Kurt Haapala

“I enjoy engaging deeply and listening intently to the users of our buildings. Through their voices and the honest sharing of who they are and what their journey is all about, we understand how design can support them. We are the translators, the storytellers of their journey through the built environment.”

Kurt is an industry leader in the planning and design of student life and housing facilities. Having worked with more than a dozen colleges and universities across the West, he has built the firm’s higher education housing studio into a nationally recognized practice. His design concepts were instrumental in helping to achieve LEED Platinum Certification for Ackerman Hall at Western Oregon University, the first residence hall in the country to do so. Kurt’s enthusiasm for student and stakeholder engagement has inspired his extensive research, writing, and speaking on how the built environment can positively impact student outcomes.

As Partner-in-Charge of Business Development, Kurt leverages his passion and energy to propel Mahlum’s market sectors toward clarity and purpose-driven design responses.

Elevated to Fellow in the AIA in 2022, Kurt holds a Master of Architecture and Bachelor of Science from the University of Michigan. He is a registered architect in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California, Michigan, New Jersey, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana, and is a LEED Accredited Professional. Kurt served as the 2011 President of the Portland Chapter of the AIA and was a 2010 and 2011 Delegate to the AIA Oregon and AIA NWPR Board of Directors.