage of the design process is construction administration (CA). Roberta equates it to herding cats.
During CA, designers’ people management skills are put to the ultimate test as all the project stakeholders converge. Designers are often faced with managing a wide array of disciplines—resolving miscommunication, realigning over-stepped roles, and negotiating endless spreadsheets.
But Roberta doesn’t want CA to feel scary, so she offers guidance on how to handle the most common and frustrating scenarios, while also making you laugh, in what she calls “CA Theatre”—a new regular segment of the monthly interiors team meeting.
With an artful blend of empathy and humor, she’ll perform a dramatic reenactment of the most dreaded situations. In her groucho-esque mustache glasses, she pretends to be “Bob Boberson,” an amalgamation of the all the challenging experiences and people that designers often face. Bob serves as a caricature villain, the bane of interior designers everywhere. Managing Principal Alissa Brandt models how to respond to Bob’s micro-aggressions and unchecked behavior with professionalism and composure.
Roberta playing “Lady Carol Brittingham” during CA Theatre
Most recently she played a Cruella de Vil inspired character, “Lady Carol Brittingham”—another dramatized version of the difficult scenarios that can be encountered during CA.
During CA Theatre, something incredible happens, everyone comes alive, laughing, nodding and commiserating. But it goes beyond entertainment, the skit spurs problem-solving and engaged discussion about how to handle challenging situations. It offers mentorship and project management training in a fun and approachable way. Roberta’s goal is to ensure the entire team feels equipped to take on the responsibility of construction administration.
Having been with the firm for more than 10 years, Roberta says that one of the many reasons she’s stayed is because at AM she has the space and support to bring unconventional ideas to the table. While previous employers may have put up with her “shenanigans”—as she calls them—AM encourages them. She doesn’t feel censored or silenced.
And it’s a good thing, because Roberta being anything other than herself would be a loss for us all.
by Mackenzie Gilstrap, Sr. Marketing Coordinator
Not Your Average Fundraiser
We’ve been told that AM Trivia Night is THE industry event of the year. And we can’t help but agree—between the killer pub trivia, dance offs, costume contests, and goofy videos—it’s a night you don’t want to miss. Mostly because it feels more like a lively night out with good friends than a fundraiser.
But it is, in fact, a fundraiser. Over the past 12 years, the occasion has evolved from a small donation event to support a summer food drive to an eminent annual fundraiser with more than 600 people in attendance and over $240,000 raised (in one year!) for Food Lifeline, a non-profit working to end hunger in Western Washington.
The success of AM Trivia Night is the result of an enduring partnership between Ankrom Moisan and Food Lifeline. A partnership made possible by the countless Ankrom Moisan employees who are dedicated to positively impacting their communities, and a company culture that brings fun and creativity to all that we do.
The journey from food drive to trivia (with a side of dancing and costumes).
A few decades ago, Food Lifeline started a donation competition, called Food Frenzy, amongst businesses to help raise money to provide kids with free lunches throughout the summertime—kids who usually relied on subsidized school lunches each day.
Someone who had previously participated in Food Frenzy was now working at Ankrom Moisan and suggested that the firm get involved. AM President Dave Heater agreed, stipulating that the AM event should be fun and different, not your average fundraiser.
About 30 or so people joined us in that first year for pub trivia in our office—punctuated by beer, food and laughter. In the first round of questions, several teams tied and all the tie breaker questions were used. The game continued smoothly until the final round ended with another tie. Completely out of trivia questions and with no clear winner, there were only a few moments of uncertainty before someone in the group shouted, “dance off!” and a tradition was born.
That was in 2009. To this day, AM Trivia Nights still feature dance offs where a winner is chosen by audience applause.
As the event grew, we added more and more unconventional elements; fun themes, costume contests and silly “music videos” to thank our sponsors. Trivia Night quickly became a hit. By 2019, we were filling up the ballroom at the Hyatt Regency Seattle and we raised the equivalent of one million meals in just that single event. A proud moment for Ankrom Moisan.
The reason behind the Ankrom Moisan x Food Lifeline partnership.
Ankrom Moisan employees are, and always have been, enthusiastic participants in Trivia Night, as attendees, event volunteers, and donors. We, as a company, are united in our support for Food Lifeline.
Food Lifeline’s mission goes hand and hand with our own values. We design affordable housing of many types—from workforce housing to transitional housing—because we strive to provide stability and security to those suffering in the US housing crisis. Many of the people we are hoping to impact through our housing projects are also facing food insecurity.
And for some of us, food insecurity is an issue that hits close to home.
In 2010, Dave Heater and his husband welcomed their son into their family through open adoption, choosing to cultivate a lifelong relationship with their son’s birth mother, Amber. Dave describes the process of open adoption like grafting a new branch onto your family tree.
At the time of his son’s birth, Amber was in rehab and was trying to piece her life together. She was in her early 20s and had been struggling with addiction since she was a kid. Amber already had a 3-year-old son that she was working to parent, and she recognized that she was not in the position to care for another child.
Since that time, Amber has gotten her life on a stable track—despite the odds stacked against her. She’s put herself through beauty school and is now a successful hairdresser and parent to two children. Dave’s son still sees her regularly and Dave thinks of her as a sister.
Dave knows what the food bank and the summer lunch programs meant to Amber, throughout her life. She and her family relied on these meals for survival. It is non-profits like Food Lifeline and the generosity of donors like you, that made the difference in not going hungry while balancing all the other challenges of Amber’s life as a single mom.
This year we aim to raise over $200,000 for Food Lifeline to feed children and families facing hunger today, and to solve hunger for tomorrow.
Join us at Trivia Night 2022 and be a part of the fight to end hunger in Western Washington.
Thank you to our 2022 sponsors:
AvalonBay Communities with Brian and Holly Fritz
Aegis Living
Bill Soderberg with Max Wurzburg/Windermere & Red Propeller
Cross 2 Design Group
Legacy Group
Navix Engineering
RDH Building Science, Inc.
The Walsh Group
Willamette Management Associates
Campfire Sing-a-long:
A3 Acoustics LLP
Brumbaugh & Associates
Clark Construction
Glumac
GLY Construction
Howard S. Wright, a Balfour Beatty company
objekts
PCL Construction Services, Inc.
PCS Structural Solutions
Rushing Co.
Shaw Contract
Stone Source
Swinerton
Vulcan Real Estate
by Mackenzie Gilstrap, Sr. Marketing Coordinator
Living Our Hows (2 of 6): Have Fun with It
Ankrom Moisan takes our Hows very seriously. Our Hows are the values by which we work and play. This post explores Have Fun with It and is one of a six-part series that touches on our Hows and the way they come to life at AM. Stay tuned for future blog posts revealing more about AM’s Hows.
Roberta Pennington, Senior Associate Interior Designer at Ankrom Moisan, also currently holds the title of Vice President of Advocacy of the IIDA Oregon Chapter, as well as the illustrious honor of Judges Choice at Rose City Comic Con Cosplay Contest. Roberta has been involved in IIDA for quite a while; a dozen years ago she was President of the Oregon Chapter, and in the intervening years she has forged many connections and continues to advocate for better legislation for the Interior Designer profession. She is passionate about the spirit of collaboration, solving problems, and doing it with flair.
Roberta Pennington, NCIDQ, Senior Associate
Roberta used to do theatre set design where she earned a scrappy, can-do, go-get-em attitude that has translated quite well to her career with interior design. She prides herself on her spry professional reflexes, and ability to maintain a friendly, approachable, and collaborative attitude, especially when drumming up interest and activism for her chosen vocation. While the ofttimes heavy subjects of laws, law-making and legislation can be overwhelming and at times dry, Roberta has found that the advocacy that she’s so passionate about brings folks together, and that the Oregon Chapter is a unique bunch. Sandwiched between two large chapters of WA/ID/MO/AK/BC and Northern and Southern CA, the Oregon Chapter is unapologetically themselves, different from the rest. Similar to AM the Oregon Chapter promotes fun and people connection in their pursuits.
Roberta Pennington in her skogsra costume
Case in point, recently Roberta was at the helm of the IIDA advocacy fundraiser, Once Upon a Time… We Bowled! at a local bowling alley in Southeast Portland. IIDA members got together to raise funds for the advocacy of interior design regulation and legislation. Members donned their favorite fairytale and fantasy-themed costumes (think Ren Faire, and Comic Con), enjoyed good food, great company and bowled frames together. There was a large raffle, community, and much camaraderie with colleagues. Roberta enjoyed the connections she was making and renewing and mingling while dressed in her skogsra costume. There was a large picture frame photo op, where participants showed off their best costumes and their advocacy support with signs with slogans like “We Support Interior Design Advocacy Because…” with an invitation to fill in the blank. There was a legislator lookup station where stamped postcards to state representatives were provided, since local politics are of the upmost importance when trying to affect change. This event proved to be a quirky blast; hugely successful in community outreach and advocacy, fun had by all.
A designer sporting elf ears
Interior design advocates unite!
All this to say, Roberta embodies the value of Have Fun with It in many facets of her life. You too may create opportunities to dress as a fairytale creature in your professional life.
by Kerstyn Smith Olson, Content Coordinator
Better Together
Every year, around this time, we gather as a firm and celebrate design. It’s like an Ankrom Moisan holiday. A week-long tradition we’ve all come to know and love—AM Design Week.
This year’s theme was aptly labeled “Better Together.” And the mission was simple: share, have fun, be yourself, and embrace change.
Opportunities to join in workshops, collaborative exercises and group discussions were sprinkled throughout the week so that AM staff could connect, share ideas, and improve each other’s work.
Some of us gathered over Zoom for an origami workshop hosted by an instructor in Japan, others participated in a guided collaboration exercise, or joined in one of the many happy hours—on a rooftop in Portland, in a Seattle speakeasy, or at a San Francisco tapas bar. There were neighborhood walkabouts, design critiques, interactive collages, and so much more. In fact, there were more than 15 activities organized across our three offices.
After the week was over, Kerstyn—AM Content Coordinator—told us that “as a fully remote employee, the opportunity to connect playfully with others at AM was welcome and offered many moments of creativity to look forward to.”
And it really was FUN! Perhaps the best way to illustrate just how much we laughed during Design Week (besides showing you the pictures) is to share a few of the fan favorite “proverbs” we collaboratively generated during our AArdvark Design Labs workshops:
“Sometimes people have ideas from the brain that transcend time and wavelengths.”
“Don’t forget to remember how a dog sees the bathroom before eating.”
“The AArdvark workshop was entertaining and illuminating, with back-and-forth between small groups, focusing together on rapid-fire improvisation” Kerstyn added. “Design Week was a treasure-trove of connection, conversation, and collaboration.”
by Mackenzie Gilstrap, Sr. Marketing Coordinator
Employee Spotlight: Jennifer Sobieraj Sanin
Empathetic, balanced, and calm—three words you’ll hear from Jennifer Sobieraj Sanin’s team if you ask them to describe her leadership style.
This month we’re excited to be spotlighting Jen, an architect and Managing Design Principal in our Seattle office. In her eleven years with AM, Jen has come to stand out as a female role model in architecture due to her unwavering advocacy for her teams, and for women in particular.
Jen approaches her leadership position with the intention to empower others. She creates an environment conducive to growth by “letting others get creative and do their best work,” as one of her colleagues has noted, “while at the same time staying engaged and providing feedback that guides the project in the right direction and helps you grow as a designer.”
We asked Jen to share her advice for emerging professionals in the industry. Here’s what she told us:
1. Be an advocate for yourself. Don’t be afraid to voice your opinions and ask for opportunities.
2. Find your mentor—someone who will offer guidance and stand up for you when you need it. Check in with them regularly.
3. Don’t change yourself to fit into a higher-level role. There is room for you to become a leader while doing what you love and are good at. A great leadership role will be flexible enough to match your skills and passions.
by Mackenzie Gilstrap, Sr. Marketing Coordinator
Spotlight: Intern Jules Stafford
Q: Tell us what you learned through your summer internship at Ankrom Moisan.
A: This summer, I’ve gotten the chance to work on so many different projects, participate in client meetings, go on site visits, and get to know some wonderful people. I’ve learned so much this summer, but one of the biggest things I’ve learned is how to be the best designer I can be. I’ve learned to step out of my comfort zone and be open to new experiences and lessons. I hope that as I step into my career I will continue to learn; pulling from all of the lessons and experiences I’ve had here at Ankrom Moisan!
Q: What was the biggest surprise you experienced?
A: How welcoming and kind everyone I met has been! I was definitely intimidated to walk into a large Architecture and Interior Design firm as a summer intern, but all of the designers and architects have been so kind. I remember walking in on my first day and it was as if everyone had known me for years. Everyone is ready to jump whenever I have any questions, ask me for my opinion, and trust me with decisions. They have become great mentors and have treated me so extremely well. It’s been such an amazing surprise.
Q: What story do you think you will tell all of your classmates?
A: At George Fox University, we have a tight knit group of Interior Design majors. My cohort is small, but we’re growing, so I want to give reassurance to my peers. As students, it can be overwhelming to walk into a firm and need to learn so many new things, so fast. Suddenly you’re aware of just how much you don’t know. So, a story I would tell my peers is how I’ve learned, despite my fears, that I am capable of so much. We are learning exactly what we need to learn. All the projects and homework is so helpful and valuable. I’m excited to go into my last year with everything I’ve learned and work on new projects.
Employee Spotlight: Ryan Miyahira
Ankrom Moisan Managing Principal Ryan Miyahira recently hosted AM’s second annual Pickathon, a video showcase of the firm’s many talented musicians.
We chatted with Ryan, who is a talented musician himself, to hear more about the inspiration behind AM Pickathon, an event he not only hosts but also created and produces.
Q. What’s your musical background and how did Pickathon come about?
A. I’ve been playing music since I was a kid. I had a band in high school and another in college, playing mostly 80s indie music. After college, my wife, Lara, and I started a band called the Hip Replacements. We cover old r&b and soul music. We’ve performed at several Ankrom Moisan Christmas parties and still play the occasional bar gig.
One of my favorite things to do is to go see live music. During the pandemic, we watched a lot of streaming concerts and I thought it would be fun to do an Ankrom version. I’ve had the chance to play music with other AM employees so I knew that we had a lot of musical talent in the firm. I wanted to show off those hidden talents in a fun way.
Q. How long have you been with AM and what has motivated you to stay?
A. I’ve been with AM for 22 years. Back in 2000 when I was looking for a job, the most important thing to me was to find the coolest group of people. I was looking for creative, hardworking, and fun people that wanted to do their best, but were also easygoing enough to have a good time while doing it. That’s how I landed at AM. I’ve noticed that it seems to perpetuate itself—a group of good people is like a magnet that attracts more good people. That’s what has motivated me to stay for so long.
I also appreciate that it’s been a very supportive and fun environment where you can make your own way. There’s so much room for passion and exploration at AM. If you have an idea, like hosting a Pickathon, and the drive to do it then the firm will support it.
by Mackenzie Gilstrap, Sr. Marketing Coordinator
Virtual Reality
Our incredible in-house visualization team is testing out some VR upgrades! Virtual reality has proven to be a valuable design tool for our teams so we’re expanding our capabilities with new equipment. Soon, we’ll have upgraded VR stations in each of our three offices.
So, how do we use VR?
VR allows our designers to get a true sense for the scale and feel of a space as they are designing it—adding efficiency and improving end results. For instance, virtually walking through a unit during the programming stage helps inform early layout and square footage decisions so that costly last-minute changes can be avoided and the resulting unit design will better meet pricing expectations.
It also helps our interior designers to visualize details previously left to the imagination such as how flooring patterns would look repeated on large scales or how the placement of a lighting fixture might affect the overall feel of a space. Getting these small details right leads to a more cohesive and intentional end-product.
By providing our clients the opportunity to experience different design variations within their projects, we can aid their decision-making processes. While designing Olympic Tower, a luxury senior-living high-rise in Seattle, we gave our client, Transforming Age, the opportunity to tour the building two years before the project even broke ground. After using VR to experience the tower’s premier amenity, a performance hall, the client realized the scale was not what they had imagined. As a result, we increased the ceiling height, changed the dimensions of the stage and adjusted the lighting. VR helped convey the nuances of the design so the client could make informed decisions on where to allocate resources, and they didn’t have to experience any surprises during construction.
by Mackenzie Gilstrap, Sr. Marketing Coordinator
Employee Spotlight: Lori Kellow
Lori Kellow, Ankrom Moisan’s longest standing employee, has been with the firm since 1985. After a nearly 37-year tenure, Lori has a uniquely broad perspective on the architecture industry and Ankrom Moisan’s place within it. We recently sat down with Lori to hear her insights. Lori touches on what the industry was like for women in the ’80s and how technology has changed the design process.
Q. What is the biggest industry change you’ve seen since you started working at AM?
A. Technology, absolutely. In just the past few decades the standard design process has shifted from primarily utilizing manual tools, such as hand-drafting equipment, to being almost entirely computer-based. To research and draw using technology is so powerful. I remember when we had to visit the library and flip through physical binders, the Sweet catalogues, to find products to specify. Now all this information is right at our fingertips and efficiency has just soared because of it.
Q. What has motivated you to work at AM for 37 years?
A. In the mid-80s it was still very difficult for women, especially in architecture, to get a seat at the table. At Ankrom Moisan it was different, leadership showed me from day one that my opinions and ideas were valued. I’ve always been treated with respect and paid commensurate to my skills.
It was within 3 years at the firm, in 1988, that I was promoted to Principal, becoming the first woman in a leadership role. In the many years since, I have not lost that feeling of being valued and the sense of opportunity. I believe that if you have passion and drive, there are not many roadblocks to growth and success at Ankrom Moisan.
Q. What is your advice for professionals beginning their careers in the architecture and design industry?
A. Explore. I am a firm believer that you must try as much as you possibly can in order to find your passion. I spent years working on diverse project types and taking on varying roles. Eventually I discovered my passion for social service healthcare projects. I find a great deal of fulfillment in creating places that help people heal. Through exploration, I’ve also realized I am especially adept at big-picture thinking and I prefer to do schematic design work. I’m fortunate enough to work with a firm that has allowed me the freedom to explore and provided the opportunity to tailor my role to match my strengths and passions.
by Mackenzie Gilstrap, Sr. Marketing Coordinator
Project Pin-ups
In pursuit of the best solutions, we create opportunities for collaboration.
After all this time meeting and sharing ideas through screens, we are thrilled to be able to collaborate in-person again.
Designers from our Portland office got together recently for a charrette at the pin-up wall—sharing design concept ideas for our on boards project, Fairfield Burnside. Through discussion of neighborhood context and influences, the team began generating a diverse scheme of building concepts for this upcoming 8-story mixed-use development.
Ankrom Moisan’s Community Service
Old Town Cleanup Community Service, Ankrom Moisan Represents!
Many of our employees provide valuable time, skills and efforts on meaningful activities in and around our communities. In March there was a cleanup of Old Town, Ankrom Moisan’s Portland Office neighborhood, organized by SOLVE, an Oregon non-profit, and Ankrom Moisan employees were there!
Volunteers organized at the Portland offices that morning, and SOLVE provided trash collection tools. A big thank you to all who contributed time and energy to the Old Town Cleanup!
Which organizations and services do you champion with your time and energy?
📸: Jason Roberts, Laura Seracin
Sustainability & Ankrom Moisan Interiors
Q: What efforts are Ankrom Moisan making to provide better information and resources when it comes to sustainability?
A: Ankrom Moisan was an early signatory to the AIA Materials Pledge, which encourages architects and designers to shift the way we evaluate the products and finishes we specify; taking into consideration the materials to improve the health of ourselves and our planet.
Erica curates and maintains a list of resources for our interior designers and architects to easily reference as they are evaluating and looking for the most appropriate product or material for their project. She also coordinates and organizes our vendor presentations and educational sessions; selecting topics around sustainability and healthy materials. The library prioritizes and highlights products to support human health, social equity, climate health, and a circular economy.”
Members of our sustainability reform group are also active members of the Portland Materials Transparency Collaborative (PMTC) and the Healthy Materials Collaborative (HMC). Both provide education, tools, and resources collected by our local A+D Communities. Additionally, this group works toward reformatting our specification template to make healthier and more sustainable choices the default. As part of that exercise, the team has created internal resources for prioritizing and selecting sustainable materials, such as resilient flooring.
Our firm sponsored eight interior designers to complete the Parsons Healthier Materials and Sustainable Buildings Certificate Program. This is a four-course program that allowed the designers to take a deep dive into sustainable material selections and bring enthusiasm and knowledge back to the firm, to their projects and clients. The designers who participated in this course were Jamie Kreger, Clare Goddard, Maddy Gorman, Ruth Bernal, Seaian Wood, Laura Serecin, Kaci Mespelt, Sydney Ellison. Ankrom hopes to have more interior designers complete this course in the future.
Q: Other firms have opted to remove all Redlist products from their library – Is this something that Ankrom Moisan is considering? Why or why not?
A: This is something that Ankrom is exploring as a firm-wide initiative, though we haven’t made the leap yet. The library is a resource to serve the designers and their projects. Steps in this direction that have been implemented were with PVC. We removed vinyl fabrics from the library and created a dedicated section for PVC-fee wallcovering. We also highlighted flooring products that are PVC free and/or provide full disclosure of material content to make it easier for our design staff to specify healthier flooring choices.
Q: How can we as designers do more to incorporate salvaged materials or encourage material reuse rather than replacing them with new ones?
A: Ankrom Moisan has relationships with a handful of salvaged wood brands in the region, as well as a salvaged metal fabricator.
As an interior design group, we collectively understand the importance of building relationships with local salvage companies to incorporate more reused materials into projects rather than buying new ones. We have an ongoing discussion to share experiences or ideas on how we can work with existing conditions and materials creatively to effectively reuse them in projects.
Q: What tools and resources are available to designers to help us educate our clients about the importance of using sustainable products and implementing sustainable practices?
A: Our greatest resource is the designer’s ability to strategically engage with the client and draw out what their values are around sustainability, equity, human health, and then being able to link those values back to your material selection strategy. Does the client have an Environmental, Social and corporate Governance (ESG) framework or vision that you can point to and say, “this is how healthier material selection can support your sustainability goals?” And then prioritize, together with the client, what aspects of sustainability you are going to focus on in your material selection, whether that’s human health, carbon emissions, social equity, DEI, etc. In the end, you work with the client to establish a goal around material selection and then use your material expertise and influence as a designer to execute on that goal. You also need the construction team on board, so they are on the same page when product substitutions are suggested.
Q: Where do you see the future of sustainability in Interior Design and Architecture? Do you see any changes on the horizon when it comes to how our industry approaches sustainability?
A: The conversation around climate change and sustainability is becoming more mainstream both within and outside the industry. Erica attributes this to the influence of Gen Z, who highly values sustainability, high-quality products that last longer, social equity, racial justice, and environmental responsibility. “They live these values in their consumer spending choices, where they chose to work, how they travel, etc. They have a positive influence on brands and manufacturers, pushing for change. They get it, they are listening, and the brands who want to remain relevant and stay in the game are trying to change and make products that match these values with processes and materials that are carbon positive, safe for humans, the environment, and society.”
We are seeing more and more businesses adopt Environmental, Social, and corporate Governance (ESG) mentioned in the previous question. This is a rating system developed by the United Nations that scores a company’s social and environmental factors. This is used to make informed choices around investments and future growth. As more and more companies adopt this the design industry will need to respond to help our clients make choices that align with their values and priorities.
Erica Buss, Senior Associate, Research & Information Services Manager
Employee Spotlight: Keith Larson
Did you know Ankrom Moisan has an in-house model maker?
Meet Keith Larson. While he’s been working as a professional modeler since the 1990s, his craft started as a kid playing with LEGO sets. To say he is detail-oriented is an understatement.
From making props on movie sets to creating 1/32” scale replicas of commercial airliners, Keith has an incredible portfolio from which he draws inspiration. Although his career has taken him through a broad spectrum of industries, his love for architecture and design has continued to bring him back to this world.
Since starting with Ankrom Moisan in 2016, Keith has collaborated with our project teams on models small and large, simple and complex. With such a diversity in markets and locations, every project brings something unique to the workbench.
When we asked our in-house model maker Keith Larson to share his current projects, Sandy Health Center was top of mind. The 1/16” scale finished type model includes scale people—a first for Keith’s work at the firm. Filled with details, the steep pitched roof was a particular challenge. Cutting the individual angles by hand and seamlessly assembling each piece was a personal triumph.
Keith worked very closely with the architecture team to ensure each detail was correct. The finished model represents a 9,500 sq. ft. facility that consolidates primary care, behavioral health, and dental services into one location. Following the Sandy Design Guidelines, the final architecture is a modern take on a rustic aesthetic.
🎬: Ankrom Moisan
AM Design Week 2020
For Seattle Design Festival’s 10th anniversary in August, 2020, our Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco offices celebrated Design Week virtually. Over five days, we explored what drew us to design, the realties of this present time, and the many ways our neighborhoods and cities are changing. We shared over 400 photos, 500 posts, and 1,829 emojis. At time when connecting with people isn’t easy, Design Week gave us a chance to see the world through each other’s eyes.
Here’s a tiny sample of what we shared.
