Forty Under 40: Ryan Faust

Growing up in Quincy, Illinois, Ryan Faust knew from an early age that he wanted to be an architect.

“I think I was 8 or 10 years old,” said. “We lived outside of St. Louis and would drive down there a lot on the weekends. Going down the highway, we would always see these awesome, giant glass buildings. I remember thinking they were just so cool. I wanted to be part of making those happen.”

Faust went on to study architecture, art history and global studies at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, and he started his career as project architect at Jack Ball Architects in 2005. While there, he received a distinguished service award from the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects for helping start a mentoring program for young architects.

In 2011, an opportunity at Harrison French & Associates brought him to Bentonville, and in 2015, Faust was tapped to open the first Northwest Arkansas office for Springfield-based Bates & Associates Architects.

The firm works in a broad range of markets, including education and health care, and was selected for a $247 million expansion project at Mercy Northwest hospital.

Faust believes the leadership and the rest of the team at Bates offer something special.

“People are starting to see that these guys are not just doing run-of-the-mill things. They’re really trying to turn the profession on its head and basically just raise the entire base-level of what an architect does,” he said.

“We want to be engaged in the community and provide real value, so that people see us as more than just a production-focused firm.”