It’s a new year with new opportunities, and Moya Design Partners is up for the challenge. We have some wonderful, creative work on the boards in architecture, interiors, and visual design, and we’re grateful that the firm’s first year has been a successful one filled with stimulating projects, great friendships, and, of course, design excellence. Here are some updates and highlights from MOYA’s first year!
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A shortlisted mixed-use, multifamily design proposal for the NOMA Gateway in Washington, D.C.
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A shortlisted interior design proposal for the Jamaican Houses of Parliament in partnership with Guenet Anderson
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Ongoing work at Diane’s House, a mixed-use, multifamily development with a significant permanent supportive housing component for D.C.’s women in need
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Ongoing work on Eastern Market Metro Park: refining and implementing the master plan for a new town square for D.C.’s Capitol Hill
In November, Moya Design Partners was proud to be shortlisted for the NOMA Gateway, a mixed-use multifamily design concept anchored by World Central Kitchen by celebrity Chef José Andrés. This brand-new development proposes to bring the NoMa community together through education, stewardship, housing and food security, creating a sense of pride and vested interest in the neighborhood.
Another “Wow!” moment came at the end of December when we learned that our interiors proposal, in partnership with Guenet Anderson, has been shortlisted in the Government of Jamaica’s Houses of Parliament Design Competition. Our proposal capitalizes on the ever-present breezes, tree groves, and sloping landscapes of Kingston by emphasizing sun, shade, shelter, and permeability, as well as celebrating the colors and shape of the Jamaican flag.
Back in Washington, D.C., at Diane’s House on Bladensburg Rd. NE, MOYA has finished the design and is managing construction for a 42-unit supportive housing complex serving women and their families who are veterans, recovering addicts, victims of domestic violence, and returning citizens. The project has had fast-track deliverables and a compressed schedule; we’re honored to be producing an innovative, attractive, and cost-effective development for women in need.
Eastern Market Metro Park is another major project for the MOYA team this year. In September, DC DGS/DPR kicked off a master plan refinement led by Moya Design Partners with the goal to start construction in 2019. We’re working with Keystone Plus Construction, Land Design, HPO, DDOT, CFA, DCPL, NCPC, NPS and community stakeholders to connect and activate a cooperative town square for Capitol Hill. Concept design for the park will be completed in January.
MOYA’s first year has been filled with so many amazing clients and inspiring projects with work as diverse as our team. Other 2018 highlights include more grand openings and releases in architecture, interiors, and visual design: the Spa at MGM Springfield, Elizabeth Seton High School, WashREIT, Cook Ross, DowntownDC BID, Bright Beginnings, Paoli Law Firm, DC Public Schools, ZERO TO THREE, WeDC Fest, the DCBIA Golf Classic, DC BID Council, and Excel Academy.
The MOYA Difference
All this in one year! How did MOYA get here? Moya Design Partners was launched in late 2017 by business leader and respected designer Paola Moya. Paola brings over 15 years of experience to Moya Design Partners after leading her previous firm, Marshall Moya Design, into diverse new markets and elevating its profile in the architecture and design world. Under Paola’s leadership, MMD won some of the most influential and renowned projects in the city, two of which — Audi Field and D.C.’s Entertainment and Sports Arena — celebrated their grand openings in 2018.
But MOYA’s roots go back further than that. In a recent interview with D.C. Latina, Paola revealed that when she moved to D.C. from Bogotá, Colombia, with her family as a teenager, she didn’t have a clear plan. The only job she could get was taking care of dogs in a kennel. Even though she had a phobia of dogs, she gulped and said “sure!” Paola also delivered pizzas, worked at daycare centers, and held two or three jobs at a time to help her parents and siblings get by. She eventually found work as an assistant in two architecture and construction firms while she earned a Bachelor and Master of Architecture from Catholic University.
Paola attributes Moya Design Partners’ success to perseverance and to facing her fears. Fifteen years later, her vision is clear: to design an inclusive District for all. The firm has been recognized by AIA WIELD, the National Organization of Minority Architects, and Walker’s Legacy not only for great design, but for Paola’s individual contributions to D.C. women and minority leadership. To cap off a stellar year of business leadership, in December, the Washington Business Journal honored Paola among eight first-generation immigrant D.C. entrepreneurs: Mavis Mbi, Sonny Kakar, Irma Becerra Fernandez, Andy Shallal, Ivan Iricanin, and Henok Tesfaye by featuring them on the cover of the 2019 Book of Lists.
