OUR APPROACH
Like Nobody's Business
We are award-winning designers, planners, programmers, sustainability gurus, community leaders, data organizers, business professionals, BIM managers, building code experts, spreadsheet jockeys, evidence-based designers, and more. In short - a diverse group of innovative professionals. What bonds us together is our commitment to design excellence, client service, ingenuity, communication, collaboration, and integrity. We combine our distinct talents to discover unique solutions to each client challenge. Our mandate for every person on every project is simple: Do the Right Thing.
Our Background
Michael Craft and Buck Marshall founded MCA in 1986 with a goal to establish long-term relationships with major owner/occupant and institutional clients through exceptional design, and professionalism teamed with unusual responsiveness. MCA’s original approach to the business of architecture remains. MCA transitioned to our new leadership team in 2014, and celebrated 30 years of success in 2016.
Today, 97% of our projects are commissioned by repeat clients. MCA remains a privately-owned, well-managed, firm providing effective, award-winning design for major owner-occupant clients throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, nationally, and on several continents.
Our Work
MCA has won a hard-earned reputation for reliably providing high-quality, technically advanced, solutions-based design – in all of our areas of expertise. We work with remarkable clients who are leaders in their fields: Cultural + Civic, Federal Government, Healthcare, Higher Education, Historic + Adaptive Reuse, Pre-K – 12 Education, Private Enterprise, and Science + Research.
Our clients hold necessarily high expectations of their professional consultants. MCA’s Quality Assurance guided workflow allows us to push ourselves “outside of the box”, to find the best design solutions while reliably delivering on those expectations.
Our Values
We have a culture dedicated to doing the Right Thing for our clients, our communities and our employees. We are committed to:
- Design excellence
- Exceptional professionalism
- Integrity and fairness
- Plain-talk and clear communication
- Highly responsive client service
- Innovation and appropriateness in design
- Supporting our employees’ professional
and personal goals - Nurturing a diverse and inclusive workplace
- Advocating for our communities and our environment
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CELEBRATING DIVERSITY
Championing Women in Architecture, Design, and Construction
In honor of Women’s History Month, we celebrate the women who help lead our professional team here at MCA. With over 128 combined years of experience, these women inspire mentorship, creativity and professionalism within our team while forming lasting relationships with each of our clients. MCA is a strong supporter for increasing the viability and visibility of women in the architecture, design, and construction industries and we promote an environment of comradery for female professionals both inside and outside of our firm.
Pictured (left to right): Associate Principal Cara Versace, AIA; Principal Kim Kavanagh, AIA; Senior Associate Christin Troutman, CID, CHID.; Vice-President Michelle S. Hooper, AIA; Associate Principal Olivia Jacobson-McKelvie; Principal Jasmine Purnell; and Associate Veronica Plischke, AIA.
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COMMUNITY
Part of a Community
MCA enjoys being part of a great community and contributing to its health. From opening our doors to our city neighbors at the annual “Mingle at the Mill” and Doors Open Baltimore events, to participating in neighborhood improvement events and fundraising, our staff take pride in helping to maintain a vibrant and healthy community.
We also open our doors to host local artists and any number of professional organization events throughout the year.
We greatly appreciate friends of the firm traveling far and wide to join us for our in-house events – we do try to keep them entertaining! Please feel free to join us the next time we have something going on.
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COMMUNITY
Our Past Inspires Our Future
In the 1800s, Baltimore’s Jones Falls Valley was one of the nation’s busiest and most innovative industrial hubs. The Woodberry neighborhood was famous for the Poole & Hunt Foundry and Machine Works, the largest in the nation at the time. In the 1860s, it cast the 36 columns and brackets that support the U.S. Capitol dome. Sadly, most of the factories had closed by the 1930s and in 1995, an eight-alarm fire destroyed portions of the existing facilities. However, from the ashes, Clipper Mill has emerged as a vibrant community for Baltimore’s next generation makers and place makers.
In 2016, MCA moved to the revitalized Assembly Building at Clipper Mill. This unique space, once used for the final assembly of giant industrial-age machinery, inspires our design team with the hands-on work ethic required for the creation of innovative new environments for next-generation learning, healing, research, work, and culture.
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Current Visiting Artist:
Suzi GallettiMILLRACE GALLERY
Showcasing community talent...
Located in the heart of the Clipper Mill community, MCA’S Baltimore office features the Millrace Gallery – a unique urban venue for introducing and celebrating local creative work.
MCA has developed the Visiting Artists Series as a platform to display the work of talented artists in our community. We welcome a wide variety of artists to showcase their work, invite guests and hold receptions in the gallery of our Baltimore studio. As we ourselves hold receptions, community and professional events throughout the year, the work gets valuable additional exposure – all in a well-lit, secure and commission-free environment.
We are very pleased to host Suzi Galletti as our Featured Artist at the moment. Feel free to stop by and see her work during business hours. It is appreciated if you could call in advance.
M-Thu 8:30am-5:00pm and Fridays 8:30am-4:00 pm.