Our Rural Architecture Lead, Harley Schuster, came to us with a master’s degree in Architecture from Kansas State University. She participated in the Net Positive Studio which studied, designed, planned, and built rural housing in St. John and Ogden, Kansas. Through this work, her studio won the prestigious Kremer Prize, which is awarded for outstanding collaborative design achievements by students in the final semester of the Professional Master of Architecture Program. Throughout her time at K-State, she developed an interest in the rural development of workforce housing and a focus on adaptive reuse projects for downtown revitalization.

Harley grew up in rural North Central/Northwest Kansas and has chosen to come back to the area to amplify her impact as a professional. She was a former Dane G. Hansen intern for Republic County Economic Development where she studied housing issues and proposed housing designs for rural housing. She previously worked at HTK Architecture in Topeka, Kansas.