Shon Curtis
Jonathan and Curt Moody
Founded in 1982 by Curt Moody, FAIA, who soon joined forces with the late engineer Howard E. Nolan, Moody Nolan has grown to become the largest African American–owned and operated firm in the country, with Curt’s son, Jonathan Moody, AIA, now serving as CEO. That pioneering journey, reflected in the firm’s commitment to designing “responsive architecture” that empowers communities, has been recognized with the highest honor AIA bestows on a firm.
What is the firm’s greatest achievement?
Winning the Firm Award. It is a privilege to receive the highest honor awarded to an architecture firm by AIA, but to become the first African American firm to earn this recognition is a dream come true.
What led to the founding of the firm?
A lack of minority representation in the profession, especially at a leadership level.
What does it mean to be the largest African American owned and operated firm in the country?
We have an opportunity to be role models for underrepresented professionals to help them see that they can pursue their passions and be successful at any level.
What’s the best word to describe the personality of the practice?
Integrity. Several pillars of our guiding principles all fall under the idea of being ethical and treating others with respect.
Sam Brown/Moody Nolan
Moody Nolan's Columbus, Ohio, office
What’s the firm’s approach to architecture?
We work very hard to be responsive to those we serve. We practice responsive architecture, which means we will listen intently, analyze effectively, then design an innovative, functional, and aesthetically pleasing space, without losing sight of the project’s program and budget. We work collaboratively with our clients to arrive at a design solution that achieves a common vision with uncommon results.
What project best illustrates that approach?
The Student Library and Learning Center is the first new building on Texas Southern University’s campus in the last 20 years. It was important that the design served as a central gathering space on campus and for the surrounding community. Our approach led to a contemporary, angular design that helps draw you inward toward the main lobby and up through a five-level atrium, which serves as the heart of the building and the campus. The entire building encompasses a café, classrooms, book stacks, computer labs, study areas, offices, meeting and board rooms, as well as a gallery space. It is open and available to the entire community.
What projects is the firm most drawn to?
We are most drawn to the projects that bring people together. The projects where anyone who experiences them is immediately aware that they can create a place where people can come together and leverage collective resources to make change.
What has been the firm’s most rewarding collaboration?
There are so many amazing teams that we’ve been fortunate to collaborate on. The Omni Hotel in Boston is one example of how to achieve diversity and collaboration on all aspects of a project.
courtesy Moody Nolan
Moody Nolan's Nashville, Tenn., office
What is the importance of the issues of diversity and equity to the firm’s overall mission?
We really want to provide great service to as many people as we can. We cannot be successful at that if we don’t acknowledge that the people we serve come from a broad spectrum of circumstances.
How have those issues shaped the way you practice architecture?
When designing a building, it is important to listen to everyone’s ideas. Sometimes the best idea comes from the person you least expect.
What’s the firm’s biggest strength?
We really care about the people we serve.
What’s one weakness you hope to improve on?
Even as a national firm with national accolades, we tend to hide behind Midwestern modesty more often than we should. We can do some great things for those we serve and we shouldn’t be ashamed of that.
courtesy Moody Nolan
Moody Nolan's Chicago office
What’s the firm’s most enduring tradition?
Mark Bodien, AIA, a partner in our firm, has held us accountable for over 30 years to bring donuts to celebrate any and every situation. Whether it’s a newly licensed architect or a new project on our desk, we make sure we celebrate that occasion with donuts!
What’s a typical charrette like?
These days it has gotten much more technology driven. We try to get as many people on the call as makes sense and send out a digital collaboration board prior to the charrette. Once it starts, there are some overall tone-setting conversations, then it becomes a creative free-for-all. Lots of random sketches, dots and doodles, and images get dropped in. Eventually, a collection of ideas gets narrowed and leads to direction on appropriate next steps.
What is the firm’s biggest extravagance?
End of the year holiday party. We like to throw a nice event for our employees at the end of the year to show how much we appreciate their hard work. In every office, we always try to have our holiday party at a recently completed project.
courtesy Moody Nolan
Moody Nolan's interior design team
What is the firm most proud of?
Legacy House: We are fortunate to have reached a level of success that allows us to give back in a direct and tangible way. Our firm began the Legacy Project in 2017. This initiative gives a mortgage-free home to a family in need in each of the 11 cities where we hold offices.
What is the greatest challenge facing architects today?
Climate and Justice together.
What should architects do to respond to that challenge?
We have to acknowledge that challenges around our climate and social infrastructure get worse every day. It’s a growing crisis. Now is the time to be intentional about leveraging our work to make real change. We have a responsibility as architects to create communities and spaces that empower all people with respect and dignity. We must strive to reach underserved youth and create inclusive and environmentally just communities. As professionals, we must re-evaluate our corporate structure to create cultures that support this work.
What has been the greatest challenge the firm has faced over the years?
Proving ourselves as a minority owned firm and building our practice during a recession. In the early 1980s it was believed that minority firms lacked the capacity and capabilities to design major projects. We are thankful to the firms that collaborated with us early on and helped us build our portfolio to be able to win larger contracts on our own. This is something we try to do for other minority firms today. Building our practice during the recession back then helped us get through the Great Recession in 2007-08 and has prepared us to withstand the current pandemic.
courtesy Moody Nolan
Office life at Moody Nolan before the pandemic
Which five architects, living or dead, would the firm most like to host for dinner?
Paul Revere Williams, Beverly Loraine Greene, I.M. Pei, Phil Freelon, Zaha Hadid
What are the firm’s ambitions for the coming five years?
We anticipate growing into new cities and new areas of work. We are constantly challenging ourselves to be better.
What’s the greatest ambition the firm has yet to achieve?
Might not be the greatest, but we believe we could lead the design of a professional sports venue.
What do you hope the firm’s legacy will be?
That we produce work that makes a positive tangible impact on others, hence the name of the Legacy House.
What’s the one question you wished we had asked?
Do you still have an engineering practice? Short answer is no. David Moody is a Ph.D. engineer who successfully split off our civil engineering practice into a separate business. They more than doubled in size since the transition and Moody Engineering has a bright future ahead.
What does winning the Architecture Firm Award mean to you?
It is a dream to have our firm’s name etched in stone next to firms we grew up studying. We hope everyone will see our name and know architecture is a profession they too can pursue and find success.