We’re thrilled to announce that Christner Architects is now part of CannonDesign. By coming together, we’re doubling down on a shared commitment to elevating design excellence across St. Louis and amplifying our ability to provide deeply meaningful and impactful design solutions for our community.
For more than 60 years, our team has shaped the fabric of St. Louis and the region through some of the area’s most recognizable and enduring projects. Joining CannonDesign allows us to build on that legacy with greater scale, deeper expertise and broader reach, while staying true to the relationships and community connections that define us.
“At the heart of this merger is our city and our clients,” said Stacey Wehe, Managing Principal and Education Market Leader at Christner. “The organizations we partner with are tackling bigger and more complex challenges than ever before, and joining CannonDesign gives us the resources to meet those challenges head on. All of us at Christner are incredibly excited about our future together with CannonDesign.”
Our entire team, including our three managing principals — Jeff Ryan, Shanna Wiechel and Stacey Wehe — are staying with the firm.
“We have long respected Christner for both the impact they’ve had on their clients’ projects and their influence on our city’s design culture,” said Amy Phillips, CannonDesign’s St. Louis Office Practice Leader. “By joining forces, we’re uniting strengths in a way that is already creating new, impactful conversations while also opening doors to opportunities that will directly benefit our clients and our communities.”
For more than 40 years, CannonDesign has led landmark projects across St. Louis, including BJC HealthCare’s Plaza West Tower, Mercy’s Center for Performance Medicine and Specialty Care, the Jeffrey T. Fort Neuroscience Research Building at Washington University School of Medicine, the Square and Cash App Office in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch building, the update to the City of St. Louis’ Sustainability Plan and the award-winning revitalization of the historic St Louis Central Library, among others. In 2025, we were named the #1 architecture firm in St. Louis by the St. Louis Business Journal.
Importantly, both our firms share deep commitments to design excellence. In just the last five years, our firms have collectively earned 17 design awards in the AIA St. Louis program, more than any other design firm in the region, as well as several AIA Central States awards. Our firm’s “thoughtful design that matters” philosophy aligns with CannonDesign’s Living-Centered Design ethos — guided by the belief that design should always serve a larger purpose.
“Both our companies believe in the power of design to improve lives and bring more beauty to the places and spaces we inhabit,” said Jeff Ryan, Managing Principal and Director of Design at Christner. “We’ve built strong design capabilities at Christner, and I’m excited to bring that expertise to CannonDesign while also drawing on their talent. Our shared ambition is to push design forward by shaping projects that drive new levels of impact and embody the spirit of the places and people they serve.”
The merger builds on the foundation our team has built across the region on notable projects, including the Center of Creative Arts Renovation and Expansion, the William H. Danforth Research Wing at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, the Hirsch Center at Washington University in St. Louis, the Helix Center for Research and Development for Ball Horticultural Company and 201 Progress Parkway for Edward Jones, along with numerous projects for BJC HealthCare and many colleges and universities across Missouri.
Our combined local team is uniquely positioned to design and deliver technically complex and culturally significant projects with strong local leadership and national expertise. Just as important, we’re uniting our commitments to community impact, reflected in local efforts ranging from our work with Nurses for Newborns, supporting women and newborns in need, to CannonDesign’s long-time partnership with Jamaa Birth Village, advancing health equity for Black mothers.
We’re excited about this new chapter and the greater impact Christner and CannonDesign will create together. Learn more about CannonDesign here: www.cannondesign.com
