Melissa Harlan, AIA, has worked on historic adaptive reuse projects at Kiku Obata & Company since 2019. She graduated with a Master of Architecture from Harvard University Graduate School of Design in 2008, a Bachelor of Architecture from Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design in 2003, and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from Arkansas State University in 1999. She has served on the Fay Jones School’s Professional Advisory Board for more than a decade. She has also been involved with the AIA since 2016.
When did you become interested in architecture and why?
I was a nerdy kid who drew floor plans and elevations of houses and barns I dreamed up and of ones I visited. So many other architects I know did the same thing when they were kids. I would visit a new house and, once back home, draw what I understood while thinking about how big the spaces were and how they connected. I don’t remember how or why I started drawing — it’s just something I did.
Why did you choose to go to the University of Arkansas and/or the Fay Jones School?
I grew up in Arkansas, so when I decided to leave my hometown to pursue architecture (after earning a bachelor’s degree in agriculture), I went to the University of Arkansas. Little did I know that I could have gone elsewhere and earned a master’s degree straight away, but I’m better for having taken the long path.
What has been your career path so far?
After completing my Bachelor of Architecture, I moved to St. Louis and worked for three years before applying to graduate schools. After completing my Master of Architecture, I stayed in Boston briefly, working at Office dA with Nader Tehrani and Monica Ponce de Leon. When Ponce de Leon became dean of Taubman College at the University of Michigan, I moved there to set up a satellite office for Office dA and then to set up Monica Ponce de Leon Studio. I worked on amazing projects during that time — from a land port of entry in Maine and a Conrad Hotel in New York to homes in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and Aspen, Colorado.
My husband, Tony Patterson (B.Arch. 2000), and I moved back to St. Louis in 2013. I spent six years with Christner Architects working on various projects including Rung for Women, two St. Louis County libraries, Washington University School of Medicine’s Mid Campus Center and Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital.
Since 2019, I have been with Kiku Obata & Company, working on historic adaptive reuse projects in Alton, Illinois.
I have served on the Fay Jones School Professional Advisory Board for over a decade, and I have been involved with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) since 2016. I served five years on the AIA Small Project Design Knowledge Community, founded the AIA St. Louis Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, served on the AIA St. Louis Board of Directors since 2021, served as treasurer in 2022, and I am currently the president-elect and on the AIA Missouri Board of Directors. I had the honor of jurying for the 2020 AIA Small Project Awards, 2020 AIA Small Project Grant, 2020 AIA Gold Medal and 2020 AIA Firm of the Year.
Upon reflection, my career path has been on an arc from high design to high reward in the form of service and projects that benefit communities. It has also arced from a pure focus on work to work that allows the time and flexibility needed to raise our 7-year-old son.
What has been your favorite project to work on?
This feels like picking your favorite child. I love my current project, which is the historic adaptive reuse of a group of buildings dating from 1876-1954 in Alton, Illinois. The project is transformative for the downtown. But, the Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, residence was an amazing project. It is a 10,400-square-foot, $20 million single-family residence on which I served as project manager and project designer. In addition to design, documentation and construction administration, I managed the design, selection, procurement, shipping, storage and installation of furniture, lighting, table settings, linens and curation of artwork. It was a once-in-a-lifetime project that saw countless construction industry professionals through the Great Recession.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
Humans. Humans are the most challenging part of life. We rely on consultants, contractors, tradespeople, and so many others to bring our designs to life. Sometimes these relationships are challenging, but they are also so rewarding. When you find people you can rely on, it makes even tough situations bearable.
What unique experiences or perspectives do you have that make you stand out in architecture?
I am tenacious. When I was his student, Marlon Blackwell, Distinguished Professor and E. Fay Jones Chair in Architecture at the Fay Jones School, said I was, “like a dog on a bone.” I take a problem and work hard to solve it. I expect a lot from myself and from others, too.
I also know that I can learn from everyone on a job site. The most important thing we can do is ask questions of our clients, consultants, product representatives, contractors and tradespeople.
We bring a bit of us from everything we have done. My first job was at McDonald’s when I was 16. I have worked on a farm, for a veterinarian and waited tables, so I have a wide breadth of experience to draw from. Becoming a mom has given me insight into the need for mundane things like hooks next to changing tables and what makes a great mother’s room. All my lived experiences impact my work.
I think tenacity, empathy and humility can go a long way.
What are your interests or involvements outside of design?
First and foremost, our son, Joe, who is 7. I’m a soccer mom, Cub Scout Den Leader and room parent. I enjoy baking, hiking, camping, downhill skiing and yoga.
Who have been your biggest supporters?
My family, my high school art teacher, Mrs. Donna Pierson, and my professors from the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design.
What’s the best part of your career?
Having an impact on people’s lives. The buildings we design can positively and negatively impact people, so it is vital that we consider all of the impacts — from individual to community to our planet. The Rung for Women headquarters in St. Louis was one project that has had radiating impacts on women, their families and St. Louis. The work I am doing in Alton, Illinois, is part of a group of projects that will transform the downtown and positively impact the community.