Architecture Firm Brings ‘Diversity and Sensitivity’ to Local Communities

Moody Nolan is the largest black-owned and operated architecture steadfast successful the country. The steadfast is headquartered successful Columbus, Ohio, but has offices successful 10 different cities, including Atlanta.

The institution expanded to Atlanta successful 2017 and is located successful the creation territory downtown.

Linda Nunnely is the manager of operations, and describes her presumption arsenic doing “whatever it takes for america to beryllium successful.” She graduated from Howard University with a grade successful architecture and has been moving successful the tract for astir 20 years, astir of which person been spent with Moody Nolan.

When asked what made her privation to enactment for the firm, she simply said that it was “the story” that not lone drew her successful but made her stay.

Nunnely recovered that the institution being family-owned and divers to beryllium attractive.

“Our institution was founded by Curt Moody,” Nunnely said. “Curt Moody was an Ohio State hoops subordinate and majored successful architecture. When Curt came retired of school, helium ended up drafting, and was told helium could beryllium a drafter oregon beryllium an designer and tally his ain firm.”

He opened Moody and Associates successful 1982. When Moody was conscionable starting out, it was conscionable himself and a postgraduate student. By the extremity of their archetypal year, helium partnered with Howard E. Nolan and associates, an engineering firm, and Moody Nolan was born.

Moody named his lad Jonathon arsenic the CEO successful 2020, and successful 2021, the steadfast received the American Institute of Architects Award.

The institution has grown implicit the years, but not without challenges.

“The manufacture is predominantly not tally by minorities,” Nunnely said. “We faced challenges conscionable increasing into different markets. We faced challenges becoming the pb decorator connected projects.”

Having diverseness successful architecture is important to Nunnely due to the fact that she believes it’s the accidental to bring distant antithetic perspectives.

“Bringing diverseness and sensitivity arsenic a steadfast to immoderate of our clients and immoderate of our markets is critical,” Nunnely said. “We enactment successful municipality schools, and being capable to bring a plan squad that looks divers to a lawsuit who doesn’t spot diversity, that opens up doors. Not lone for large plan that interaction our communities but kids seeing architects and reasoning ‘I tin beryllium that.’”

With a unit of astir 42% women, Nunnely believes successful the steadfast reflecting the communities that they serve.

Moody Nolan Atlanta has worked connected Roosevelt Hall, Central Library, and besides volition beryllium renovating Morris Brown’s Fountain Hall.

There’s besides a anticipation that the firm’s Legacy House task volition marque it to Atlanta successful the future. Legacy House is an inaugural wherever Moody Nolan designs, builds and gives distant a home.