Chicago-based Mary Cook Associates (MCA), a national, award-winning commercial interior design firm, today announced that Christopher McDonough, AIA, LEED AP, has joined the firm as chief design officer. In his new role, McDonough will oversee all staff, processes, execution and quality of project work produced by the firm, incorporating interior design, architecture, purchasing and installation.

“Chris may be an architect by training, but he has always been more focused on commercial interiors and will be a great addition to our team as he can communicate effectively with both architects and developers,” said Mary Cook, founder and president of Mary Cook Associates. “His extensive background in the hospitality industry, combined with his collaborative style and passion to create excellent designs, make Chris a tremendous asset to our clients, especially as more multifamily projects are blurring the lines into the hospidential category.”

McDonough’s earlier work – including the transformation of The Renaissance Chicago’s conference center and the renovation of Chicago’s Godfrey Hotel – garnered extensive media recognition for its edgy design and impact on Chicago’s iconic architectural significance. Bringing over 25 years of award-winning interior design experience, McDonough most recently was a principal of The Gettys Group in Chicago, where he spent 13 years managing the design of multiple luxury, boutique and branded hotels, restaurants and spa developments.

Prior to that, he was an associate and project architect at Aumiller Youngquist, where he was responsible for the design and project management of multiple restaurant, retail and commercial projects. McDonough also served as an intern architect at Solomon Cordwell Buenz & Associates for three years, where he was involved with high-rise residential, mixed-use, office and retail development.

“I am excited to join an interior design firm that shares the same passion for developing trusted client relationships and creating high-impact designs as I do, and Mary’s reputation in the industry is second to none,” said McDonough. “With the firm’s projects spanning across the country and its nearly 35-year history of working with notable developers, I knew Mary Cook Associates is where I wanted to start my next chapter.”

A licensed architect, McDonough graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in architectural studies and a master’s degree in architecture.

His professional affiliations include ARE, LEED, NCARB and the AIA.

For more information about Mary Cook Associates, visit www.marycook.com.

About Mary Cook Associates:

Mary Cook Associates (MCA) is a national, award-winning commercial interior design firm acclaimed for work that yields measurable returns for real estate owners and developers. The firm is comprised of more than two dozen designers and architects offering strategic and imaginative designs for a wide variety of spaces that respond to the demographic, geographic and lifestyle influences of target markets. This results in smart spaces that establish immediate connections with their users and accelerate activity, occupancy rates and sales for marketers. After realizing that MCA has been consistently hired to ‘fix’ unsuccessful interior spaces done by other design professionals, founder Mary Cook wrote “The Art of Space,” a textbook that breaks interior design into seven fundamentals. The book is used in design schools throughout the U.S., and its seven principles form a foundation that informs all of the design work MCA produces.

Cook is also credited with introducing the concept of Return on Environment (R.O.E.) to the design and development communities. The term reflects the measurable net benefits communities, organizations and individuals gain from environments that enable them to do, feel and be their best. www.marycook.com.

Chris McDonough has joined Chicago-based Mary Cook Associates as chief design officer.