Celebration of Design + BOLD: Walker|West Music Academy
Join our joint BOLD and Professional Development event with an amazing design to celebrate!
Walker|West Music Academy is an 18,640-square-foot adaptive reuse project in St. Paul’s historic Rondo neighborhood, transforming a former adult day center into a new home for music education, performance, community gathering, and workplace functions.
Rooted in Walker|West’s mission to celebrate Black musical traditions while welcoming all who seek to grow through music, the space supports students, teaching artists, staff, families, performers, and neighbors through classrooms, gathering areas, staff workspaces, and a performance hall designed for both everyday use and moments of celebration.
The project explores how interior design, architecture, materiality, art, signage, furniture, and cultural storytelling can support a nonprofit institution’s next chapter as a community anchor that cultivates the next generation of artists.
Winner, 2025 ID Award — Social Impact Award
Selected by Finance & Commerce as a Top Project of 2025
Location: Walker|West Academy with Fancy Meeting You Here + Locus Architecture
650 Marshall Ave, St Paul, MN 55104
Date: Thursday, August 27th
Time: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Cost:**
- IIDA Members: Free
- 2026 BOLD Cohort Member: Free
- IIDA Student Members: Free
- MSP NOMA Members: $10.00
- Student Non-Members: $10.00
- Non-Members: $25.00
Parking: Walker West has a free parking lot with overflow street parking available. Look for additional street parking along Marshall Avenue and Saint Albans Street.
Presenters
Ashley Adamma Meeks, NCIDQ, IIDA
Ashley Adamma Meeks is the Owner and Principal Interior Designer of Fancy Meeting You Here, a Twin Cities-based commercial interior design studio known for shaping culturally resonant interiors through curiosity, collaboration, and care. Specializing in hospitality, workplace, cultural, and community-centered environments, she brings over a decade of experience transforming bold ideas into functional, expressive spaces people genuinely gravitate toward.
Her work is grounded in discovery and a distinct sensitivity to color, materiality, and atmosphere—translating identity, aspiration, and everyday use into memorable spatial experiences. As a Nigerian and Cameroonian American designer, Ashley brings a layered perspective to projects that shape the ways people gather, connect, work, explore, and feel considered in space.
Wale Falade, AIA, NOMA
Wale is a Principal at Locus Architecture, bringing over 20 years of experience across more than 100 projects in 40 US states and regions of Canada. He possesses extensive expertise in addressing intricate architectural challenges and managing complex projects.
Wale is the recipient of the AIA-MN 2025 Young Architect Award. He has taught architecture for several years at Dunwoody College of Technology, regularly serves as a guest critic at the University of Minnesota, and leads as President of the Minneapolis-St Paul Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (MSP-NOMA).
A passionate advocate for democratizing access to design and leveraging architecture’s power to improve lives, Wale champions the inclusion of diverse cultural perspectives in architectural conversations. His approach is rigorous, iterative, and highly collaborative, utilizing a variety of design representation methods to actively engage clients. Wale believes that the design process is just as vital as the final outcome. He is dedicated to advancing design discourse beyond conventional boundaries, encouraging bold ideas and creative exploration.
If you cannot attend, please cancel at least 24 hours in advance. If you no-show for the event, you may be charged non-member pricing.
AV: audience photographs & video may be taken at this event. By nature of your attendance, you are granting permission for your image and likeness to be used for marketing purposes.
**These prices include the Eventbrite fee. There may be additional taxes upon purchase.