We have moved! Our new space reflects the same thoughtful design, creativity, and commitment to excellence that we bring to every project.
Same great building Downtown Des Moines, just a new suite number – 1201 KEO Suite 105.
View Suite 105 here.
Author: MA Architecture
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Nicole Friedman, AIA, Appointed to YAF Director
Nicole Friedman, AIA, has been appointed to the AIA Young Architects Forum as the Iowa representative. As the YAF representative, Nicole will support the professional growth and leadership development of recently licensed architects through collaboration with AIA and allied organizations. YAF aims to build a national network of emerging professionals who are socially connected and civically responsible.
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Anna Squier, AIA, Elected to 2nd Vice President
Anna Squier, AIA, has been elected to serve as Second Vice President on the AIA Iowa Board of Directors. As Second Vice President, Anna will serve as a member of the Chapter’s Executive Committee and assume the powers and duties of the First Vice President/President-Elect in the event of their absence or inability to serve. She will also perform other duties as assigned by the Chapter Board throughout her one-year term.
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Allspice Published in IA Architect
Allspice has been published in the Fall 2026 issue of Iowa Architect Magazine. Access the full article at the link below. Thank you to Iowa Architect for featuring this project in the On Brand issue, exploring the design through a client’s brand and purpose.
View the publication here.
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AIA Iowa Convention: Reichardt Presentation
MA Architecture’s Mindy Aust, AIA, Anna Squier, AIA, joined by collaborator Katherine Darnstadt, AIA, presented the Reichardt Community Recreation Center at the 2026 AIA Iowa Convention to an audience of approximately 50 attendees. Through a case study of the project, the workshop explored an inclusive and equitable design process that shaped a recreation center deeply reflective of the community it serves and its surrounding context. The presenters shared strategies for balancing community priorities, environmental stewardship, and project budgets while navigating a highly collaborative design process. The workshop highlighted how meaningful community engagement and thoughtful design can transform diverse perspectives and aspirations into a cohesive, context-driven project that delivers lasting value for the community.
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City of Des Moines Greenhouse Facility
The City of Des Moines Greenhouse was featured in Iowa Architect magazine, celebrated for its dual identity – a glowing glass enclosure outside, and inside, a working system built to adapt.
View the issue here.
“From the outside, it appears as a glowing glass enclosure. On the interior, it’s a systematic lab of pieces that work together to open and close, adapt and grow.”
Anna Squier
Associate Principal, MA Architecture. -
Nicole Friedman, AIA, is now a licensed architect.
This milestone reflects years of dedication, hard work, and a true commitment to the craft of architecture. We’re proud to celebrate this achievement and excited to see the continued impact she will make on our projects, our team, and the communities we serve. Join us in congratulating Nicole on this well-deserved accomplishment.
See what Nicole and the MA Architecture team are currently up to here.
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Ferrington Place
Ferrington Place was featured in Iowa Architect magazine, celebrated for the clarity of its contrasts — a century-old industrial shell left intact, and within it, new matte black insertions set deliberately apart from the original masonry and light.
View the issue here.
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City of DSM Greenhouse wins AIA Iowa Impact Award
The City of Des Moines Greenhouse Facility and Solar Field has been recognized with The AIA Iowa Impact Award, Honor. This award recognizes team members including architects, designers, and other collaborators for an architectural project specifically designed to directly benefit social, humanitarian, community or environmental causes.
Jury comments included said: “Of all the strong projects we reviewed this rose to the top with its impressive environmental impact supported by clear and powerful metrics provided by the architects. That they were able to build an all-electric, net positive energy and highly productive greenhouse is remarkable. Beyond its enviable building energy performance, the greenhouse also impacts the community through the broad distribution of the flowers produced throughout the city.”
Project Link: Greenhouse Facility – MA ARCHITECTURE
AIA Iowa Impact Award Link: City of Des Moines Greenhouse & Solar Field – MA Architecture
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Anna Squier receives AIA Young Architect Award
Anna Squier, AIA, has been recognized with the American Institute of Architects 2026 Young Architects Award. The honor is given to early-career architects in recognition of their leadership and significant contributions to the profession. Through design, advocacy, and leadership, Anna is shaping a more equitable and sustainable built environment. Her work, spanning community-focused projects, environmental innovation, and professional leadership, demonstrates the power of architecture to reflect and uplift the people it serves.
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City of DSM Greenhouse wins USGBC US Local Leadership Award
The City of Des Moines Greenhouse Facility has been selected to receive the U.S. Green Building Council’s award for Project Excellence in the Iowa market as part of the 2026 U.S. Local Leadership Awards. This award acknowledges exceptional projects certified in the last two years that represent a significant advancement in green innovation and sustainability outcomes within its local market.
The project clearly defined sustainability and innovation as goals that guided the entire process, and the end result is a trailblazing, one-of-a-kind facility that is leading the charge for building electrification while providing employees a comfortable and healthy place to work.
Learn more here.
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Nicole elected to AIA Iowa Board of Directors as Associate Director
Congratulations to one of our team members, Nicole Friedman, on being elected to the AIA Iowa Board of Directors as the new Associate Director. As Associate Director, Nicole will lead advocacy for Emerging Professionals which are defined as Student Affiliate Members, Associate AIA Members, and those AIA members licensed 10 years or less. Nicole will also be the liaison to the Emerging Professionals Committee.
We are thankful for your service to our chapter and your dedication to advocating for emerging professionals.
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Anna elected Secretary of AIA Iowa Board of Directors
Anna Squier, AIA, has been elected to serve as Secretary on the AIA Iowa Board of Directors. As Secretary, Anna will act as the recording and corresponding secretary of the Chapter, the Chapter executive committee, and of the Chapter board. She will be the Chairperson of the Membership Committee and maintain the membership roll and assist in preparing reports of the Chapter Board.
We thank Anna for her continued dedication to the AIA and involvement on the AIA Iowa Board of Directors.
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Masonic Block wins American Architecture Award
We are excited to announce that our Masonic Block project has won an American Architecture Award 2025 from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. The design celebrates the historic fabric and natural beauty of the area while introducing new amenities and features, including all-electric utilities, to breathe new life into the once-abandoned structure.
We are thrilled to be amongst the most talented firms practicing in the US and globally.
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FDBR Reconnected finalist for Interior Design Magazine’s Best of Year Award
MA Architecture is delighted to share that FDBR Reconnected has been named a finalist for Interior Design Magazine’s Best of 2025 Award in the Small Corporate Office category.
Being one of five finalists nationwide is an honor. Thank you to Interior Design Magazine, to our client for entrusting us with this project, and to the entire project team who brought this vision to fruition. We hope the space continues to foster connection, camaraderie, and a vibrant workplace culture for many years to come. Alongside shifting workplace dynamics and a renewed emphasis on in-person collaboration in the post-COVID era, this law firm is focused on fostering connection, camaraderie, and creating a vibrant workplace culture.
Reflecting the firm’s minimal aesthetic, the space balances comfort and refinement, accented by thoughtfully curated artwork, a soothing color palette, and premium amenities. Notably, custom-fabricated pieces, originally floor installations, have been reimagined as suspended ceiling elements, preserving their iconic presence while enhancing functionality and breathing new life into the space.
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Hotel Stuart
Hotel Stuart was featured in Iowa Architect magazine, celebrated for its dual identity – a vestige of its railroad heritage outside, sign still promising “strictly modern” comfort, and inside, a sensitively inserted system of bedrooms, baths, and living spaces built within the original historic corridor walls.
View the issue here.
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Reichardt Community Recreation Center featured in On the Boards
The Reichardt Community Recreation Center was featured in Iowa Architect’s “On the Boards” section, spotlighting a 38,000-square-foot facility shaped by three years of public input — nearly 20 community meetings and more than 250 touchpoints — and now underway toward a spring 2026 completion and LEED Gold certification.
View the issue here.
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MA Architecture awarded AIA Iowa Emerging Professionals Friendly Firm Award
MA Architecture has been recognized by AIA Iowa as an 2025 Emerging Professional Friendly Firm. We are committed to supporting Emerging Professionals through mentorship, a learning culture, providing opportunities for responsibility, fostering inclusivity, and encouraging ep’s to get involved with their communities. Thank you AIA Iowa for this recognition.
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Anna Squier awarded Des Moines Business Record’s Forty Under 40
We are thrilled that Anna Squier AIA has been recognized as one of Des Moines Business Record’s 2025 Forty under 40 honorees. We are so proud of her work promoting design excellence and equity in our profession.
To learn more about Anna and the class of 2025: Anna Squier — Business Record | Forty Under 40
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Hotel Stuart wins Preservation Iowa Award
Hotel Stuart, a National Historic Property, in Stuart, Iowa has been recognized with the Preservation at Its Best: Rural Preservation Award from Preservation Iowa. Preservation Iowa recognizes projects annually that exemplify excellence in historic preservation while inspiring others to take action to protect, restore, and celebrate Iowa’s architectural and cultural heritage. Each year, the awards showcase exemplary projects that safeguard and revitalize Iowa’s historic resources, highlighting the creativity, skill, and dedication of property owners, architects, developers, and community leaders.
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Mindy presented Maple Street Construct Design Lecture Series
Mindy Aust, AIA, Principal and Founder of MA Architecture presented as part of The Maple Street Construct 2025 Design Lecture Series. In partnership with AIA Nebraska, the lecture series features five lectures by nationally and internationally recognized architects and design professionals. Maple St. Construct’s mission is to provide programming free to everyone as a public service to help elevate the creative discourse in communities they serve.
The five lectures in 2025 are from:
Mindy Aust, AIA (Principal of Des Moines, IA-based @maarchitectureinc )
Roberto de Leon, FAIA (Principal of Louisville, KY-based @deleonprimer)
Kevin Cavenaugh (Developer, Designer, and Owner of Portland-based @guerilladev)
Christopher Sharples, AIA (Principal of New York City-based @shoparchitects)
Thom Mayne, FAIA (Principal of Los Angeles-based @morphosisarchitects) -
City of DSM Harriet Street Solar Field wins 1,000 Friends of Iowa Best Development Award
The City of Des Moines Harriet Street Solar Field project is a recipient of the Brownfield Revitalization Award, part of the 2024 Best Development Awards from 1000 Friends of Iowa. The awards program honors projects that recognize connections between building and project development and quality of life.
5 Des Moines projects receive Best Development Awards – Business Record
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1201 KEO wins American Architecture Award
1201 KEO has been recognized with an Honorable Mention: American Architecture, Award 2024 in the Mixed-Use Renovation category. The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, together with the European Center for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and Metropolitan Arts Press, have organized the American Architecture Awards as a way in which to honor the best, new significant buildings and landscape and planning projects design and/or built in the United States and abroad by the most important architects and planners practicing nationally and internationally.
The Chicago Athenaeum – 1201 KEO Mixed-Use Renovation | Des Moines, Iowa | 2022
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Mindy awarded AIA Iowa’s Medal of Honor
We are delighted to share that Mindy Aust, AIA LEED AP, Principal and Founder of MA Architecture has been awarded the Medal of Honor by AIA Iowa. This award is considered the highest honor AIA Iowa can bestow on its members. It is awarded to those who have dedicated a significant portion of their career in service to the profession of architecture and played a significant role in shaping the profession as well as the chapter. We are lucky to have Mindy as our fearless leader as she continues to strive for design excellence, advocate for the profession, and empower women into leadership roles.
Medal of Honor Award Winners – American Institute of Architects, Iowa Chapter
View Mindy’s feature in The Iowa Architect magazine here.
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Masonic Block
The Masonic Block was featured in Iowa Architect magazine, celebrated as the latest layer in a building’s long history — new interventions designed to converse with, rather than contrast, the historic remnants beneath them.
View the issue here.
“We were able to evaluate options, troubleshoot problems, and make decisions quickly.”
Jessica Terrill
Associate Principal, MA Architecture. -
1201 KEO receives AIA Central States Award
1201 Keo has received a Citation Award for Adaptive Reuse as part of the 2023 American Institute of Architects Central States Awards of Excellence Program.The program honors design excellence within Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. The jury, composed of Atlanta, Georgia architects, reviewed submissions from the five-state region. The Excellence in Design program is an annual event for architects who submit built and unbuilt projects for consideration.
Jury Comments: “The creative treatment of the various eras of the building was well executed, while respecting some of the original character.”
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1201 Keo Way wins Central States Design Award
1201 Keo Way earned a Merit award in Commercial Adaptive Reuse at the AIA Central States Design Awards, recognized among a regional field of standout projects for its transformation of a historic Des Moines building.
View the issue here.
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Anna Squier, AIA, honored with AIA Iowa’s Young Architect Award
Anna Squier AIA has been awarded the AIA IA Young Architect Award. The Young Architect Award is given to individuals who have shown exceptional leadership and made significant contributions to the profession in the areas of design, education, and / or service in an early stage of their architectural career. Her talents and passion continue to better the profession of architecture.
Young Architect Award Winners – American Institute of Architects, Iowa Chapter
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Nicole Friedman recognized for her Emerging Professionals Competition Grand Prize
Nicole Friedman was recognized with the Grand Prize in AIA Iowa’s 2023 Emerging Professionals Competition, honored alongside teammate Daniel Sellnau for their “Harmon Fine Arts Addition,” a project celebrated for weaving new construction seamlessly into an existing Drake University building.
View the issue here.
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AIA Iowa Young Architect Award
Anna Squier, AIA, received the AIA Iowa Young Architect Award, recognized for a career-long commitment to design advocacy — from six years on the Iowa Architect editorial board to her leadership within Iowa Women in Architecture.
View the issue here.
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Northern Vessel
Northern Vessel was featured in Iowa Architect magazine, celebrated for a design built around collaboration and a distinctive triangular footprint — the byproduct of Keosauqua Way’s 1920 construction slicing through the original 1910 rug factory building.
View the issue here.
“We decided to embrace the triangular shape and introduced a seating area with a custom-shaped triangular table filled with plants.”
Anna Squier
Associate Principal, MA Architecture. -
Anna elected to AIA Iowa Board of Directors
Anna Squier has been elected to the American Institute of Architects Iowa Board of Directors as Director. The mission of AIA Iowa is to serve the AIA Iowa membership by being the voice of the profession of architecture, promoting the value of good design, and advocating for the health and safety of the public. As Director, Anna serves as liaison to the AIA Iowa Sections and AIA Iowa Professional Development Committee.
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1201 Keo featured in On the Boards
1201 Keo Way was featured in Iowa Architect’s “On the Boards” section while still in progress, spotlighted as a rare surviving early 20th-century industrial complex — original wood storefront, stone entryway, and pressed metal ceilings intact — on its way to becoming a mixed-use anchor for downtown Des Moines.
View the issue here.
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Mindy elected moderator of AIA Strategic Council
Mindy Aust has been elected moderator of the American Institute of Architects Strategic Council. The AIA Strategic Council’s mission is to better equip AIA membership with research-based insights to navigate the evolving landscape and long-term evolution of the architecture profession. It advances the profession by informing the AIA Board of Directors and other AIA bodies of important professional issues and opportunities.
Mindy Aust has been a significant figure in the AIA Strategic Council. Her leadership and contributions have been pivotal in shaping the council’s direction and initiatives. Her role in the council reflects her dedication to advancing the profession and addressing the evolving needs of the architecture industry.
