Architecture in Full

At Dorman Associates we have four primary areas of specialization: Residential design (whether it be a remodel or single starter or custom homes or a community of them); commercial building design; child development center design; and project management.   

About Dorman Associates

Dorman Associates, Incorporated, is a full service architectural firm, which since its inception in 2001 has worked on a wide variety of design projects including high end private homes in venues stretching from the Bay Area to El Dorado Hills; a large community development for the Rumsey Band of the Wintun Indian tribe in the Capay Valley; a 40-unit starter home community in Sacramento, and four 16,000 sf child development centers for the children of employees of a Fortune 500 Bay Area company. Our firm’s current focus includes masterplanning and design for a 70-unit residential development with single family homes and a community center, design of several child development centers heavily influenced by the Reggio approach, and the design of single family residences which are distinctive and cost effective to build. All of these projects incorporate Green solutions to achieve long lasting, sustainable design.

Design Philosophy

The founding concept of the firm is to create economical, functional and innovative projects based on the client’s needs whether they are architectural or project management. Our firm is careful to maintain a broader perspective in order to insure a successful project from a standpoint not just of aesthetics and function, but concern as well for construction quality, construction schedule, compliance with construction documents, and construction budget.

Firm Services

In addition to a full range of design services including site assessment and feasibility, master planning, schematic design and design development, we can provide construction documents, assistance with the bidding/negotiation process, and construction administration.  Our own expertise is typically augmented by a carefully selected and proven array of consultants.

Meet Our Staff

Chris Dorman, Design Principal, since 2001 and the opening of his own firm, has completed work on four Reggio inspired 16,000 sf child development centers for a large Bay Area Company to serve its employees, and he has received commissions for several others. On the residential side, in addition to creating distinctive designs for numerous multi-million dollar custom homes for individual clients, Dorman served as project architect and was part of a joint venture to design a unique 18-home custom housing development for the Rumsey Band of the Wintun Indian tribe (owner’s of the Cache Creek Casino in the Capay Valley) which has attracted media attention for its striking and innovative architecture as well as use of cutting edge “Green” building materials. The success of this three-year undertaking led to a new relationships with another Bay Area Indian tribe, and work has begun on a master plan for a new residential community encompassing a 70-unit development with single family and multi-family homes and a community center. In the area of non-custom housing, Dorman was responsible for the design and construction oversight of a 40-unit starter home community in Sacramento.  He has been equally successful with much smaller scale design assignments, including remodels.

Dorman  received a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley and a Masters in Architecture from the University of Oregon, and he is a licensed California architect and member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) since 2000.  He began his career in 1996, when he joined the San Rafael firm of Chris Lamen and Associates because of its focus on affordable housing, and he achieved Associate status two years later. Assignments on which he worked ranged from a 193-unit, transit-oriented affordable housing project to a senior center and accompanying 43-unit housing development.  In addition to his accomplishments in design, he has had extensive experience as a project architect overseeing major undertakings, and he is as comfortable on the construction site as he is in the design process. 

Leslie Geathers, Senior Project Manager, brings more than 20 years of multi-faceted experience in architecture, including work on projects ranging from commercial retail to single-family residential and multi-family affordable housing. In 1998 she began to specialize more in design of facilities for the young child when she joined Spaces For Children, a branch of McCamant & Durrett Architects, led by Louis Torelli, M.S.Ed., the nationally known premier child development environmental designer. She became Project Manager and Designer in the creation of the 25,000 sq. ft. World Bank Children’s Centers, which are considered some of the most environmentally focused childcare facilities in the United States. In a unique collaboration with Torelli, Ms. Geathers developed solutions for over 70,000 s.f. of Infant Toddler Childcare centers around the country. In 2005, she brought her impressive experience to Dorman Associates, Inc. where she has been instrumental in the design of both remodeled and new Children Centers.

Ms. Geathers has maintained her keen interest and commitment to socially and environmentally responsible methods and systems as they apply to our built environment.  She has attended The San Francisco Institute of Architecture, University of California Berkeley Extension, and Merritt College to continue her education in such subjects as Permaculture, Urban Ecology, Ecological Architecture, Organic Architecture, and Sustainable Systems. Since 1997 she has served on the advisory board for the Merritt College Environmental Science & Ecological Design Program, and became an Adjunct Professor in 2002. She currently teaches Green Design and Urban Agroecology.  In 2006 her role as an Ecological Design instructor expanded to the new Architecture & Community Design Program at the University of San Francisco, where she currently teaches Sustainable Design.

Antonette Greene, Child Development Specialist, received a Masters degree from San Francisco State University with an emphasis in early childhood education.  She has been studying the philosophy and schools in Reggio Emilia for about seven years, working to translate and intertwine the ideas with the philosophy of Kumara School where she has taught preschool age children.  She has presented at statewide conferences on topics involving early childhood education and has conducted in-service training for teachers at other pre-schools in the Bay Area. Her unique experience and perspective serve her well in identifying the interplay of architecture and the opportunities for its influence on curriculum. Her diverse experience offers expertise with establishing district wide programming standards as well as assisting with building layout, furniture layout and outdoors programming and design.

Mary Peterson, Job Captain and Interior Design Specialist, recently relocated to the Bay Area and is a graduate of Philadelphia University with a BFA in Interior Architecture & Design. She gained experience in commercial and healthcare design while on the east coast and retail architecture while working in San Francisco. Since working with Chris Dorman, Mary's experience has expanded to include childcare and residential design. Mary's recent contributions include construction documents, as well as furniture, fixture & finish selections, and a very successful commercial bathroom remodel for a local tribal casino.