Mark Lakeman
Principal / Designer | trout@communitecture.net
Principal / Designer | trout@communitecture.net
Mark designs, draws, writes, speaks, and builds with equal amounts of pleasure. His creative satisfaction comes from helping heal the world and loving well. Mark does this through collaborative design projects and a broad range of creative facilitation avenues. He enjoys witnessing the creative emergence of other individuals, whether through creating new public spaces in communities which lack them, or listening to someone find their voice.
Mark’s life-long dedication to building community through design began at his roots. Both of his parents are activist architects and planners, and from the start they infused him with a sense of creative civic possibility. From his father’s work to create Portland’s Pioneer Square, to his mother’s investigations of the public spaces in Medieval and Neolithic villages, they both taught him to see constructive possibilities that can emerge when place is a reflection of the people who live there. Design can destroy the world, or it can save it, help us savor it, and make the human world worthy of our people.
Mark’s early mentors included Will Martin, the iconic architect of Pioneer Square, and numerous other creative leaders in the Portland of the 1970s. After receiving his Bachelor of Architecture degree from University of Oregon and completing a brief early career in corporate architecture, Mark traveled the world for 7 years in order to visit and learn from numerous cultures. Upon his return, Mark initiated communitecture, The City Repair Project movement, and the Planet Repair Institute (PRI) in order to contribute to the restoration of vital urban patterns of design participation in Portland and beyond. As a product of Portland itself, Mark stands on broad, strong shoulders in his dedication to evolving the power of design and the design community itself.
Mark brings the village everywhere he goes.
Mark’s life-long dedication to building community through design began at his roots. Both of his parents are activist architects and planners, and from the start they infused him with a sense of creative civic possibility. From his father’s work to create Portland’s Pioneer Square, to his mother’s investigations of the public spaces in Medieval and Neolithic villages, they both taught him to see constructive possibilities that can emerge when place is a reflection of the people who live there. Design can destroy the world, or it can save it, help us savor it, and make the human world worthy of our people.
Mark’s early mentors included Will Martin, the iconic architect of Pioneer Square, and numerous other creative leaders in the Portland of the 1970s. After receiving his Bachelor of Architecture degree from University of Oregon and completing a brief early career in corporate architecture, Mark traveled the world for 7 years in order to visit and learn from numerous cultures. Upon his return, Mark initiated communitecture, The City Repair Project movement, and the Planet Repair Institute (PRI) in order to contribute to the restoration of vital urban patterns of design participation in Portland and beyond. As a product of Portland itself, Mark stands on broad, strong shoulders in his dedication to evolving the power of design and the design community itself.
Mark brings the village everywhere he goes.
Robin Koch
Designer / Office Manager | robin@communitecture.net
Designer / Office Manager | robin@communitecture.net
Robin believes in acknowledging and honoring our connections to ecosystems near and far and loves design that does the same. She came to Portland in 2010 with curious, open eyes and a drive to make this community even more awesome than she found it. By contributing to Placemaking in the Village Building Convergence and helping to grow the local sharing economy, Robin has become a true Portlander.
Robin has a BA in Architecture from UNC-Charlotte and a background in designing traditional houses, public schools, and in the green architecture movement. She now pursues her interest in natural building techniques through hands-on buillding as well as in the office. While she loves the technical work, her favorite aspect of the practice of architecture is collaborating with unique individuals to shape spaces and places that help them thrive.
Outside of the office, exploring the Northwest by bicycle, jumping in rivers, and sharing nourishing meals with friends bring Robin joy.
Robin has a BA in Architecture from UNC-Charlotte and a background in designing traditional houses, public schools, and in the green architecture movement. She now pursues her interest in natural building techniques through hands-on buillding as well as in the office. While she loves the technical work, her favorite aspect of the practice of architecture is collaborating with unique individuals to shape spaces and places that help them thrive.
Outside of the office, exploring the Northwest by bicycle, jumping in rivers, and sharing nourishing meals with friends bring Robin joy.
Dylan Thomas
Project Manager / Designer | dylan@communitecture.net
Project Manager / Designer | dylan@communitecture.net
Dylan is an architectural designer from South Carolina, currently based in Portland, Oregon. He has worked on residential and commercial projects in Oregon, Washington, California and beyond. His favorite architectural projects are ADU’s and basement remodels which empower home owners to provide more housing stock while improving their existing residence and preserving the charm of Portland’s neighborhoods.
While in architectural study at Clemson University, he studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain--sketching the architecture of Gaudi, speaking Spanish, and traveling outside of Spain in the Netherlands and Germany to study city planning and pedestrian infrastructure. He later had the chance to see the provocative works of architects and spatial thinkers from around the world when his entry for the 2008 Venice Architecture Biennale was exhibited in the Arsenale in Italy.
For masters study at Syracuse University, Dylan was selected for a two-year long research project using GIS to reimagine the city of Syracuse (one of the U.S.’s many shrinking cities) using data-informed approaches to urban planning. He also spent a Summer at the school’s NYC global campus.
Currently, Dylan is a sleeping pod advocate, urban cycling enthusiast, and culinary day-dreamer. He is an active member and project leader with Open Architecture Collaborative-Portland and PDX Village Coalition since the Summer of 2015. In this work, he engages architects, concerned citizens, builders, social workers, and artists in volunteer projects that advocate for housing the Houseless, teach DIY builders how to use reclaimed materials, and make design services accessible to marginalized communities.
While in architectural study at Clemson University, he studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain--sketching the architecture of Gaudi, speaking Spanish, and traveling outside of Spain in the Netherlands and Germany to study city planning and pedestrian infrastructure. He later had the chance to see the provocative works of architects and spatial thinkers from around the world when his entry for the 2008 Venice Architecture Biennale was exhibited in the Arsenale in Italy.
For masters study at Syracuse University, Dylan was selected for a two-year long research project using GIS to reimagine the city of Syracuse (one of the U.S.’s many shrinking cities) using data-informed approaches to urban planning. He also spent a Summer at the school’s NYC global campus.
Currently, Dylan is a sleeping pod advocate, urban cycling enthusiast, and culinary day-dreamer. He is an active member and project leader with Open Architecture Collaborative-Portland and PDX Village Coalition since the Summer of 2015. In this work, he engages architects, concerned citizens, builders, social workers, and artists in volunteer projects that advocate for housing the Houseless, teach DIY builders how to use reclaimed materials, and make design services accessible to marginalized communities.
Darshan Rivka Whittle (they/them)
IT Administrator | darshan@communitecture.net
IT Administrator | darshan@communitecture.net
Among Darshan’s core drives are community, connection, communication, and healing. Striving to help facilitate more of those things in their personal life and in the world, they’ve been a monk (teaching meditation internationally from 2005-2007), a trained massage therapist (graduating from East West College in 2008, but never seeking a license or to practice), a Peer Mentor at PSU, and an active member in various communities in Portland. They have a BA in sociology, graduating summa cum laude from PSU.
Since moving to Portland in 2007, Darshan has been self-employed as a software developer, mostly focusing on mobile and web apps. They founded their software company, Darshan Computing, LLC after the significant success of their first Android app. They also founded and briefly ran (for about two years) a meditation instruction business here in Portland.
When not working at communitecture or on their software business, they are often making music, reading, exercising, and connecting with friends and community.
Since moving to Portland in 2007, Darshan has been self-employed as a software developer, mostly focusing on mobile and web apps. They founded their software company, Darshan Computing, LLC after the significant success of their first Android app. They also founded and briefly ran (for about two years) a meditation instruction business here in Portland.
When not working at communitecture or on their software business, they are often making music, reading, exercising, and connecting with friends and community.
Vale Larson-Brasted (he/him)
Architect, LEED AP BD+C | vale@communitecture.net
Architect, LEED AP BD+C | vale@communitecture.net
Vale has had a lifelong interest in the natural and built environment, and how people relate to place. He is a native Oregonian, and after graduating from the University of Oregon with a Bachelors of Architecture, he lived extensively in New York City and San Francisco. He has had the fortune to travel broadly, always curious to see and experience what makes places meaningful for people.
He brings a wide range of experience and skills to the design team at communitecture. Beyond being a licensed Architect in Oregon and Washington, with almost two decades of architectural design experience, he has a background that ranges from community development planning to building envelope assessments. From a sustainable design perspective, he brings passive and active (PV) solar design skills and is a LEED BD+C Accredited Professional.
Vale is also a seasoned artist with experience in furniture design, welding, woodworking and oil painting. The visual and industrial arts have been strong influences in his design sense and aesthetic. These artistic endeavors have also all contributed to his understanding of the merger between the natural and built environment. Lately he has been most interested in the manipulation and engineering of recycled materials into functional pieces, whether it be a fence, screen or piece of furniture.
In his free time, Vale likes to venture outdoors. Whether by taking long hikes, or touring by bicycle, or exploring rivers in his kayak, or trudging up mountain slopes on snowshoes. All throughout the varied terrain that the northwest has to offer.
He brings a wide range of experience and skills to the design team at communitecture. Beyond being a licensed Architect in Oregon and Washington, with almost two decades of architectural design experience, he has a background that ranges from community development planning to building envelope assessments. From a sustainable design perspective, he brings passive and active (PV) solar design skills and is a LEED BD+C Accredited Professional.
Vale is also a seasoned artist with experience in furniture design, welding, woodworking and oil painting. The visual and industrial arts have been strong influences in his design sense and aesthetic. These artistic endeavors have also all contributed to his understanding of the merger between the natural and built environment. Lately he has been most interested in the manipulation and engineering of recycled materials into functional pieces, whether it be a fence, screen or piece of furniture.
In his free time, Vale likes to venture outdoors. Whether by taking long hikes, or touring by bicycle, or exploring rivers in his kayak, or trudging up mountain slopes on snowshoes. All throughout the varied terrain that the northwest has to offer.
Chanon Billington (pronounced Shuh-non)
Admin Support / Bookkeeper | chanon@communitecture.net
Chanon has worked in a myriad of creative studios including Architecture, Landscape Architecture, product design, and post-production film music. She handles the billing, the copier jamming, and the snack inventory with diligence and aplomb. Chanon reads, bakes, and tends to her precious cat in her spare time while resisting becoming a cliché.
