Our team.
Katie Kangas, AIA, NCARB
Kangas founded Pasque Architecture to provide story centered architecture and design. Katie is building a process centered practice to provide simple functional design that is beautiful and inspires.
Katie grew up in the Black Hills of South Dakota. She now lives in Ham Lake, Minnesota with her husband and three young girls. Apart from architecture, Katie enjoys ceramic art, writing, and kayaking.
Katie avidly volunteers professionally through the AIA and in her church.
Contributions to Books & Publications
Elfie: Adventures on the Midwest Frontier
Working with her grandmother, Mary Nelson Keithahn, Katie illustrated this charming children’s book. Mary is an avid genealogist. In the process of collecting their families’ history, Mary uncovered a series of letters and memoirs of Elfie and her life in Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota. Mary collected the stories into this educational chapter book that engages and delights young readers.
Minnesota’s Own:
Preserving Our Grand Homes
While at MacDonald & Mack Architects, Katie drafted and illustrated floor plans and elevations of twenty grand homes that have been lovingly preserved across the state of Minnesota. Larry Millett is a prolific author and historian. These illustrations compliment Millett’s stories and the fantastic photography of Matt Schmitt.
The illustrations reflect Katie’s personal process which pairs hand watercolor with digital drafting and rendering tools.
Podcasts & Interviews
Context & Clarity: for Small Firm Architects
EntreArchitect’s Context & Clarity Live is co-hosted by Jeff Echols and Katie Kangas. It is a place where authors, experts, and thought leaders go to have engaged conversations with entrepreneurial architects around the world.
AIA MN WIA Networking Session
Panelist Interviews
At A’23 MN: The Minnesota Conference on Architecture, AIA Minnesota’s Women in Architecture Committee is hosting six amazing panelists for this year’s session entitled “Networking with Women in Architecture: Woman’s Search for Meaning In and Beyond Architecture.”
Co-hosts Katie Kangas, AIA, and Kaitlin Schalow, AIA, interview Molly Eagan, AIA, Artemis Ettsen, AIA, Sara Imhoff, AIA, Sarah St. Louis, Assoc. AIA, Andrea Hammel Wollak, AIA, and Ellie Ziaie, AIA. Conversations dive deep into each women’s unique journey to where they are today and how they find meaning in and beyond architecture.
Articles & Toolkits
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“Have you ever wanted to work for yourself? Be your own boss? Jumping out from the safety of another firm can seem risky - especially if you are a young architect who has never flown solo. Many architects have taken the leap in as many different ways, alone or in flocks….
Night owls build a clientele and portfolio while maintaining a day job.
Eagles start out by scavenging jobs or clients from a former employer.
Oxpeckers live a good life on the back of a big client…
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A series of interviews of 2021 AIA National Young Architects recognized for their contribution to the profession. They create engagement opportunities in one of three ways:
Engage your Clients
Engage your Colleagues
Engage your Community
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The Practice Innovation Lab is an event for exploring how architects will adapt their practice and advance the profession.
Step 1: Establish Your Purpose
Step 2: Event Structure
Step 3: Secure a Facilitator
Step 4: Advertise the Program
Step 5: Execute the Workshop
Step 6: Present Your Results
Step 7: Follow Up
Katie Kangas and Matt Toddy authored this Toolkit based on six prior PILs across the county. The shortest events were seminars or “Energize” event. The average sessions were 4 - 8 hour “Explore” workshop. Anything longer is an “Exhibit” event.
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Starting a business involves juggling practice with marketing, accounting, office maintenance, and more. This checklist provides a starting point:
Become a Business
Building Professional References
Set up Shop
Network & Get Work
Create Business Systems
Run the Business