Katherine Lambert, AIA is an architect, educator, and writer recognized for her cross-disciplinary approach to architecture and design practices, integrating media, culture, history, and emerging technologies. She is a Professor of Architecture at California College of the Arts (CCA), where she has pioneered research in inclusive design, adaptive reuse, and speculative spatial practices.^[1] Lambert is also the founding principal of MAP (Metropolitan Architectural Practice) and MAP Studio, and was a founding partner of FACE Architecture, Design + Graphics.^[2] Her work spans academic research, built projects, and exhibitions, and has been widely published and exhibited internationally.^[3]

Lambert earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Minnesota, focusing on Interior Architecture and the History of Architecture, before pursuing graduate studies in the Master of Architecture II Program at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She co-founded FACE Architecture, Design + Graphics, a practice known for pioneering projects at the intersection of digital media, architectural preservation, and urbanism.^[4]

As a Professor of Architecture at California College of the Arts (CCA) Lambert has contributed to curriculum development, research, and faculty leadership, including serving on the CCA Executive Committee (2023-26)^[5] and Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure Committee (2019–21).^[6][1]

Lambert’s academic work extends beyond CCA, with invitations to lecture and exhibit at institutions including Goldsmiths' College University of London, the Royal College of Art (RCA),^[7] Center for Architecture NYC,^[8] Venice Biennale,^[9][10]  Dwell on Design,^[11] Palm Springs Modernism,^[12]  the College Art Association. Arizona State University, and San Jose State University.

As founding principal of FACE (Forum for Architecture + Creative Engagement) Lambert led commercial, residential, and cultural projects, blending architecture, design and urban interventions and digital media. During this period she published an article in Architecture Magazine titled "Dirt Manifesto" confronting the conventions of the architectural profession while addressing melding and prioritizing progressive design principles and sustainable practices. Key projects included:

Quokka Sports was a San Francisco-based digital media company specializing in providing immersive online coverage of adventure and outdoor sports.^[13] The company aimed to revolutionize sports media by delivering interactive experiences, utilizing streaming video and other emerging technologies to engage audiences in ways traditional media had not. This adaptive reuse of a former textile factory maintained its exposed brick and large steel beams, while designing wood work stations utilizing cutting-edge sails clot as partitions.^[14]

A groundbreaking adaptive reuse project, featured in Architectural Record, Metropolis, and Progressive Architecture.The Tenderloin AIDS Resource Center (TARC) was a pivotal organization in San Francisco dedicated to providing comprehensive services to individuals affected by HIV/AIDS, particularly focusing on the city's underserved populations, including the homeless and those with low income. Established in 1990 as the Tenderloin AIDS Network by activists Hank Wilson, Glenda Hope, and Dennis Conkin, TARC emerged in response to the escalating HIV/AIDS crisis within the Tenderloin district.^[15]

Originally constructed in 1910 as the Savings Union Bank, One Grant Avenue was designed by architects Walter Danforth Bliss and William Baker Faville, the building showcases a Beaux-Arts style with a steel frame clad in gray granite. Its façade is distinguished by six Ionic columns supporting a massive pedimental sculpture, which houses a bas-relief of Liberty by Haig Patigian.^[16][17] The Savings Union Bank was designated a San Francisco Landmark in 1981. In the 1990s, the building underwent a transformation through adaptive reuse by FACE, converting the former bank into a retail space while preserving its historic architectural elements.^[18][19]

Built in 1913, the 12,000 sqft S.I. Naphtaly House showcases the acclaimed early 20th century architect Willis Polk's adaptation of Spanish city architecture, featuring a stucco exterior and a central courtyard. It is the first of three houses built by Polk on San Francisco’s Gold Coast that share a common plan configuration:  a U-shaped courtyard  that wraps around a central courtyard.^[20]  This extensive adaptive reuse included a newly designed signature domed skylight which mechanically rotates into an open or closed position, a squash court, lap pool, elevator, and garage.

As one of the one of the earliest fully sustainable residences in Northern California, the Sonoma Ranch Compound was realized over a period of several years. This 300+ acre ranch in Sonoma comprises an 18,000 sqft main residence built of rammed earth and straw bale construction methodologies. The design of the ranch is rooted in the local tradition of the Sonoma adobes,^[21] specifically the Rancho Petaluma Adobe, built by General Mariano G. Vallejo in the mid-19th century.^[22]  

Lambert founded MAP (Metropolitan Architectural Practice) in 2003 and MAP Studio in 2012, focusing on adaptive reuse, sustainable and research-driven design practices.^[2] Notable projects include:

A mid-century landmark by Jack Hillmer, recognized for Cultural Historical Significance (2014)^[25] and featured in Dwell^[26] and the Wall Street Journal.^[27][28][29] Recipient of the 2015 Fine Homebuilding Houses Award^[30] and Napa County Landmarks 2020 Award of Merit.^[31]

Acting as Executive Architect for this multi-story 30,000 sqft Global Headquarters in the tech hub of San Francisco, MAP used adaptive reuse strategies to bring 21st century design and technology into a 20th century landmark building that had previously held the Bay Area Guardian.^[32] The original concrete and steel finishes were complemented with painted steel, white oak, and glass elements. Redesigned interiors include state-of-the-art prototyping laboratories, naturally lighted work stations, conference, and training rooms, and a presentation hall outfitted with advanced interactive teleconferencing, audio visual and lighting infrastructure.^[33]

Other adaptive re-use projects include the Regency Center/Scottish Right Temple and the San Francisco Opera House offices. Through application of adaptive re-use practices, historic interiors were transformed for administrative and creative use.^[34]

Other projects include residential and commercial spaces across San Francisco, Los Angeles^[35], Napa, and Sonoma^[22][36] such as the Architizer A+ Award winning^[37] Berrelleza Sustainability Research Center Masterplan,^[38] a bio-tech headquarters, tech start-ups, and Esprit Park Studio^[39].^[40]

Lambert co-created This Future Has a Past, a multimedia architectural investigation into modernist architect Gregory Ain’s lost MoMA Exhibition House. The project was exhibited at the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale, titled "Reporting from the Front," was held from May 28 to November 27, 2016.^[9] Curated by Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena, this collateral exhibition focused on showcasing architectural efforts that tackle issues such as inequality, sustainability, and housing crises. The 15th Venice Architecture Biennale served as a call to action, urging architects and the public to engage with the critical challenges of our time through innovative and socially conscious design.^[9]

This Future Has a Past was then curated by Cynthia Davidson, Executive Director of Anyone Corporation, as the inaugural ANYSPACE exhibition at the Center for Architecture, New York (2017)^[8] and was widely covered in the press, including The New York Times,^[41] Architectural Digest,^[42] Metropolis,^[43] The Architect's Newspaper,^[44] Artsy,^[45] and Archinect.^[46]

Lambert is an Executive Producer on No Place Like Utopia, a documentary film exploring Gregory Ain, modernist principles, and political suppression in post-WWII America. The film features interviews with Emily Ain, David Byrne, Beatriz Colomina, Frank Gehry, Victor Jones, Thom Mayne, Wolf Prix, and Julius Shulman.^[47]

Lambert’s critical writings on architecture, digital imaging, and adaptive reuse have appeared in leading journals, including: a forthcoming book: Architecture X Architecture: A Dialectic (ORO Editions, 2025),^[48] The New York Times: "The Architect, the Red Scare, and the House That Disappeared",^[41] Architectural Record, Architectural Digest,^[42]Architecture, DWELL,^[26] Forward AIA, i-D magazine, Leonardo Electronic Almanac,^[49]  Metropolis,^[43] Progressive Architecture, Parallax, the Wall Street Journal,^[27][28][29] and more.

Her work is included in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institution (Washington DC),^[50] the Getty Library (Los Angeles),^[51] the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, the Canadian Centre for Architecture (Montreal), the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity (Alberta), the Dia Art Foundation (New York),^[4] and the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York).

Architizer A+ Awards (2023) – Sustainability Category, Sugar Loaf Ridge project, Napa, CA.^[37]

Graham Foundation Grant (2018) for This Future Has a Past.^[52]

IDECF Leibrock Fellowship for Universal Design (2019).^[53]

Napa County Landmarks Board Award of Merit (2020) for Telesis House v2.0.^[31]

MAP Studio Official Website

California College of the Arts Faculty Page

Dwell on Design

Palm Springs Modernism

One Grant Avenue

Telesis House v2.0

Berrelleza Sustainability Research Center Master Plan

Esprit Park Studio

This Future Has a Past

No Place Like Utopia

Architizer A+ Awards

IDEC Foundation