Catherine Heath

As our northeast regional practice leader for workplace, Catherine thrives on immersing herself in the experience of the individual and designing interior spaces that people use intensively, day after day, year after year. She completed an urban-scale master’s thesis in architecture and designed core and shell projects early in her career, and she was increasingly drawn toward the intersection of workplace strategy and interior design as her professional journey progressed.

She emphasizes critical thinking as the basis of her approach. To ensure that her clients’ workplaces align with their values and support their processes, she begins every project by gaining a thorough understanding of their culture, operational needs, and aesthetic preferences. She engages clients and teams in an interactive way to create a project vision that will inspire and excite, unifying the client’s mission and brand in a workplace people want to be in. Then she and her teams dive into crafting a design solution that weaves together forward-looking strategies with a timeless design language that will serve clients for years to come. Through this process, she becomes the client’s trusted advisor, translating successful local projects into portfolio strategies with global impact.

Catherine also emphasizes the importance of critical thinking to junior designers. As a mentor, she is committed to fostering the skills, confidence, and fortitude that designers need to imagine new solutions rather than relying on software or existing work.

Her favorite part of any project is the first site visit during construction. She enjoys seeing clients’ reactions when a building starts taking shape, or when an existing space is radically improved. “Up to that point, they’ve been trusting us,” she says. “It’s such a fun moment when they can really see how amazing it’s going to be.”