Moody Nolan

Moody Nolan is an American architecture and design firm founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1983 by architect Curt Moody and engineer Howard E. Nolan. The firm was established with the aim of creating a broad, professionally competitive practice with a diverse workforce, rather than limiting its activities to a narrowly defined minority-firm model. It subsequently developed into the largest African-American-owned and operated architecture firm in the United States, according to the firm’s Wikipedia profile. The practice provides architectural, interior-design, and experiential-design services. Its work spans civic buildings, educational facilities, healthcare environments, housing, commercial and retail developments, recreation and sports venues, libraries, museums, and other cultural institutions. This breadth allows Moody Nolan to work on both public-facing community facilities and large institutional commissions. Its portfolio includes projects associated with universities, municipal organizations, cultural institutions, and major redevelopment or public-investment programs. The company’s geographic reach expanded beyond its original Columbus base through offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Nashville, New York City, and Washington, D.C. The firm was reported to have 12 offices and approximately 280 employees as of 2025. Its national footprint supports work for clients in multiple regions while retaining a strong connection to civic and community-oriented design. Moody Nolan’s public identity is closely connected to diversity in architecture and to the representation of African-American professionals in the design industry. The firm’s recognition includes the National Organization of Minority Architects’ Firm of the Year award in 2000 and the American Institute of Architects Architecture Firm Award in 2021. The latter is one of the profession’s major firm-level honors and reflected the organization’s design work, professional leadership, and broader contribution to architecture. The firm has also pursued community-focused initiatives beyond conventional fee-for-service design. In 2018 it established the Legacy House Project, an annual program that gifts a house to a family in need. In 2014, its civil-engineering practice separated to form Moody Engineering, distinguishing the architecture firm’s core design operations from the engineering business. Leadership later passed to the next generation: Jonathan Moody, Curt Moody’s son, became chief executive officer in 2020. Known projects associated with the practice include the Atlanta Central Library, Thurgood Marshall Hall at Morgan State University, the Karl Road Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, and the International African American Museum. The firm is also associated with Home Court at the Barack Obama Presidential Center, identified in the reference material as a 2026 project. Across these commissions, Moody Nolan’s positioning combines architectural design, institutional expertise, community engagement, and an emphasis on inclusive professional practice.

Moody Nolan was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1983 by architect Curt Moody and engineer Howard E. Nolan. The founders sought to build a diverse architecture practice capable of competing across a wide range of commissions. Rather than operating only within a restricted minority-firm niche, the organization developed a broad portfolio covering public, institutional, commercial, cultural, and community work. Over time, Moody Nolan expanded from its Ohio base into a national architecture practice. Its services came to include architecture, interior design, and experiential design, with projects in civic, education, healthcare, housing, commercial, retail, recreation, sports, and cultural settings. The firm’s office network eventually included Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Nashville, New York City, and Washington, D.C. The company’s development also included a change in business structure. In 2014, its civil-engineering operation separated from the architecture practice and became Moody Engineering. This allowed Moody Nolan to concentrate its identity and operations on architecture and related design services while the engineering activity continued separately. In 2018, the firm created the Legacy House Project, a community initiative through which a house is gifted annually to a family in need. The project extended Moody Nolan’s public profile beyond professional design and reflected its emphasis on social impact and community participation. Leadership changed in 2020 when Jonathan Moody, Curt Moody’s son, became chief executive officer. His appointment represented generational succession within the firm while maintaining continuity with the organization’s founding leadership. By 2025, Moody Nolan was described as having 12 offices and approximately 280 employees, making it one of the most substantial African-American-owned architecture practices in the United States. The firm has received professional recognition for both its work and its position within the architecture profession. The National Organization of Minority Architects named it Firm of the Year in 2000. In 2021, the American Institute of Architects presented Moody Nolan with its Architecture Firm Award, a prominent honor recognizing firm-level achievement. Notable projects associated with Moody Nolan include the Atlanta Central Library, Thurgood Marshall Hall at Morgan State University, the Karl Road Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, and the International African American Museum. Home Court at the Barack Obama Presidential Center is identified in the reference material as a 2026 project. These commissions illustrate the firm’s recurring focus on libraries, higher education, museums, civic institutions, and community-oriented public architecture.

• 2025

  National office network reaches 12 locations

  [1]Moody Nolanen.wikipedia.org

  The firm is described as operating 12 offices nationwide with approximately 280 employees.

• 2021

  AIA Architecture Firm Award

  [1]Moody Nolanen.wikipedia.org

  The American Institute of Architects awards Moody Nolan its Architecture Firm Award.

• 2020

  Jonathan Moody becomes CEO

  [1]Moody Nolanen.wikipedia.org

  Jonathan Moody succeeds to the firm’s chief executive role.

• 2018

  Legacy House Project launches

  [1]Moody Nolanen.wikipedia.org

  Moody Nolan establishes an annual initiative to gift a house to a family in need.

• 2014

  Engineering practice separates

  [1]Moody Nolanen.wikipedia.org

  The firm’s civil-engineering practice separates and becomes Moody Engineering.

• 2000

  NOMA Firm of the Year

  [1]Moody Nolanen.wikipedia.org

  The National Organization of Minority Architects recognizes Moody Nolan as its Firm of the Year.

• 1983

  Moody Nolan is founded

  [1]Moody Nolanen.wikipedia.org

  Curt Moody and Howard E. Nolan establish the architecture firm in Columbus, Ohio, with an emphasis on building a diverse and broadly competitive practice.

A national architecture and design practice positioned around inclusive professional leadership, community-oriented projects, and multidisciplinary work across institutional and civic sectors.

• Architecture services · 1983

  Architectural design

  Moody Nolan’s core offering covers planning and design for civic, educational, healthcare, housing, commercial, sports, recreational, and cultural facilities. The firm works across building types rather than specializing in a single market, allowing it to serve public agencies, universities, cultural institutions, and other large organizations.

• Design services

  Interior design

  Interior-design services complement the firm’s architectural work by addressing the organization, identity, usability, and experience of interior environments. The service is applicable to institutional, civic, educational, cultural, commercial, and community projects.

• Design services

  Experiential design

  Experiential design extends the practice beyond building form to the way people encounter and use places. It is particularly relevant to cultural, civic, educational, sports, and public-facing environments where interpretation, movement, identity, and community experience are important.

• 2018Legacy House Project

  United States

  Moody Nolan established the Legacy House Project as an annual community initiative that provides a house to a family in need.

  Outcome. The initiative is described as an ongoing annual house-gifting program.

  Source

• 2020

  Appoint Jonathan Moody as CEOOther

  Background

  The firm entered a generational leadership transition following the founding era of Curt Moody and Howard E. Nolan.

  Action taken

  Jonathan Moody became chief executive officer.

  Aftermath

  Leadership continued under a member of the founding family while the firm maintained its national design practice.

  Source

• 2014

  Separate the civil-engineering practiceStrategy

  Background

  Moody Nolan had maintained a civil-engineering practice alongside its architecture operations.

  Action taken

  The civil-engineering practice was separated to form Moody Engineering.

  Aftermath

  The separation distinguished Moody Nolan’s architecture and design business from the engineering operation.

  Source

1. 1Moody Nolanen.wikipedia.org