Forty Under 40: Nate Deason

Nate Deason may be proof that sometimes a person is meant for a specific career.

The architect with Fort Smith-based MAHG Architecture, who worked on the high-profile Studio and Design Center in the Windgate Art and Design District, part of the University of Arkansas School of Art, did some sketch work long before that Fayetteville project.

“I think I was meant for design, or architecture, early on,” he said. “A few years ago, my parents gave me some sketches I made as a kid, just some things around the house that I had sketched. It was surprising because, for a 5-year-old, they were kind of accurate,” he said.

Deason said the School of Art project is an example of a high point so far in his career but noted that all projects, regardless of size or prestige, fuel his passion for the work.

“It’s the ability to create positive solutions through well-designed space and structures,” he said. “We want to keep doing great work, like with the Windgate building, especially in K through 12.”

He also said being part of the MAHG ownership group is a proud part of his early career.

Deason landed in Northwest Arkansas in 2012 after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Drury University in Springfield, Mo., but “gravitated toward Fort Smith and the work MAHG does.”

He joined MAHG in 2013 as a project designer. He’s since earned promotions in 2018 and 2021 and has been integral in the design and implementation of over $300 million worth of projects in Arkansas.

He is also secretary-elect of the Arkansas chapter of the American Institute of Architects, plays several instruments, including the guitar, mandolin and ukulele. He and his wife love “mountain biking and outside adventures.”

Deason is a class of 2022 graduate of Leadership Fort Smith.