Profile
Founded in 1999, Heliotrope has gained acclaim for a portfolio of bespoke residential and commercial commissions that have made a deep, lasting impact on the city of Seattle, the Northwest region, and beyond. Named after the heliotrope flower of myth, which orients itself towards the sun, we turn towards the idea that there is an intangible something that makes an exceptional place.
This intangible quality begins with a commitment to what is deeply human. It starts with the context of you. What will being here mean? What will being here connect you to? For us, this work also demands a promise to do right by the land. We seek design solutions that are low-impact, sustainable, and improve the sites where they exist. Lastly, an exceptional place must be rooted in the present and committed to the future. We strive for lasting resonance. Quality that weathers. A sense of heritage that is built in from the beginning.
Exceptional places change us. And that’s exactly why we set out to make them—in commitment to the land, in service to the future, and in ongoing conversation with you.
Joseph Herrin
Principal
Mike Mora
Principal
Chris Wong
Associate
Rachel Belcher
Designer
Carsten Stinn
Architect
Ben Loeffler
Architect
Evan Dobson
Designer
Glenn Easley
Designer
Alejandra Rodriguez
Designer
Sara Morrison
Designer
Jie Bao
Designer
Julie Marquart
Office Manager
Clients
REI
Amazon
Aslan Brewery
Blackrock
Cake Skincare
Chef Holly Smith
Chef Meeru Dhalwala
Chef Rachel Yang
Chef Renee Erickson
Chef Shiro Kashiba
Ethan Stowell Restaurants
evo
evo Projects
Filson
Holland America Princess
Ibex - Merino Wool Apparel
LIKELIHOOD
Local Tide
Mainstay Provisions
Microsoft
Nordstrom
Sea Wolf Bakery & Oxbow Bakery
Shinola
Sleeping Lady Lodge
Suncadia Resort
UNICO Properties
Washington Holdings
Awards
Merit Award
AIA NW & Pacific Honor Awards, 2022
Buck Mountain
People’s Choice Award, Bar
AIALA Restaurant Design Awards, 2021
Project: Rupee Bar
Honor Award, Bar (Built)
AIALA Restaurant Design Awards, 2021
Project: Rupee Bar
Outstanding Restaurant Design
James Beard Awards, 2020
Project: Rupee Bar
Merit Award
AIA NW & Pacific Honor Awards, 2011
Project: Suncrest
Merit Award
AIA NW & Pacific Honor Awards, 2011
Project: Greenlake Passive House
‘Best of the Year’ Award
Interior Design Magazine, 2011
Project: North Beach
Honor Award
National AIA Housing Awards, 2011
Project: North Beach
Merit Award
AIA Honor Awards for Washington Architecture, 2010
Project: Suncrest
Merit Award
AIA Honor Awards for Washington Architecture, 2009
Project: North Beach
Citation Award
AIA Washington Civic Design Awards, 2007
Project: Ross Park
Merit Award
AIA Northwest and Pacific Region Design Awards, 2003
Project: WRA
Merit Award
AIA Honor Awards for Washington Architecture, 2001
Project: WRA
Recognition
New York Times, August 31, 2023
“A Ship Captain’s House in Seattle, via Norway, Finds New Life”
Loyal Captain Addition
Luxe Magazine, May 1, 2022
“See How This Seattle Home Honors Childhood Memories”
Fauntleroy Residence
Sunset Magazine, July 13, 2022
“Busy Street? No Problem. How They Hid This Beachfront Seattle Retreat”
Fauntleroy Residence
‘From the Top’
Luxe Magazine
September/October 2020
Project: View Ridge
‘A Vacation Home as Minimal as a Gallery’
The New York Times
November 21, 2017
Project: Collector’s Retreat
‘Gorgeously Grounded’
Pacific NW Magazine, Seattle Times
January 29, 2017
Project: Artist Residence
‘Paul Bunyan Shops Here’
Metropolis Magazine
February 2016
Project: Filson Seattle Flagship Store
‘Go Inside a Modern Glass House by Heliotrope Architects in the Pacific Northwest’
Architectural Digest, January 11, 2016
Project: Lone Madrone
‘Quality Athletics is changing the sports-bar playbook’
Seattle Times, December 18, 2014
Project: Quality Athletics
Interior Design Magazine, March 2011
Project: North Beach
C3 Magazine (Korea), January/February 2011
Issue #318
Project: Suncrest
150 Best Eco House Ideas, Marta Serrats, Harper Collins, 2010
Project: North Beach
Beach Houses, Carles Broto
Links Books, 2010
Project: North Beach
Juried exhibit of 12 selected firms ‘shaping the future of Seattle architecture’
New Edge/New Blood: Exhibition at the Seattle AIA, August/September 2008
‘Water Wise’
Northwest Home + Garden, May/June 2007
North Beach
‘What Makes it Green?’ Symposium and exhibition, Spring 2007
Project: Ross Park
DJC ‘Project of the Week’
July 31, 2006
Project: Ross Park
‘East Out West’
Custom Home: Kitchen & Bath Design Guide, April 2006
Project: Grant Creek
25 Houses Under 3,000 Square Feet, by James Trulove (Collins Design 2005)
Projects: Blue Ridge and View Avenue
‘Dream Catcher’
Custom Home, May/June 2003
Project: Horseback Ridge
Juried Exhibition
Both/And: Building Modern in the Context of Historic Architecture, 2003
Project: WRA
Seattle Times / AIA ‘Home of the Month’ Program, Spring 2002
Project: View Avenue
‘Standout Structure’
Spokesman Review: ‘In Life’ section cover, January 26, 2001
Project: WRA