Katie MacDonald is an architect and cofounder of After Architecture. The studio has completed work for clients including the Knoxville Museum of Art, Cornell University, Lycoming College, Marriott, and the Washington D.C. Department of General Services. MacDonald was awarded the Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers in 2023. Other accolades include ten awards from the American Institute of Architects, ten honors from the Society of American Registered Architects, and four recognitions from The Architect’s Newspaper.
MacDonald is assistant professor of Architecture at the University of Virginia, where she leads material research as director of the Before Building Laboratory. MacDonald aims to expand applications for wood construction, a material which benefits from a long history across cultures and geographies, codification in building codes, rapid renewability, and carbon sequestration.
Recent exhibited works include Tangential Timber in the Craft Contemporary’s Material Acts: Experimentation in Architecture and Design (2024-25), a Getty Pacific Standard Time exhibition; Sylvan Scrapple in Landmark Columbus Foundation’s Public by Design, the 2023 cycle of Exhibit Columbus; and Living Rooms & Parlor Tricks in the Architectural League of New York’s Uncomfortable (2023).
At MacDowell, MacDonald built a series of large-scale models depicting how new approaches to wood construction can reshape the design of single-family and multi-family residences. The series explores the expressive potential of wood in the creation of space. She worked alongside After Architecture’s cofounder Kyle Schumann while in residence.
