MWA is fortunate to celebrate an abundance of one-year anniversaries in 2025, and we’re excited to highlight this talented group. Please join us in recognizing Spencer Scott, Designer; Max Weisenbloom, Designer; Urmica Yelavarthy, Designer; Chris Buchanan, BIM Manager; and Cheryl Myers, Administrative Assistant.
They all bring creativity, dedication, and daily contributions that shape the collaborative and energetic culture we value so deeply at MWA. Thank you for the work you do that makes this such a joyful place for people to thrive in.
To learn more about our 2025 one-year anniversaries, read our Q&A with each team member below!
Spencer Scott, Designer
What project(s) are you working on right now?
I’m currently working on the SIA Administration Building, TriMet Campus Planning, Yakima Airport Terminal Modernization, and the Metro South Traffic Shelter projects. I hold various roles and capacities for all four.
The Yakima Airport Terminal has been very interesting. It is an intense design problem with tight constraints which has forced us to really think critically about the architectural parti. Additionally, it has the potential for the most drastic community impact.
What’s your favorite thing about working at MWA?
I work with an awesome team who continue to support me. Plus, all the social events – the Marketing Team is killin’ it 😊. In an indirect way, my job here was a final push to move to the east side of Portland, something I’ve wanted to do for a while and I’ve loved being able to explore this new area.
How do you maintain work/life balance?
Staying physically active! Dance, hiking, photography, and soccer (image is definitely me just this past spring) fill my spare time and offer needed mental refreshes from project work.
What do you hope to do more of in the next few years?
I think the moment I get to see my first building from my time at MWA in the physical world is one I look forward to on a daily basis.
What is your next career goal that you would like to tackle?
License! I plan to start this fall with the hope of finishing in a year.
When you started your career, why did you want to become an architect?
I think I kept annoying my fellow construction coworkers when I would always say I could design this better. I finally decided to prove it.
Is there a particular architect’s work that inspires you? Why?
I’m quite fond of Glen Murcutt’s work. His buildings seem to always have a sense of WOW for me while also having clear concepts through the entirety design. I wish the Marie Short house was my own… desperately.
Max Weisenbloom, Designer
What project(s) are you working on right now?
I am working on several tenant improvements designing behavioral health clinics and office spaces for OHSU. I am also working on a new rural office building for the Lewis County Public Utility District on the Cowlitz River.
What project phase is your favorite? Why?
I really enjoy the programming phase of the project – I love learning about the minutia of other people’s lives and professions, and diving deep into how they experience spaces in ways that I haven’t thought about. Especially when designing the fifth office space in a row, hearing from the user group is where the project differentiates itself and the people become the design inspiration for the space.
What’s your favorite thing about working at MWA?
I love the community and collaborative work environment. Especially as someone who is just starting out, I appreciate being able to take advantage of such a wide variety of expertise from people both within and outside of the Infrastructure studio. Everyone has had different projects, jobs, and experiences that affect how they design, and that makes the studio and the firm stronger.
How do you maintain work/life balance?
Always Be Busy! I love to relax, but I find the best way to take my mind off work is to be active and doing something, whether it’s going to the movies or a bike ride or finding a new hobby. There’s always more to do than there is time to do it, so I try to prioritize things that I truly enjoy.
What do you hope to do more of in the next few years?
I want to find a hobby I can do in my downtime when I’m just sitting on the couch for half an hour – I also want to get back into reading, as I haven’t finished a book yet this year. There’s also so many other things I want to start doing – start a window box to grow herbs, sew a pair of pants, find the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe, spend more time in the river, learn how to draw, get back into music…
What is your next career goal that you would like to tackle?
I want to get licensed. I am only at the beginning of taking the ARE exams, so I still have a long way to go, but I hope that the process will also give me a broader understanding of architecture and design.
When you started your career, why did you want to become an architect?
It was an evolving interest. When I first applied to architecture school, I was really passionate about designing homes and bay windows and grand staircases. As I got into school, I became more interested in urban design, etc.
Is there a particular architect’s work that inspires you? Why?
I’ve always been drawn to Geoffrey Bawa’s organic, naturalist designs and how they blend into the landscape. They are the opposite of “monument” architecture where the building is a figure in space and instead create interesting spaces themselves. He emphasizes how humans experience the built environment, and because of that, his designs, despite being radically modernist, feel lived in and familiar. Though he designed for a climate dramatically different than the PNW, the principles behind his architecture are relevant to every project I work on.
Urmica yelavarthy, Designer
What project(s) are you working on right now?
At MWA, I’ve been actively involved throughout the design process, contributing from early concept development and space planning to coordinating construction documentation. My current work includes the Lab/Admin Building at the Sunnyvale Cleanwater Center, EBMUD Dewatering Improvements, EBMUD Wildcat Pumping Plant, and the La Verne Warehouse Facilities.
What project phase is your favorite? Why?
I’m most drawn to the early design phase, when ideas are still fluid and full of potential. It’s a time for exploration, creative problem-solving, and discovering how design can best support and inspire its users. It’s rewarding to see how those early sketches from nothingness eventually evolve into physical built structures that people connect with every day.
What’s your favorite thing about working at MWA?
My favorite thing about working at MWA is the strong sense of inclusion throughout the design process. Every voice is heard and valued, and we truly operate as a collaborative team when solving complex design problems. That spirit of teamwork and shared creativity makes every project meaningful.
How do you maintain work/life balance?
Outside of work, I love exploring new places and hidden trails, painting with watercolors, cooking my favorite dishes, and relaxing with the cats.
What do you hope to do more of in the next few years?
In the next few years, I hope to continue growing my design and technical skills and work toward achieving my architectural licensure. I’m excited to take on more opportunities that strengthen both my creative and technical understanding of the profession.
When you started your career, why did you want to become an architect?
I pursued architecture to combine creativity with meaningful impact. Architecture to me is a way to design environments that enrich how people live, work, and connect with one another.
Is there a particular architect’s work that inspires you? Why?
I’ve always been inspired by Mies van der Rohe and his simple, clear approach to design. I agree with his belief that good design isn’t about adding more; it’s about creating spaces that feel calm, meaningful, and timeless. I love how his work shows elegance through simplicity.
Chris Buchanan, BIM Manager
What project(s) are you working on right now?
Currently, I am wrapping up a 2025 project to rebuild a newly updated version of MWA’s BIM framework and templates. I’m also helping with a few projects in both Design Development and Construction Documents.
What project phase is your favorite? Why?
I really enjoy the Design Development (DD) phase because Schematic Design (SD) phases can get skipped or never leaves a nest of ideas. Also, a design never reaches maturity into Construction Documents (CD). Construction Administration (CA) can either build bridges or sink ships as there is always a heavier debate on concise design intent with lighter collaborative expression of design. However, (DD)s carries the bulk of our work in design, scope, and billable time. DD is when a design/idea becomes more real and flushes out with collaborative teams of engineers, clients, sometimes contractors, and designers. As a BIM Manager, it’s also the time when Revit models start to reveal themselves the most.
What’s your favorite thing about working at MWA?
The ability to help society in which all benefit through beautiful and healthy architecture on a human scale throughout our communities. We are smart and flexible problem solvers that strive to come up with solved options, instead of more problems. I am beyond grateful and appreciate all of this.
How do you maintain work/life balance?
Working here has taught me many lessons so far about this subject. Even when I am faced with a wall of problems, with the help of MWA to find solutions, I have continued to strive to develop a final set of results that almost everyone gets on board with. On a personal or professional level.
What do you hope to do more of in the next few years?
Not only will we develop our BIM system further, but we will continue to develop our production of work through design development. With the help of MWA, I know this is achievable through its long history of collaborative advocacy through all corners of local communities that MWA serves.
What is your next career goal that you would like to tackle?
I hope to see myself grow as MWA has. To continue emerging in my own career, not only as a BIM Manager, but potentially as a future architect as well.
When you started your career, why did you want to become an architect?
Growing up, I loved legos, sketching, artistic performance (like dance and music), technology, and math. When focusing on my passions for technology, math, and sketching, I ran into architects and engineers, so naturally I wanted to become one myself. After a 5-year college architectural program and many projects later, I now get to continue that passion through BIM management.
Is there a particular architect’s work that inspires you? Why?
ZGF, Frank Lloyd Wright, Frank Gehry, and Rem Koolhaas for sure. These architects and specific buildings such as the Portland International Airport roof design, Seattle Public Library, and the Guggenheim Museums. During the peak of their careers, their approaches were not architecturally refined at the time. Instead, they wanted to express their work through modern design, technical skills, and artistic impression for societal collaboration and communication. They knew all about the boxes that defined architecture at the time, and because they knew these boxes so well, they were able to think outside of it. Today, their current designs and philosophy remain in architecture. Their work includes a lot of today’s modern homes, airports, hospitals, museums, music event spaces, libraries, plazas, office interiors, communication like CCTV/Facebook, embassies, etc.
Cheryl Myers, Administrative assistant
What project(s) are you working on right now?
My role is really varied so I’m working on a lot of things. When I’m not working on my typical day-to-day duties, I’ve been working with IT to phase out our older computers and providing support to help our San Francisco colleagues travel to Portland for our holiday gathering.
What’s your favorite thing about working at MWA?
I really enjoy the people. I love it when we can get together for events like the putt-putt and work together on small, fun projects. Our staff is full of amazing, creative people. I also appreciate the team’s culture of collaboration and commitment to making sustainable and ethical choices.
How do you maintain work/life balance?
In the evenings, I try to spend time relaxing in my yard. I also love to listen to audiobooks and podcasts when I can. Mostly, though, I love to take outdoor adventures. I regularly stay in fire towers and take short backpacking trips. I also rode my bike more this summer and that feels like a great way to exercise when I can’t get out of town. It makes me happy when I can walk and ride more than I drive.
What do you hope to do more of in the next few years?
I’d like to have more outside adventures. I’d like to do some longer backpacking trips and get back to climbing outside regularly. I’d also like to try these things in places that I haven’t been to before. I have my eyes on a trip in the Wind River Range in Wyoming and I’d love to take a trip in Idaho’s Sawtooth Range. Maybe before all that, I’d love to hike around Mt. Rainier on the Wonderland Trail.
Is there a particular book or podcast that inspires you? Why?
I love Backpacker Radio. It is more about thru-hiking than the kind of backpacking that I do. Regardless, it inspires me to get out there and to think about longer trips even if I don’t hike the entirety of the PCT. A recent episode mentioned a few shorter trails that I’m excited to research. I also like Against the Odds. I appreciate hearing about the ingenuity and survival skills of the people in their stories.
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