Modern building with angular beige and black exterior walls, large windows, staircase with metal railing, trees in the background, and a clear sky.

About
Donaldson + Partners

Architecture, Art & the Landscape

We design houses and workplaces that are rooted in place and purpose, balancing rigor and relevance to create built environments that endure.

We balance imagination and reality, art and science with a particular focus on the relationship between architecture, art, and the landscape. We engage in a wide range of project types and sizes around the world.

Modern house with large glass windows and a view of the ocean at sunset, with outdoor seating and a small fire pit.

Modern multi-story building with glass balconies, illuminated interior, and signage for Burke Williams and Vewok at 925 address, with cars parked in front and a blue sky background at dusk.

Modern office lobby with a curved reception desk, a large mirror, and an innovative ceiling design with recessed lighting. The wall bears the sign 'ArentFox Schiff,' indicating the company's name.

Our Services

Donaldson + Partners provides comprehensive architectural services that blend pragmatic problem-solving with refined design. We deliver site analysis, programming, conceptual design, construction documentation, and project administration for residential, commercial, retail, hospitality, & institutional projects.

Our process focuses on efficiency, regulatory compliance, and material integrity to achieve outcomes that endure. We collaborate with clients, consultants, and contractors to manage schedules and budgets while ensuring clarity at every decision point. From renovations to ground-up construction, our team translates client goals into buildable solutions that respond to context, function, and long-term value.

- Custom Homes

- Residential Estates

- Commercial Interiors

- Commercial Buildings

- Interior Design

- Master Planning

- Objects & Fabrication

People

Meet our Team

Donaldson + Partners is a team with diverse backgrounds and experiences united around creating and executing lasting design.

Over the past 36 years and offices in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Irvine California, we aspire to make relevant and meaningful places.

Brochures

Modern building with large glass windows and an overhanging concrete structure, with a clear blue sky and some trees in the background.

Houses

Houses Brochure

Modern multi-story office building with glass balconies at night, illuminated signage for 'WeWork' and 'Beke Williams,' and a busy street with car light trails in front.

Buildings

Buidlings Brochure

Modern office interior with a row of green cubicles and white spherical pendant lights hanging from the ceiling. The walls are textured green, and there is wooden paneling along the ceiling and door frames.

Commercial

Interiors

Commercial Interiors Brochure

Approach

Our Approach to Architecture, Art, & the Landscape

There is a way of designing that emerges from a specific place and a specific way of living. In California, that sensibility has been shaped by the land itself, by dramatic topography, by a light that is unlike anywhere else, by a culture that dissolves the boundary between interior and exterior life.

We call this Elemental California Design, and it is rooted in the intersection of three forces: architecture and the landscape, art and experience, and the sculptural and elemental.

Press & Awards

Close-up of the word "Wallpaper" in black textured font on a white background.

A black and white illustration of a person standing with arms raised, holding a flag in one hand and an object in the other, with a star in the background.

Close-up of the word 'dwell' in bold black letters on a black background.

Black and white illustration of a cat perched on a crescent moon with stars in the background.

Text that reads 'INTERIOR DESIGN' in large black font on a white background.

Illustration of a person sitting at a desk with a laptop and a coffee cup.

A modern building with large glass windows reflects trees and sky, with a pond in the foreground and trees along the water's edge during late afternoon.

d+workshop

d+workshop creates custom light fixtures, feature walls, tables, desks, graphic signage, architectural details, and feature elements.

These sculptural objects anchor moments within a space, the way the architecture anchors the site. We work collaboratively with a carefully selected network of makers and fabricators, treating process as essential to the product.

We believe the story of making should have a story worth telling.

d+workshop website

AboutDonaldson + Partners