DAVID LORIMER & LESLIE LORIMER
(click either name to view their bio)

David Lorimer began his architectural design career forty years ago. He has direct and extensive experience in all phases of architectural practice, with an emphasis on conceptual and schematic design. His experience includes facility and program planning, master planning, project management, site selection, and feasibility studies.

After receiving his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Arizona in 1966, David moved to San Diego and in 1968, began work as a designer with Henry Hester and Associates, an architectural firm specializing in custom homes. In 1971 he became a partner in the firm.

In 1974, David T. Lorimer co-founded Architects Lorimer-Case, with partner Larry Case. The firm grew to a 50-person office, whose scope of practice included large-scale residential, commercial and international projects both in planning and design. Under David’s direction, projects such as Columbia Place and Watermark placed the firm was amongst the pioneers of the revival of downtown San Diego. The 14-acre Uptown District in Hillcrest was seen as a model for residential and commercial mixed-use, while the firm also gained substantial experience in the area of hospitality design when the prestigious Westin Mission Hills Resort was added to the portfolio. A commitment to constructability and design excellence won the firm over one hundred twenty prestigious regional and national awards, including sixteen residential “Project of the Year” awards.

David T. Lorimer Architect & Associates was founded in 1995.Eager to get back to the practice he loved, David created a smaller design studio dedicated to maintaining the benefits of a small firm while providing full service design by affiliating with specialists in various disciplines. The smaller firm ensured that David would have more time to be on the boards, drawing. While the 30+ years of working in the architectural field ensured the connections and experience needed to “act” like a large firm. Noteworthy projects included Heritage Towne Center, the Kona Kai on Shelter Island, and various custom homes in the San Diego area. The firm became Lorimer-Hayes Architects when Lynne Hayes, a long-time colleague, became a partner in 2002. Lynne Hayes left the firm in the summer of 2005.

The current phase of David’s career is as challenging and rewarding as the previous ones. Lorimer Architecture is a partnership formed between David and his daughter, Leslie. It has been a pleasure for David to be able to work so closely with his daughter, as a mentor and partner. There is a freshness and excitement in the current firm that David sees infusing the projects being turned out. Custom homes continue to be an interest of the firm, as do mixed-use developments and urban in-fill projects. Also of increased importance are ideas of sustainability and affordability. Large scale projects now on the boards are providing the opportunity to explore these ideas architecturally. Lorimer Architecture is based in San Diego, in a building which represents the first collaboration between the father-daughter team. A second, San Francisco, office was opened in January of this year.

Leslie Lorimer, Assoc. AIA

Leslie Lorimer started her career in architecture, in earnest, in 1992, but spent much of her life around architecture. The daughter of an architect, Leslie grew up sketching floor plans and elevations, and on project sites. This early and constant contact with the practice of architecture helped Leslie develop an appreciation for drawing and architectural design. It is this comfort with the entire process of building which Leslie believes has given her an advantage in her growth as an architect.

After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economic Policy from Stanford University in 1988, Leslie joined a start-up company in Palo Alto, California. As one of 5 founding employees, Leslie was responsible for administration tasks for the young company. The company was eventually funded by venture capitalist and is now listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

In 1992, Leslie became one of 24 students selected to the first class entering the Masters of Architecture program at the new and innovative School of Architecture at University of California, San Diego. When the program and school closed down the following year, Leslie moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and finished her studies at U.C. Berkeley in 1995.

After Berkeley, Leslie worked briefly for Sim Van der Ryn and Associates on the Real Goods Retail Center in Northern California. The flagship retail store was designed as a model for solar living and sustainable architecture. Leslie next began working for San Francisco firm SMWM, known for their institutional and educational work. At SMWM, Leslie participated, as a young designer, on a number of educational campus projects; and on a variety of large scale urban studies in San Francisco’s downtown and Mission Bay areas.

Leslie left SMWM to join David T. Lorimer Architects & Associates and oversee the 10-acre Otay Village Center, a PUD which includes a mixed/use portion with senior apartments over retail and daycare, an affordable multi-family apartment component, including community center, and a gas station/carwash/market. The site is to serve as a town center for the surrounding areas and incorporates public transportation, extensive bike paths, and electrical cart parking/recharge locations. Leslie continued when the firm became Lorimer-Hayes Architects, as a designer and project manager primarily responsible for the Custom Residences in the office.

At Lorimer Architecture, Leslie has enjoyed the opportunity to work directly with her father on a wide range of projects, encompassing both of their architectural interests. Leslie currently heads the San Francisco office, located in the Russian Hill area of San Francisco, but travels frequently to San Diego and Los Angeles to oversee projects in those regions as well.