Principal Catherine Benotto leads Weber Thompson's Community / Urban Design and Landscape Architecture Teams working on innovative place-making projects throughout the Northwest. As the firm's first LEED Accredited Professional, she also directs Weber Thompson's sustainability initiatives.

Catherine’s work at Weber Thompson is characterized by an ability to see, not only the buildings that create our environment, but also the spaces between, and work with both to create integrated communities that have a human scale and respect the environment. She is Principal in Charge of the firm's two certified LEED for Neighborhood Development plans – the award winning Sweetwater in Hailey, Idaho, and Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood. Catherine is also known for her research, articles and presentations about how cities can encourage families to move into the downtown core.

Catherine has over 30 years of experience creating places in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Her work covers a broad mix of planning issues such as compact pedestrian-friendly communities, transit-oriented development, low impact development, urban center plans for development, design guidelines and Heritage Conservation District studies. Catherine previously worked at Callison Architecture and AJ Diamond Donald Schmitt and Company in Toronto. At the latter firm, she was part of the design team for the honored Jerusalem's City Hall Square in Israel.

Catherine is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles Master of Architecture Program where she received the American Institute of Architecture's Henry Adams Medal and Certificate for Overall Excellence. She received a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Toronto and is both a licensed architect and landscape architect.

Catherine is currently a member of the City of Seattle Planning Commission and is the past chairperson of the West Seattle Design Review Board. She has lectured extensively and written numerous articles on sustainable community planning, low impact development and landscape architecture.

To learn more about Catherine's work, we invite you to peruse the following:

Sippy cups at Starbucks: Enticing Families to Live Downtown

LEED Pilot Projects Rethink the Design of Neighborhoods

Putting Suburbia on a Diet

Where's the Family in Multifamily?

Greenbacks in the Greenery