Method
moss is a full-service architecture and urban design studio in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago. We’re LEED accredited and licensed in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and California. Our work is diverse by design, allowing us to explore the best design solutions across varied project types, including residential, commercial, hospitality, breweries and wineries, interiors, urban planning, and custom furniture.
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 solid connectivity with nature while responding to our client’s needs, desires, and 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 the 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 utilizes 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. He volunteers as a Treekeeper for the 47th Ward Green Council, Openlands Project, and 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, woodworking, and hydrology. He is not a fan of golf or flaxseed.
Laura Cripe
Marketing & Business Development | Founder | Vegetable Hunter
Laura spent nearly two decades honing her marketing strategy and business development skills in the corporate environment. Chicago-born and raised near a forest preserve instilled in her a love of nature and an understanding of the importance of urban green space. Her passion for design and desire to maintain a wholesome connection with the environment has guided her towards sustainable architecture. As a certified permaculturist, master gardener, and urban farmer, she tends to the Edible Garden at Lincoln Park Zoo and volunteers for the Chicago Audubon Society monitoring endangered Piping Plovers.
Chris Koster
Designer | Gardener | Amateur Margarita Mixologist
With a constant interest in understanding how things are constructed, Chris enjoys both the design and construction sides 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 found on PBS. Sustainability is a common thread that knits together his food culture, cycling, and design interests.
Emily Torem
Head of Journalism | Illustrator | Grocery Shopper
Emily holds a degree in Journalism from DePaul University. She previously worked as an editorial intern at Newcity, Time Out Chicago, and Intersection Magazine in London. Born and raised in Chicago, Emily still has absolutely no sense of direction and frequently asks tourists how to get around. She is particularly interested in access to quality food and water, healthier urban spaces, and design’s roles in each.
Drew Bayley, AIA
Architect | Pedal Pusher | Home Chef
Drew holds a MArch degree from IIT and a BSAS from UW-Milwaukee. As the son of an industrial designer and a graphic designer, he couldn’t avoid learning the importance of design. Years as a bike messenger sent him into the most iconic Chicago buildings, and his eye for detail always kept him looking up. He rides his bike, regardless of distance, weather, or cargo. From movie theater projectionist to butcher, rickshaw driver to an actor, line cook to a carpenter, his assortment of past jobs contribute to his design work. Drew, his wife, and toddler daughter live, ride, and eat in and around Wicker Park.
Ryo Mizuki
Designer | Woodworker | Cheesehead
Ryo holds a B.S. in Architectural Studies from the University of Illinois. He enjoys residential design and its creative solutions, especially in small spaces. Aside from architecture, he has always loved to design and create – from making origami and crafts as a child to salvaging reclaimed lumber to fabricate furniture. You can find him hanging out with his dog or hitting balls at the driving range while away from the studio. Tokyo-born, Chicago area raised, but somehow cheers for the Packers.
Cam Gasser
Designer | Skater
Michigan-born, Cam developed a love for nature, exploring the woods behind his home; later, moving to Chicago ignited his interest in structures. Cam holds a degree from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, where he majored in Interior Architecture & Design and minored in Furniture Design, Fine Arts, and Art History. His interest in how an environment can affect people and their well-being has driven his studies in space, materials, and sustainability. Cam enjoys skating, painting, and cooking with friends when he’s not contemplating the human experience.
Bosco
Napper | Captain of the SS Cardboard Box | Exterminator
A chronic overeater 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.