Round Rock Business - Moman Architect Inc.

Round Rock Business - Moman Architect Inc.

Written by Christi Snow Sunday, 07 January 2007

Architect’s firm built on customer service

With more than 20 years of experience as an architect in Central Texas, John Moman has worked with many clients through what he calls the psychological curve of completing a project.

As customers confront the emotional ups and downs of designing and building a project with his firm, Moman Architects Inc., he said optimism plays a key roll in the process.

“It is important to interject a lot of humor because it can get tense,” he said. “Humor is a way to take advantage of a difficult situation while still developing a good product at the same time.”

He declares the project successful when it meets three criteria: final costs should match the planned budget; the building design should mesh with its surroundings; the client should be happy.

Since his firm has an interior design component, Moman prefers to take a building from start to finish. Commercial, industrial and interior projects comprise roughly 90 percent of his work, although he has completed a few residences. His projects are located all over Central Texas, from an upcoming high school in Salado to a retail center in Westlake, a park in Manor and the recently-opened public library in Leander.

Moman began his career in his hometown of Odessa. When the oil industry plummeted in the 1980s, it slowed the West Texas economy. Companies downsized rather than expanding and had little need for an architect.

Eventually he began looking for other opportunities and decided to relocate, looking at larger Texas cities like Dallas and Austin. A friend told him about Round Rock. Although Moman had never heard of the town of about 22,000 residents, he decided to visit. After the visit, he came to stay.

At first Moman worked for an Austin firm, Susman, Tisdale, Gayle, but as his commute expanded from a 20- to a 50-minute drive because of traffic congestion, he discovered he was spending less time with his family. After taking a pay cut, he began Moman Architects. Now more than six years later, he has a staff of 10 including eight architects and interior designers.

“The bottom line is I enjoy what I do,” he said. “I am passionate about it. I love coming to work in the morning. I want to have fun while I am here and want my clients to appreciate what we’ll do with their project.”

Historic Building

• Moman Architects is located in the historic 6,000 sq. ft. Harrell-Henna house built in 1910.
• John Moman said he has photos with Louis Henna, former Round Rock car dealer and city leader, crawling on the front porch as a baby.
• When his firm renovated and rebuilt the house, Moman tried to salvage as much of the original material as possible, including floors made of longleaf yellow pine and an antique fireplace mantle.

Moman Architect Inc., 309 W. Main St., Ste. 120, Round Rock, TX 78664, 512-733-1150, www.momanarch.com