Events
Passive House for Multifamily: Achievable Solutions, Effective Results
Project
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sprague Butterfly Pavilion
New butterfly pavilion and multipurpose exhibit/event space advancing the museum’s educational mission and visitor experience
Featured
Mithun Receives 2023 AIA Architecture Firm Award
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) recently recognized Mithun with the 2023 AIA Architecture Firm Award. This national accolade celebrates exemplary design and practice, and is the highest honor the AIA bestows on an architecture firm.
Ideas
Net Positive: Chatham’s Eden Hall Campus
A look into the integrated design and innovative results at Chatham University Eden Hall Campus, a 2017 AIA COTE Top Ten Project.
Project
Build Carbon Neutral 2.0
VisionIn the years since the buildcarbonneutral.org (BCN) calculator went live in 2007 it has served a vital purpose: in addition to educating people about the impact that construction’s embodied carbon can have on climate change, it is an easy-to-use tool for early assessment of that impact. The ...
Ideas
Wellness at Work
Small changes can have big impacts when it comes to promoting health and well-being in the workplace.
Page
Process
We start every project by understanding the mission, vision and values of our clients, and considering how built form can reflect and amplify these core goals. This is the foundation for ideation, and the ultimate measurement of design success.
Ideas
Advancing Student Wellbeing Through Data-Informed Design
Post-occupancy evaluations provide key insights to cultivate student health, belonging and learning outcomes in K-12 school projects.
Project
Suquamish Museum
Museum showcasing Suquamish culture, history and modern accomplishments
Project
Weyerhaeuser Headquarters at 200 Occidental
Weyerhaeuser’s new office reconnects the company with a rich history, and advances its operational and brand transformation
Ideas
2020 Vision for Mithun R+D
In these rapidly changing times, it is more important than ever to engage in critical research that challenges practice norms, proposes new paths and integrates diverse knowledge sets. Learn about our latest efforts and the five firm-wide focus areas for Mithun R+D.
Ideas
Equity Is Central to Climate Action
Deb Guenther and Jared Green, editor of The Dirt, discuss the synergy between equity and climate action, with lessons learned from decades of research, projects and practice.
Featured
Turning Challenges into Learning Opportunities
Brendan Connolly and new Mithun principal JoAnn Hindmarsh Wilcox explore key opportunities present in disruption: designing for health, equity and agile learning with an eye to the future.
Ideas
The Evolution of Performance Metrics in Practice
An examination of the development and implementation of predevelopment baseline metrics.
Ideas
Kapuso at the Upper Yard: Housing as Equity and Climate Strategy
At one of San Francisco’s busiest transit hubs, 131 all-electric homes create a transit-supportive, low-carbon community that advances equity, sustainability and everyday belonging for residents and neighbors alike.
Featured
Mithun Receives the AIA Northwest + Pacific Region Firm Award
AIA Northwest and Pacific Region names Mithun the 2017 Firm of the Year!
Ideas
Mindful Living in the Sonoran Desert
The design of Miraval combines the desert’s rich human history with environmentally intelligent practices to enrich the award-winning spa experience.
Ideas
Louisiana Children’s Museum Takes Learning Outside
Louisiana Children’s Museum presents a new model for children’s museums that supports resilience in New Orleans with expanded environmental education, innovative water strategies and collocated community resources.
Project
National Nordic Museum
Museum and cultural center that celebrates the five Nordic cultures of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden
Project
Project Green
An international model for sustainable development emerges from an old water treatment plant site
Featured
The Heartwood and the Seedling: Portland’s Pearl District Grows More Public Realm
Heartline’s landscape sets the project apart and ties it into the neighborhood as a whole.
Project
ASUW Shell House Renovation
Rehabilitation of a landmarked 1918 structure and interior improvements to facilitate its transformation into a vibrant hub for education, cultural celebration and environmental stewardship, bridging its storied past with a dynamic future
Project
Westlake Park Children's Play Area
Children’s play area in Westlake Park to support families in downtown Seattle
Ideas
Design for Health Equity: From Healthy Places to Inclusive Communities
Leading cities and organizations are looking upstream to build back better and address barriers to healthy housing, clean energy and air, reliable transportation and essential services. Erin Christensen Ishizaki shares highlights from recent planning and strategic efforts in Portland, OR, Denver and...
Featured
New Perot Campus Advances Health and Collaboration
The Perot family shares the inspiration behind and transformative impacts of their new Dallas headquarters.
Project
Liberty Bank Building
Mixed-use affordable housing in Seattle’s Central District, developed by a partnership between Africatown Community Land Trust, the Black Community Impact Alliance, Community Roots Housing and Byrd Barr Place
News
Envisioning the Restoration of Mariposa Grove
Our new video for Yosemite Conservancy provides a glimpse into the ecological impacts and immersive visitor experience enabled by the current restoration of Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias.
News
The Home Team Supports Resilience of North Richmond
As part of the Resilient by Design Bay Area Challenge, the Mithun Home Team is working with the North Richmond community to address local impacts of climate change and support regional resilience.
Featured
Yosemite’s Mariposa Grove Reopens to the Public
The Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia reopens following an ambitious, multiyear restoration effort to preserve these majestic trees and enhance the visitor experience.
Project
Next Generation Conceptual Plan
The Next Generation Conceptual Plan envisions a regenerative district integrating nature-based infrastructure, habitat, urban shade, diverse housing, and inclusive economic growth. Through partnerships, it guides investments to sustain momentum and support future generations.
News
Liberty Bank Building Ribbon Cutting March 23rd
The Liberty Bank Building—a model for equitable, affordable housing development in Seattle—opens with a community ribbon cutting and block party in the Central District.
Featured
Award-Winning Schacht Aslani Architects Joins Mithun’s Integrated Design Practice
Mithun and Schacht Aslani have a long history of complementary expertise and professional collaboration, and this new union leverages the knowledge and client work of both firms for a wide range of projects.
Ideas
Landscapes that Welcome
Aligned with the National Nordic Museum’s mission to serve as a community gathering space, the plazas and gardens of the museum invite neighbors and visitors to linger and explore.
Project
Perot Family Offices
New corporate campus for Perot family business enterprises in the heart of downtown Dallas
News
The Iconic Sea Ranch Lodge Reopens Following Extensive Renovation
The revitalized landmark features strengthened connection to nature and reimagined spaces including a new dining room, bar and lounge, café and general store.
Project
Carpenters Union Local 22
A new office and gathering hall for the Carpenters Union
Project
Seattle Fire Station 9
Replacement fire station designed to support quick response time, community outreach and resource-efficient operations
Project
Douglass-Truth Branch Library
Library renovation and expansion that blends historic and contemporary architecture to create a striking composition that echoes social change in the surrounding community
Featured
ASUW Shell House Renovation Breaks Ground at the University of Washington
Mithun and Sellen Construction are providing progressive design-build services to rehabilitate the historic ASUW Shell House, storied home of “The Boys in the Boat.”
Project
Wanapum Heritage Center
Heritage center and museum that tells the story of the Wanapum Band, preserves traditional artifacts and provides an active cultural center
Employee
Alanna Stanton
Project
City of Phoenix Edison-Eastlake One Vision Plan
Sustainable mixed-use district framework and housing master plans for three transit-oriented existing public housing sites in the Edison-Eastlake neighborhood east of downtown Phoenix
Project
Yesler Community Center
Full-service community center within an inner-city neighborhood near downtown Seattle
Events
AIA 2023 Architecture Firm Award: Mithun’s Mission-driven Approach to Design Practice
Project
Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias
Planning and design to restore the largest grove of sequoias in Yosemite National Park
Project
Resilient by Design Bay Area Challenge
One of 10 teams selected to work with communities to develop collaborative, implementable projects to address sea level rise and climate change across the San Francisco Bay Area
Ideas
Earth Day Turns 50
A look back at the history of Earth Day, its Northwest roots and continued influence on the sustainable design movement.
Employee
Dorothy Faris
Dorothy has worked on a variety of public and private projects across the Western United States. Her ability to think across scales—from master planning large sites to specifics of construction details—informs her project work. She values collaboration from the beginning of the project, working ...
Featured
Two Additional Eden Hall Campus Buildings Achieve LEED Platinum Status
All four new buildings on Chatham University’s 388-acre satellite campus—including academic, dining, residential and commons facilities—are now LEED Platinum certified.
Project
Pollination Innovation
VisionDue to loss of habitat and wide-scale use of pesticides, pollinators are declining at alarming rates. These bees, butterflies and hummingbirds play a vital role in maintaining the ecosystems on which our world relies. While there is general guidance for which plant species contribute to pollin...
Ideas
Design for Health
Mithun’s Design for Health initiative applies evidence-based strategies and research to the creation of beautiful, inspiring and healthy places.
News
Mithun’s All-Electric Housing Projects Featured in Urban Land
The firm’s experience with all-electric affordable housing projects supports the case for a fossil-free future.
Project
Campus Net Zero
VisionWhat would it take to transform an existing urban campus with buildings five to seven stories tall to become an on-site net zero energy campus? As building heights increase, net zero becomes more and more difficult to achieve. The challenge is greater when starting with existing building perfo...
News
2025 Mithun Promotions
We are pleased to announce staff promotions in our Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles offices.
News
Construction Begins on the Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth (CDHY) Campus Expansion
The Skanska | Mithun design-build team joined with the school community to celebrate groundbreaking on a campus expansion tailored to support CDHY’s bilingual educational program while maintaining Deaf culture for students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.
News
Mass Timber Schools in Construction
K-12 learning environments across the Puget Sound are incorporating mass timber to enhance student health and wellbeing, building performance and project delivery. Here are three compelling examples.
Ideas
Remembering Michael Sorkin
Craig Hodgetts shares a tribute to the talent and humanism of the late Michael Sorkin, a “voice of architecture with a purpose”
Page
About Us
We are united by a belief in the power of design We leverage technology and integrated disciplines to advance design that serves individuals, communities and our planet. Research and development programs enable our teams and collaborators to transcend boundaries, reaching ever higher levels of desig...
Featured
Kapuso at the Upper Yard Wins 2026 AIA COTE Top Ten Award
This national honor recognizes the project’s integration of housing, transit and community space to create lasting social, environmental and economic value.
News
The Student Housing Boom: Design and Development Outlook
Urban Land magazine explores the impact of changing forces on U.S. student housing markets, and the trends in design and development that are delivering results.
Ideas
How Can We Design with Communities While Apart?
The current pandemic has inspired new ways to cultivate resilient community relationships and engagement, even as conventional practices are challenged.
Featured
How to Transform a Spec Office of Yesterday into the Destination Workplace of Tomorrow
News
Design for Positive Change: 2024 Community Impact
At Mithun, our design has purpose — to create positive change in people’s lives. We’re excited to share some highlights of the community impact of our team’s diverse efforts in 2024, from projects to research and development, corporate giving, volunteering in the community and more.
Ideas
The EcoDistricts Protocol
How we live in cities is the biggest challenge of our lifetime.
Project
Inhabit Modular Apartments
Design and feasibility study for modular apartment prototype
Project
Lopez Common Ground
A workforce housing community designed for economic, environmental and social sustainability
News
Chatham Campus Receives AIA CAE Education Facility Design Award
AIA Committee on Architecture for Education (CAE) honors Chatham University Eden Hall Campus with the 2018 Education Facility Design Award of Excellence.
Featured
Mithun R+D
A look at the evolution of research and development at Mithun, from the firm’s early days to current initiatives and what’s next.
News
Washington School for the Deaf Honored with WoodWorks Award
The mass timber design for the K-12 campus expansion at Washington School for the Deaf earns a national 2025 Wood in Architecture Award.
Employee
May So
May is a mission-driven architect with more than 20 years of experience leading urban mixed-use projects that connect people with each other and their environments to create sustainable, socially equitable cities. She is a skilled leader of multidisciplinary teams delivering complex, large-scale and...
Project
Building Better Schools
VisionEmerging mass timber technology is changing the construction industry with multiple advantages such as reducing embodied carbon and compressing construction schedules. There is also a growing body of research proving biophilic indoor environments can improve learning outcomes and enhance stude...
News
Habits of High-Performance Firms
Mithun is featured in a new report from the AIA Committee on the Environment about the best practices of leading design firms.
Employee
Seamus Kelly
Séamus is an architect with a passion for crafting inclusive and high-performing educational environments from early childhood learning through higher education. He specializes in integrated project delivery, including progressive design-build and GC/CM models, and is skilled at managing collaborat...
Ideas
Climate Approaches: Heat Resilience
Extreme heat, whether in the form of rising long-term average temperatures or punctuated by heat waves, is a global health threat. Learn how Mithun’s designers are addressing climate and health impacts of rising heat through innovative design strategies, R+D and real-world project applications.
News
Perot Corporate Campus Featured in Development Magazine
Seamless integration of architecture and landscape optimizes collaboration and employee health at the Perot Family Offices.
Featured
A Year of Embodied Carbon
Mithun framed 2021 as the Year of Embodied Carbon to reaffirm our commitment to low-carbon buildings and communities, spark accelerated innovation internally and contribute decisively towards global efforts to limit atmospheric warming. This ideas post shares both successes and setbacks with the hop...
News
Chatham University Eden Hall Campus is LEED Platinum Certified
The first phase of development at Chatham University’s Eden Hall Campus has achieved LEED Platinum certification from the USGBC.
Ideas
Mass Timber Schools: Wellness in Wood
Humans have an innate need to connect with the natural world. At the same time, emerging mass timber technology has the capacity to help reduce and achieve net-negative embodied carbon. Finding a way to optimize mass timber technology that affords a cost-competitive biophilic approach to build bette...
Employee
Casey Huang
With a passion for affordable and workforce housing, and mission-based projects Casey brings clients a combination of design talent and technical knowledge that results in inspiring and cost effective design solutions. Her strong contextual approach makes each project responsive to its surroundings ...
Events
Equitable Electrification: As We Move into Our Fossil-fuel-free Future, How Can We Ensure Everyone Benefits?
Project
Byline at Press Blocks
A new mixed-use development on the MAX light rail line in the rapidly transforming Goose Hollow neighborhood
Featured
Important Work Ahead
A letter to our team about Mithun’s commitment to dig deeper, develop expanded anti-racist actions and be transparent about our progress.
Ideas
200 Occidental: Sustainable Future of Historic Pioneer Square
There is nothing ordinary about the origins of 200 Occidental.
Ideas
Universities Adapt to Serve the Next Generation
Universities are responding to economic and enrollment challenges with initiatives to expand access to affordable campus housing that supports student priorities, reduces their carbon footprint and enriches the surrounding neighborhood fabric.
Project
Saltchuk Corporate Offices
New corporate headquarters uniting a diverse family of companies into a shared space with expansive views of the working waterfront
Featured
The New Nordic Museum Opens in Seattle
Highlights of the design, grand opening events and media coverage for one of Seattle’s most anticipated cultural openings of the year.
Ideas
Mithun Partners with Techbridge Girls
We recently hosted a group of 20 students for a collaborative day of learning and hands-on exploration about STEM and the built environment.
Page
Expertise
we harness synergy between disciplines and practice areas to create meaningful places At Mithun, design is a holistic, interdisciplinary pursuit encompassing architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, urban design and planning. Our integrated team employs shared research and collaborati...
News
Robert Frost Auditorium Wins Two Preservation Awards
The iconic auditorium at Culver City High School has been recognized for excellence in historic preservation by local and statewide award programs.
Featured
Anne Torney Honored for Residential Design Excellence
2018 Marvin Design Award winner Anne Torney is inspired by affordable housing’s ability to create social change.
Project
University of Oregon Hamilton & Walton Transformation
Phased replacement and expansion of student life, dining and academic facilities, open space improvements and a new recruitment center to welcome prospective students and visitors
Project
On Fire
VisionNearly all lands and plant communities in the western United States are adapted to fire exposure, and for thousands of years indigenous peoples here have used fire intentionally to cultivate plant and human health symbiotically. The consequences of 150 years of fire suppression as a developmen...
Ideas
Integrated Environments for Healing
Located in a remarkable natural setting on the shores of Lake Burien, the new campus for Navos integrates innovative mental health approaches, a community-focused experience and connection with nature to truly support healing.
Project
200 Occidental
A new mixed-use office building replaces a parking lot and mends a gap in the ring of buildings around Occidental Park
Employee
Charlotte Pitts
Project
Chatham University Eden Hall Campus
First phase of development for a 388-acre satellite campus, home to Chatham’s Falk School of Sustainability
News
New Home for the Khmer Community of Seattle King County
Mithun is working with the Khmer Community Seattle King County (KCSKC) and the Khmer diaspora to develop an amenity-rich cultural center in White Center.
News
Innovative Designs Enhance Seattle’s Historic Neighborhoods
200 Occidental and Ivar’s Pier 54 Renovation selected as NAIOP Night of the Stars Awards finalists.
Ideas
Outside-In and Inside-Out: A Seamless Campus Experience
Integrated site and workplace design supports collaboration and health at the Perot family’s new headquarters in Dallas.
Project
Hunters Point Shipyard Neighborhood Studies
Conversion of Hunters Point Naval Shipyard into a new mixed-use neighborhood
News
National Recognition for Denver’s Sun Valley
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the Sun Valley EcoDistrict one of five Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grants nationwide.
Project
NE 85th Station Area Plan and Code
Station Area Plan that supports growth of a suburban area around a new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) station and regional trail, including a new plan, form-based code, sustainability framework, green innovation policies, incentive zoning program, design guidelines and Planned Action Ordinance
Project
ARTS at King Street Station
Major renovation of King Street Station's third floor to support local arts and culture, highlighting communities of color
Ideas
Affordable Housing as Social and Cultural Infrastructure
Housing affordability is a critical issue for cities across the nation. New developments in San Francisco and Seattle highlight strategies to address this challenge, with design that advances social justice and celebrates local identity.
Project
REI Seattle Flagship Store
An immersive retail experience, instilling consumers with environmental values, a connection to nature and sense of adventure
News
UW Haring Center Reopens to Students
Now complete, this significant remodel enhances the work of the University of Washington’s interdisciplinary hub for direct education, professional development and research into early childhood learning.
Project
Fort Worden Building 202 Renovation
Adaptive reuse of an historic barracks building to create a community education center
Project
The Huxley
Transit-oriented eight-story mixed-use development in the West Seattle Junction neighborhood
Ideas
Observations on Campus Planning
How campus planning is evolving to better support mission, educational delivery and community in a changing world.
Ideas
Advancing Positive Change through Pro Bono Design
As part of our commitment to support social equity, Mithun provides pro-bono design services to underserved communities by partnering with local grassroots organizations. Learn about recent projects.
News
Grand Opening of Indigenous Peoples Cultural Arts Healing Center
Mithun joined with Cultura y Arte Nativa de las Americas (CANA), project partners and neighbors to celebrate the completion of this community arts hub, eight years in the making.
Project
Maceo May Apartments
Six-story modular construction building on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay providing 105 homes for formerly homeless Veterans and their families
News
Mariposa Healthy Living Initiative Blazes a Trail
Mithun’s work with Denver Housing Authority demonstrates how equitable transit-oriented development projects can help cities improve community health.
News
Mithun Elevates New Executive Team, Marking Fourth Generation of Practicing Design Leaders
Partner Brendan Connolly joins firm President Dave Goldberg and partner Anne Torney in guiding daily operations.
Project
West Capitol Campus Historic Landscape Master Plan
Comprehensive plan for the design and management of the Washington State Capitol Campus grounds, originally designed by the Olmsted Brothers
News
Construction Tops Out at Byline Mixed-Use Development in Portland
The full-block development will reinvigorate the Goose Hollow neighborhood with new amenity-rich urban living, work space and community-serving public realm.
News
National Nordic Museum Receives 2020 Buildy Award
The Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums (MAAM) recognizes the National Nordic Museum with its top honor for new museums.
Ideas
Shaping Cities with Integrated Green Infrastructure
Green Infrastructure planning and design provides the vital link to creating regenerative communities.
News
New Student Life Facilities Enable UCLA Housing Guarantee
Mithun-designed student housing facilities totaling more than 4,000 student beds help UCLA clear its waitlist and guarantee housing for all freshmen and transfers. It is the first and only UC campus to do so.
News
Louisiana Children’s Museum Receives 2021 Buildy Award
The Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums (MAAM) has awarded the Louisiana Children’s Museum with its top honor for new museums.
News
Celebrating 75 Years By Imagining the Next 75: Mithun’s Design 2099 Workshop
As a way to honor the people and accomplishments of the past 75 years, we chose to look 75 years into the future—imagining what the world may look like in 2099 and how we, as designers, can positively influence that range of possibilities.
Ideas
Planning for Carbon Neutral Cities
A strategic and cooperative planning effort in Austin, Texas, offers a model for development of people-centric, livable and sustainable urban environments.
News
Casa Adelante 681 Florida Opens in San Francisco
The building contributes to a vibrant Mission District with 130 affordable homes, including 39 permanent supportive housing units, and ground-floor space for local arts organizations.
News
NE 85th Station Area Plan Envisions Innovative, Inclusive Transit-Connected Growth in Kirkland
Kirkland City Council adopts resolution for innovative, inclusive transit-connected growth in NE 85th Station Area Preferred Plan Resolution
News
Veterans Memorial Plazas Open in Issaquah, WA
The City of Issaquah invites the public to the newly remodeled Senior Center Plaza and Pedestrian Park.
News
Pier 54 is 2016 Retail Development of the Year
NAIOP Washington names Ivar’s Pier 54 Renovation the top retail development of 2016.
News
Construction Begins at Portland’s Press Blocks
The second phase of development at Press Blocks will bring new apartments, work/live units, retail, commercial office space and a public plaza to the Goose Hollow neighborhood.
Events
Expanding the Roster: The Design Paradigm That Prioritizes Equity, Community, and Justice
News
National Nordic Museum Wins AAM Sustainability Award
The American Association of Museums recognized National Nordic Museum with the 2020 Sustainability Excellence Award for New Construction
News
Public Housing that Engages the City
Daniel Solomon speaks with Public Square about our nation’s public housing—complex challenges, new ideas and the road ahead.
Page
JEDI
Our acknowledgments As a historically majority white-led firm, Mithun acknowledges the power and choice afforded our organization in an environment influenced by centuries of structural racism and other forms of discrimination. Mithun acknowledges our current responsibility to recognize and ameliora...
News
Ribbon-cutting at Nickelsville Georgetown
Mithun provided pro-bono planning services for Seattle’s fourth tiny house community serving homeless families and individuals.
Project
Robert Frost Auditorium
Dynamic renovation of an iconic 1960s-era auditorium to preserve the historic structure and create a contemporary performing arts center on the Culver City High School campus
Project
Sun Valley Redevelopment Master Plan and Healthy Living Initiative
A Choice Neighborhoods Transformation Plan (completed 2015) and Healthy Living Initiative Action Plan (completed 2019) support the inclusive growth of an isolated neighborhood into an mixed-income, health-focused community
