The Firm
Lathrop Douglass Architect is a small, efficiently structured firm which specializes in residential and small commercial projects.
We provide personalized design and consultation services for custom and speculative projects. Our work encompasses both new construction and remodel work.
Endowed with extensive construction experience and a positive attitude, our design process emphasizes a collaborative style of work which carefully balances the owner’s goals, needs and budget, while at the same time bringing full design attention to the project’s functional requirements.
We also carefully consider the project’s environmental context, the use of natural and artificial lighting and the inspiration of the human spirit.
Lathrop Douglass
Principal Architect
Lathrop Douglass, AIA brings more than 40 years of design and construction experience to his work.
Prior to becoming licensed as an architect, Mr. Douglass worked for several years in construction as a carpenter, foreman and general contractor. This experience brings to Mr. Douglass’ work extensive knowledge of construction materials and techniques. As a result, his building designs are practical, efficient and cost effective.
A long-standing member of the American Institute of Architects, Mr. Douglass worked from 1980 to 1993 for NBBJ Architects as a designer, technical architect, and project manager for a large variety of commercial and health care projects.
Since 1993 Mr. Douglass has headed his own firm, Lathrop Douglass Architect. From 1993 to 1996, acting as both lead designer and project manager, he focused on remodeling older Seattle homes. Recent work has included serving as consulting design architect to several commercial projects and principal architect for imaginative new homes and remodel projects
Mery Velastegui
Architectural Designer
Mery has worked with Lathrop Douglass Architects since 2001. Her professional practice focuses on residential remodel work. Her approach to architecture stems from reconciling the client’s human needs with the built environment and its immediate surroundings.
Mery got her architectural degree in 1992 from the School of Architecture and Urbanism at the Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil – Ecuador. After graduating, she worked as a junior architect at the Municipality of Quito’s Urban Planning Department – Plan City “Quitumbe.” Her interest in traditional methods of construction led her to work with “FUNHABIT”, a NGO, coordinating the planning, design and implementation of projects aimed at solving homelessness in impoverished communities. She became involved in several projects including “WOMEN OF CHIMBORAZO” where she was responsible for the construction of 49 single-family houses.
In 1995 she moved to Spain to pursue her interests in the lessons of architectural history and the work of contemporary architects. She became interested in finding solutions to challenges created by the environment. While working on her Doctorate in architecture, she got a post degree in 1997 from the University Polytechnic of Catalunya in “Technology, Sustainable Development, Imbalances and Global Change.” The history of Barcelona and its modern approach to the recovery of older structures prompted her to take a specialty course titled “Projects in Time.”
In 1998 Mery worked on her doctoral thesis “Urban Rehabilitation in Ecuador from 1980 to 1995.” The challenging politics in Ecuador forced her to seek an alternative location to continue her architectural career. In 2000 she moved to Seattle with her son and has continued her architectural practice since.
Mery’s life experience allows her to connect with her client’s needs and desires and apply them to their design and remodeling goals. She takes pride in designing spaces that function well and are aesthetically inspiring.
Susan Jo-Butrim
Architect
Susan has been with Lathrop Douglass Architects since 2016. She graduated from the University of Washington in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and then completed her Masters of Architecture degree from the University of California Los Angeles in 1989. Her focus has been on residential architecture throughout her career, and she is passionate about creating spaces that responds well to both the site context, the homeowners vision and functional needs. She is a licensed architect in the state of Washington and has extensive experience in design, project management and permit documentation and applications in many jurisdictions throughout the Northwest.
Susan was born in Seoul, Korea and moved to Bellevue Washington in 1969, and has been in the Northwest ever since. She lives in the Snoqualmie Valley with her husband and is surrounded by beautiful rivers and lush farmlands where she enjoys running, walking, biking and kayaking.
