Say “hello” to Zack & Nick

OPN has added a new architect in the Iowa City and Des Moines studios. Both bringing impressive experience and moving from the west, we can’t wait to see the ideas and understanding they bring to the team. It is a pleasure to welcome Zack and Nick!

Zack Writer, OPN Iowa City

Where are you from? South Dakota
What do you like about the industry? The opportunity to meet and work with a diversity of clients and builders on a project is a highlight of practicing in this profession. The development of the built environment is inherently a people-based endeavor and it’s wonderful to play such a central role in the community of groups and individuals who have a stake in the outcome of a project.
What inspires your work? I’m inspired by the chance to explore the hidden potentials of a project and craft with these ideas something unexpected that exceeds the sum of its parts. From the biggest site concept to the smallest building detail one gets the opportunity to discover something surprising.
If you were a cake, which flavor would you be and why? Pineapple upside-down cake: If things go sideways (or upside down), I usually emerge with only a couple pieces stuck to the pan, and they always puzzle back into place.
What’s your favorite landmark and why? Bear Butte, outside of my hometown of Sturgis, SD. Geologically unique with a spiritual gravity, its silhouette inhabits a lot of my memories.

Nick Christensen, OPN Des Moines

Where are you from? Colorado Springs, CO originally; Overland Park, KS recently
What do you like about the industry? It’s a creative outlet that lets me have a hand in shaping the spaces we live in. I get to solve different kinds of puzzles every day, and seeing the final result after years of planning is such a thrill to me.
What inspires your work? Since the spaces we create are built for a purpose, we have a responsibility to make every project better than the last. I’m inspired by my own experiences as well as those around me; so living, learning, and growing alongside others with the same goals is essential to driving my inspiration.
What’s your favorite landmark and why? Pikes Peak – I grew up looking at it every day.
Do you have a mantra or saying that you remind yourself of during projects? “For every complex problem, there’s a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.” -H.L. Mencken