A Workshop Rooted in Place

Susan Olmsted is an architect and landscape architect whose work integrates the built and natural environments through a thoughtful, holistic approach. Drawing on expertise in both disciplines, and cultivating an open workshop, she designs spaces that are functional, delightful, and responsive to their ecological and cultural contexts. Her work reflects a deep understanding of the relationships between land, infrastructure, and human experience, balancing technical precision with a sensitivity to place.

Committed to sustainable design and long-term resilience, Susan collaborates closely with clients and stakeholders, bringing a multidisciplinary perspective to projects ranging from site planning and landscape systems to architectural design, with the goal of creating environments that support both communities and ecosystems and evolve meaningfully over time.

A distant relative of Frederick Law Olmsted (seventh cousin three times removed), Susan has transformed a lifelong appreciation for historic landscapes into vital expertise in landscape stewardship.  Through both professional work and volunteer leadership, she has engaged deeply with the Olmsted legacy. Her portfolio includes award-winning efforts to preserve and restore significant Olmsted landscapes such as the Washington State Capitol and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias in Yosemite. She served for nearly two decades on the Board of Directors of Friends of Seattle's Olmsted Parks and is a former member of the Washington State Capitol Campus Design Advisory Committee. 

Susan's work has been featured in the New York Times, Dwell, Architectural Record, Landscape Architecture Magazine, and Columbia Magazine.

Outside of her professional practice, Susan cultivates creativity with her family - from building with LEGO, to crafting, robotics, drawing, and baking custom birthday cakes. She is also an avid explorer of parks, trails, and lakes, where she enjoys walking, running, biking, cross country skiing, canoeing, and kayaking.