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Architect · adaptive reuse

Sofia Nara

I turn industrial and civic buildings into working places without erasing what they already know how to be.

01Schedule
Discipline
Lead adaptive-reuse architecture from schematic through construction.
Known for
Adaptive reuse, Waterfront sheds, Historic coordination
Focus
Structure, Public use, Long life
02General notes

I trained at Berkeley and Washington, then spent nearly a decade at Harbor + Field on warehouse and multifamily reuse before founding Northline Studio in 2018. The work I want is the hard middle: buildings with history, sites with constraints, and clients who will fund the structure before the finishes.

03Elevation

  1. 2018 - present

    Principal, Northline Studio

    Adaptive reuse practice.

  2. 2012 - 2018

    Project Architect, Harbor + Field

    Industrial and multifamily reuse.

  3. 2009

    M.Arch, University of Washington

04Details
DET-01Civic reuse

Pier shed conversion

Waterfront industrial shed to public market and light industrial stalls.

▸ Open to the public, 2024.

DET-02Housing

School-to-housing shell

Former elementary school adapted for senior housing with retained gym volume.

▸ Certificate of occupancy, 2023.

DET-03Workplace

Warehouse workspace campus

Three-building warehouse complex to maker and office campus.

▸ Phased occupancy complete.

05Dimensions

8 adaptive-reuse projects

Schematic through occupancy at Northline.

Studio of 12

Architecture and interiors.

Licensed architect

Washington state.

06Scope of work
SOW-01

Adaptive reuse design

Full architectural services for industrial and civic conversion.

SOW-02

Feasibility studies

Structure, zoning, and cost framing before acquisition.

07Callouts
Q.01

What does Sofia Nara do?

Sofia is a principal architect at Northline Studio in Seattle, focused on adaptive reuse of industrial and civic buildings.

Q.02

Where is Sofia based?

Seattle, Washington.

08Specifications

Structure is the brief

Program changes. Structure does not. Start there and the rest of the design is honest.