Residence, Keller Street, Petaluma, CA

Based in the Bay Area, Painter Preservation & Planning provides services throughout the western United States for public and private clients. We are a certified woman-owned small business.
Diana Painter founded Painter Preservation & Planning in March 2002. She has 25 years of professional experience in historic preservation, architecture, urban design and planning in California, the Pacific Northwest and northeast. She holds a PhD in Architecture, a Masters Degree in Urban Planning and a Certificate in Urban Design and teaches historic preservation in Sonoma State’s Cultural Resource Management program.

Ms. Painter’s depth and breadth of experience and high level of professionalism are assets that will help ensure the success of your project. We welcome your inquiries about how our services may suit your project needs.

Diana Painter has twenty-five years of professional experience in historic preservation, urban design and urban planning, and architecture in California, the Northwest and the Northeast. Ms. Painter studied architectural design in the graduate programs at the University of Washington and University of Pennsylvania before earning her PhD in architectural history and theory at the University of Sheffield in Sheffield, England. She also holds a Masters Degree in Urban Planning and Certificate in Urban Design from the University of Washington. Her PhD dissertation focused on how models in architecture and urban design have been adapted over time to respond to technological and social change. Her master’s thesis explored the design and public involvement process for a large scale redevelopment project in Newcastle-on-Tyne. Ms. Painter also holds a BA in interdisciplinary design from Fairhaven College.

Ms. Painter has been awarded three American Planning Association Awards and been the recipient of two research fellowships, in Sheffield, England and Rome, Italy. She has taught architecture, urban design and historic preservation at the University of Washington, University of Sheffield, and Sonoma State University, and publishes and speaks regularly on planning, urban design and historic preservation issues.

Education
PhD in Architecture, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, England
Master of Urban Planning, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Certificate in Urban Design, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Design, Fairhaven College, Bellingham, Washington

Additional training
Summer Course in Historic Preservation, University of Southern California, 2002
Landscape architecture design and construction, University of California at Irvine, 1990-91
Architectural design, University of Washington, 1979-1982; University of Pennsylvania, 1987

Professional Experience
Ms. Painter founded Painter Preservation & Planning in March 2002. Previous experience includes architectural design positions with Dagit-Saylor Architects and Cope Linder Associates of Philadelphia, and urban design positions with WRT of Philadelphia, The SWA Group of Laguna Beach, California, and Edwin Schlossberg Inc. of New York City. Public sector experience includes project management positions with Metro King County and Sound Transit of Seattle, and the City of Tukwila, Tukwila, Washington.

Recent Professional Activities
Award: Peterson Prize for historic research, Sonoma County Historical Records Commission, 2005
Board Member: Sonoma County Landmarks Commission, 2003–present
Board Member: Urban Design & Preservation Division, American Planning Association, 1994–present
Instructor: National Register Nominations, Sonoma State University, Fall 2004, Spring 2006
Presentation: The Pattern Book Houses of Spokane’s West Central Neighborhood, Society of Architectural Historians, Marion Ross Dean chapter conference, October 2004
Presentation: Urban Design for Planners, American Planning Association, California Chapter conference, October 2002.
Presentation: From Big Trees to Big Bands, The Russian River Resort Area, Alliance for Historic Landscape Preservation, 2006
Presentation: Regionalism at Mid-Century in the Pacific Northwest, Pacific Northwest History Conference, 2006
Publication: The Care and Feeding of your Historic Building, or Economic Incentives for Historic Preservation, Urban Design and Preservation Quarterly, Winter 2004 download a pdf version (144K)
Publication: The Modern House in the Pacific Northwest, forthcoming from Timber Press.