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Carl Karlen



Carl Karlen has been a practicing architect since 1999, and he has been licensed in Missouri and Illinois since 2007. He has maintained membership and involvement with professional groups such as AIA, NCARB, and USGBC, and achieved CDT credentialing. Several of the projects and competitions he has contributed to have been published in professional journals and/or distinguished with various design awards. 

Throughout his career he has worked on a variety of project types in multiple roles including project architect, sustainability leader, and designer. In the latter role, Karlen leads with a creative and performance-based perspective on architectural design, both on specific project teams and within the professional environment generally.  

Karlen has been a lecturer for design studios in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis since 2008. He completed his Master of Architecture degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago.


Select Exhibitions and Presentations

  • “PhaseMaze,” Artica Arts Festival, St. Louis, Mo., 2023.

  • “LiteBrite,” Artica Arts Festiva, St. Louis, Mo., 2022.

Select Awards and Grants

  • 2015 — Merit Award, AIA St. Louis (with CannonDesign)

  • 2008 — American Architecture Award, Chicago Athenaeum (with CannonDeign)

  • 2008 — Merit Award, AIA St. Louis (with CannonDesign)