MO/EN Design Practice, LLC

My name is Miranda Moen and I am an architectural designer focused on rural practice and research. I received a Master of Architecture from Iowa State University in 2019 as well as a Bachelor of Design in Architecture with a minor in Neuroscience from the University of Minnesota in 2015. I moved to Austin, Minnesota in 2019 and founded MO/EN, a regional design and research practice. My passion lies at the intersection of serving rural communities through attainable architecture and creative projects that ignite economic development and support the exploration of identity in small towns. Through cultural heritage research, I explore themes of culture, ancestry, and history as it relates to class and the development of the built environment in small towns.

In 2020, I was awarded a 10-month Fulbright Research Fellowship to Norway where I will study the relationship between working-class Norwegian architecture and Norwegian-American architecture in Minnesota, USA. Through this project, I hope to gain a better understanding of the transmission of cultural heritage in the built environment through 19th century immigration patterns that informed the architectural foundation of rural communities in the Midwest. This topic presents a gap in research in modern architectural scholarship on material culture that I believe is critical to recognizing rural building culture as architecture in its own right. This is fundamental to creating and returning to an architecture that deeply connects to rural inhabitants.

WHAT I BELIEVE:

“A designer's role is really to act as the owner's advocate in the project - to propose a functional and stylistically integrated design and to make sure that the construction is done in a quality manner to mitigate future issues.” 

During my creative process, I enjoy observing the world around me and creating artwork that captures and reflects human experiences. I believe art and design can enhance the relationship people have with the built and natural environments.

This website serves as a holding space for my business, MO/EN Design Practice, as well as a creative outlet for my personal artistic development and research explorations in identity.