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Business Spotlight
Pen in Hand
TIMELINE
Murray Mack, HMA Architects, still likes sketching designs with a pen, but 3-D modeling lets clients be a bigger part of the process.
1984 Murray and Sue Mack move to St. Cloud from Fargo, ND. Murray accepts a position with Pauly & Olson Architects, where he works with Richard Hagemeister, an architect at the firm.
1986 Hagemeister leaves to begin a solo practice.
1988 Mack leaves Pauly & Olson, joining Hagemeister and creating Hagemeister & Mack Architects. Mack is 35 percent partner and for the first three months they work out of Hagemeister’s basement.
1991
PERSONAL PROFILE // Murray Mack, 58 Hometown: East Grand Forks, MN Education: Bachelor of Arts in Architecture 1982, North Dakota State University; Bachelor of Architecture 1983, North Dakota State University
By Gail Ivers
Business Central: What interested you about architecture? Murray Mack: Maybe it was watching the popular TV sitcom the Brady Bunch and the architect father Mike Brady back in the 70s. I hope not. He didn’t appear to work as much as I seem to. My interest in architecture probably started from an interest in art which was likely handed down from my mother who frequently painted pictures and was very artistic. On the other hand, my father
Family: Wife, Sue; son Spencer, daughter Madison, dog Snickers Hobbies: Golf, family history research, photography, time at the lake cabin
liked to build things like our family lake home. In the end I think it’s the combination of creativity, problem solving, art and science that attracted me to the profession and continues to keep me intrigued.
I think it cost over $50,000. We had to share it among a number of staff members and if you wanted extra time you had to come in at night. Today we have auto-CAD, Photoshop, InDesign, and 3-D modeling.
BC: How have things changed? Mack: When I first started I did design with pen, pencil, and multiple sheets of Mylar. The first computer aided design (CAD) machine I experienced was at Pauly & Olson in 1987. It was one computer and a plotter and some software and
BC: What has been the most rewarding? Mack: Basically, I just really love designing buildings and look for any opportunity to bring something unique and creative to the process. Happy clients and building owners makes it extra special.
Mack becomes a full partner in the firm.
1992 Hagemeister retires and Mack becomes 100 percent owner; Mack relocates the firm to the second floor of the historic First National Bank Building at the corner of 5th Ave. and St. Germain Street (built 1908). Mack receives his first significant commission: a $10 million state project at Camp Ripley.
2013 Firm name is changed to HMA Architects.
2014 HMA Architects moves to their current location, 700 W St. Germain Street, Suite 200, a larger space in the “somewhat” historic First American Bank building (1959).
2018 AT A GLANCE // HMA Architects, Ltd. 700 W Saint Germain St Suite 200 St. Cloud, MN 56301-6347 (320) 251-9155 Email: hma@hma-archs.com hma-arch.com
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Business Central Magazine // J U LY/A U G U S T 2 0 1 8
Business Description: HMA Architects is an architecture and interior design firm. Owner: Murray Mack, AIA, LEED AP Opened: May 1988 Number of Employees: 12 Chamber member since 1988
The firm celebrates its 30 year anniversary, completing over 2,000 projects during that time. Some really small, some very large.