BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, Washington—The Bainbridge Island, studio of Perkins&Will welcomes Josiah Cain as managing principal. A landscape architect with a multi-decade track record of leadership in the AEC industry, Cain will lead design teams, studio operations, and cross‑studio collaboration on strategic initiatives, while guiding business development for the Bainbridge Island studio, also known as McLennan Design.
“I have had the privilege of working with Josiah through his role as a Living Building Challenge ambassador and his active participation in the Living Future conference,” says Jason F. McLennan, Perkins&Will’s chief sustainability officer and creator of the Living Building Challenge, the world’s most rigorous green building certification program. “Our studio and firm will greatly benefit from his strategic thinking, focus on building client relationships, and industry-leading expertise.”
Cain has built successful enterprises in landscape architecture, construction, and civil engineering, focusing on site and landscape systems, water infrastructure, and urban design. Previously, he was a principal and director of innovation at Sherwood Design Engineers in San Francisco, where he developed and led initiatives across technology client sectors and water‑engineering programs.
Expanding regenerative design
“Much of my practice focuses on urban-scale regenerative design for cities and campuses serving commercial, healthcare, and academic clients,” says Cain. “I look forward to translating this experience across practices and studios at Perkins&Will, working side-by-side with Jason and the firm’s performance design experts.”
Cain’s portfolio demonstrates the integration of landscape design and macro-systems thinking, especially in water management and nutrient recycling. He is an established expert in stormwater solutions, sea-level rise adaptation, wastewater treatment, and water supply. He also has in-depth knowledge of green roofs and infrastructure financing, with a history of projects that maximize clients’ return-on-investment.
His project leadership includes water and civil master planning for Google from 2012 to 2022 across the Moffett Park, North Bayshore, and San Jose campuses, and he acted as a principal on the organization’s Bay View, Canopy, and other built projects. He has led major tech campus projects for Microsoft and Apple, as well as higher education campus planning efforts for clients such as UC Merced, Rice, Duke, UCLA, and others. He was a founding faculty member of Sonoma State University’s Sustainable Landscape Professional Certificate Program and formerly served as director of the University of California, Berkeley’s Sustainable Design Certificate Program.
Perkins&Will’s Bainbridge Island studio is currently designing the first regenerative, net-zero copper mine in the Andes, called Los Azules, integrating human-centered design and ecosystem restoration. The studio is also working on the United States’ first Living Building Challenge-certified public school in Henrico County, Virginia, and a site-sensitive campus master plan for The University of Idaho’s McCall Outdoor Science School (MOSS).
