Method
moss is a full service architecture and design studio in the Chicago neighborhood of Logan Square. Our work is diverse by design, and allows us to explore the best design solutions across varied project types including residential, commercial, breweries and wineries, retail, urban planning, custom furniture, restaurants, and LEED.
We assist our clients through the entire architectural and construction process, from site selection and design through permitting and construction. We work collaboratively with our design team and fabricators to create beautiful, livable, superior spaces.
We believe that successful design provides a solid connectivity with nature while responding to client needs, desires, and their vision of a comfortable, livable, and functional environment. We believe that sustainable designs can be cost-effective, preserve history, and result in a more beautiful, conscientious, and enduring design. Our designs integrate natural light and air, connection to landscape and green space, and the surrounding environment to create open, navigable spaces for present and posterity.
Our architecture emphasizes the creative use of sustainable materials to seamlessly blend landscape with the built environment, creating an enriching experience for occupants, and exerting a minimal impact on the surrounding landscape. Instead of supplanting or suppressing, we aim to create a mutually beneficial exchange between environment and edifice, where buildings don’t dirty, pollute or drain, but instead, clean, purify, and inspire. This approach allows us to create site specific, energy efficient, sustainable architecture.
People
Matt Nardella, AIA, LEED-AP
Architect | Founder | Bike Warrior
After graduating from the NewSchool of Architecture and spending nearly a decade designing sustainable architecture in San Diego, Matt returned to the character building climate of his native Chicago to found moss. His work is known for utilizing site orientation, creative use of green building techniques, and sustainable building materials. Matt understands the urban environment and how to sustain it as a community for all living things, and volunteers for the 47th Ward Green Council, Openlands Project where he is a volunteer Treekeeper, and as a guest laborer at Peasant’s Plot Farm. He has lectured on sustainable architecture and urban design nationwide. Matt enjoys The New York Times, cooking, wood working, and hydrology. He is not a fan of golf or flaxseed.
Laura Cripe
Business Development | Founder | Vegetable Hunter
Laura grew up in Chicago and loves the outdoors. Living next to a forest preserve instilled in her an appreciation of nature and the importance of green space in an urban environment. Her love of nature and passion for design, urban agriculture and desire to maintain a wholesome connection with the environment has guided her towards sustainable architecture practices. She holds a BS degree in Business & Management and is a certified permaculturist and urban farmer. She can be found with a shovel in hand tending to the Edible Garden at Lincoln Park Zoo and satisfying her wanderlust by traveling and capturing those experiences (and owls) with her trusty Nikon.
Chris Koster
Designer | Gardener | Amateur Margarita Mixologist
With a constant interest in trying to understand how things are put together, Chris enjoys both the design and construction side of architecture. His appetite for the “hands-on”, has led him to Bolivia to build adobe homes for communities in need. When not in the garden, tending to his chickens, or riding in circles around the velodrome, he enjoys watching reruns of Julia Child or whatever gastronome can be found on PBS. Sustainability is a common thread that knits together his interests in food culture, cycling, and design.
Emily Torem
Head of Journalism | Illustrator | Grocery Shopper
Emily holds a degree in Journalism from DePaul University. Previously, she has worked as an editorial intern at Newcity, Time Out Chicago, and Intersection Magazine in London. Born and raised in Chicago, she still has absolutely no sense of direction and frequently asks tourists how to get around. She is particularly interested in access to quality food/water, healthier urban spaces, and design’s role in each.
Drew Bayley, AIA
Architect | Pedal Pusher | Home Chef
Drew holds an Masters of Architecture degree from IIT in Chicago and a BSAS from UW-Milwaukee. As a son of an industrial designer and a graphic designer, he couldn’t avoid learning the importance of design detail. Four years as a bike messenger sent him into some of the most iconic Chicago buildings and his eye for detail always kept him looking up. He continues to ride his bike regardless of distance, weather, or cargo. From movie theater projectionist to butcher, rickshaw driver to actor, line cook to carpenter and father to an in-home chef, his assortment of past jobs all contribute to his design work.
Tad Jameyfield
Designer | Musician | Roller Coaster Enthusiast
Growing up in Northwest Indiana, Tad has had a life-long passion for cities, architecture, and how they influence our daily lives. He holds a BSAS of Architecture from Ball State University, and a MARCH from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and has worked in Indianapolis and right here in Chicago. When not exploring design concepts, you will find Tad hanging out with his dog in Logan Square, writing and recording music that would make the Beach Boys proud, or at the nearest amusement park riding roller coasters.
Paul Bilger
Architect | Travel Enthusiast | Runner
Paul is a licensed architect with 7+ years of experience. He holds a MARCH degree from the University of Maryland and a BS from the University of Missouri. Prior to settling in Chicago he worked in Seattle and Baltimore where he focused on urban mixed-use residential developments. Paul’s passion for architecture and sustainable design stems from his involvement in the 2009 Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon where he led the design team and helped build a solar home for the competition. This experience cemented his commitment to sustainable design and well crafted buildings.
Bosco
Napper | Captain of the SS Cardboard Box | Exterminator
A chronic over eater and moth chaser, Bosco has been searching for out of the way places to sleep for over a decade. He is way behind on filing.