EMILY McCREADY

Emily is a people-person who’s passionate about building authentic relationships and helping clients dream about their projects. This Dubuque native is also a big fan of her hometown, her family, and a good cup of coffee.

How did you decide on your career path?

I have experience in business, marketing, sales, community service, design, and project development, so my career at FEH Design allows me to combine and utilize all my strengths. I love being the first point of contact for new clients as they begin to conceptualize a project and matching them with our amazingly talented design team.

What is your favorite part of the design process?

Programming and concepts! I love to dive deep into an organization’s function and flow in order to increase their impact through design. The energy in our collaborative SPARK sessions is palpable; it unlocks everyone’s excitement for the project and for the possibilities ahead.

How are you creating vibrant communities through design?

I show up, participate, and live in relationship with my community. That connection helps me articulate our community’s identity through architecture and design.

What makes Dubuque a great place to live?

Dubuque is my hometown and where we chose to raise a family. After 15 years living in larger metropolitan areas, we returned because of the vibrant and rich opportunities here. The architecture alone makes my heart happy because of the opportunities to impact historic preservation and rehabilitation. It’s also the people, social opportunities, and my church family who have made Dubuque home.

563 joins feh design

May 2022: 563 Design will join FEH Design in business! 563 Design launched in 2017 by Andrew & Emily McCready with a focus on local design: commercial, historic preservation and rehabilitation, and residential projects.

This new venture will transition both the McCready’s themselves and 563 Design’s commercial and historic preservation work to FEH Design. 563 Design will remain active for residential design only.

Andrew McCready will join FEH Design as Principal Architect and Shareholder, Emily McCready will serve in a Business Development role.  They join a strong team of architects, structural engineers, and interior designers and expand FEH Design’s firm wide ownership.

“Coming out of the pandemic, there has been a surge of demand for our services. We were strategizing on how best to handle our workflow when FEH Design approached us with joining their team,” said Andrew McCready. “Together, we have a huge opportunity to take on projects of all sizes and complexities.”

It was no coincidence the paths of these two firms have converged. FEH Design President, Kevin Eipperle, has followed the work of the McCready’s and 563 Design for years. “I’ve wanted to work with them since they first came back to Dubuque.” Eipperle, recently promoted to FEH Design President, has been intentional in his strategic planning for the firm and adding the experience of the McCready’s was a targeted approach.

FEH Design is one of the Midwest’s oldest operating architecture firms, operating four offices across Iowa and Wisconsin. FEH Design’s roots trace back to 1898, when Andrew H. Foss, a Norwegian immigrant, began designing railroad depots. FEH Design’s Dubuque office opened in 2011 and just celebrated their 10^th anniversary and looking forward to their 125-year anniversary as a firm.

Once the conversations between the firms began, it became clear that working together was right for everyone. Business has been strong for both firms, and by combining their efforts under FEH Design, they can both reach their short and long-term goals.

“Creating impact in the Dubuque community through architecture has always been our focus,” Emily McCready said. “We can create even more impact through FEH Design going forward, and for us, that’s what it’s all about. We get to continue doing what we love, and now have a deep bench of talented designers to collaborate with. I’m excited to see our combined talent serve our community.”

BACKGROUND – 563 DESIGN

Andrew & Emily McCready, husband-and-wife team, grew up in Dubuque, Iowa. They attended colleges in Oklahoma and California, then moved back to Dubuque in 2014 in order to open a branch office of their Oklahoma-based architecture firm, Selser Schaefer Architects. Although business was strong in Oklahoma, they were passionate about Dubuque and creating architecture in their hometown. After a successful 3-year partnership with Selser Schaefer Architects, the McCready’s branched out on their own to launch 563 Design in 2017. 563 Design focused on local projects (563 area code), a wide range of projects including commercial, historic preservation and rehabilitation, and residential.

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