Since 1985, architects Dennis Thompson and Susette Naylor have worked with individuals and institutions to design and build hundreds of new and remodeled projects. Our mission is to help create beautiful places, while strengthening community and protecting nature. Our focus is on:

• Listening and responding to our clients' wishes and budgets
• Delivering value for our clients' investments and acting as our clients' trusted advisors
• Practicing flexibility in our design and services
• Bringing intelligence and thoughtfulness to the design/build process
• Continually improving our knowledge base and skills through classes, reading and conferences on topics ranging from historic preservation to the latest green building techniques
• Nurturing respect for nature and developing the skills to create environmentally-friendly projects
• Working collaboratively with clients, consultants, public agencies and builders
• Helping our clients be good neighbors to the world, their community, and their immediate neighborhood.

The American Institute of Architects calls for its members to be Citizen Architects, using their  “insights, talents, training, and experience to contribute meaningfully, beyond self, to the improvement of the community and human condition.”   
 
We are local/regional architects, and over the years we have been deeply involved with our community. In addition to our professional work with community organizations, we feel that being responsible “Citizen Architects” includes volunteer service to these organizations. Among the venues for our service to government and non-profit institutions, have been the following:
 
Montecito Architectural Review Committee
Santa Barbara County Process Improvement Oversight Committee
Santa Barbara County Human Services Commission
Santa Barbara County Board of Architectural Review
City of Santa Barbara Historical Landmarks Commission
City of Santa Barbara Library Board
 
Santa Barbara Community Environmental Council
Santa Barbara Conservancy
Santa Barbara Beautiful
The Sustainability Project
Santa Barbara County Housing Trust Fund
Mesa Architects
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
Santa Barbara Foundation
Santa Barbara Zoological Gardens
 
Laguna Cottages for Seniors
Big Brothers
“Stop AIDS”
Vassar Club of Santa Barbara and the Tri-Counties
 
and others…….

Dennis Thompson is the founder and president of Thompson Naylor Architects. A native of Southern California, he studied architecture and planning at Princeton University and UC Berkeley. Dennis has lived in Santa Barbara since 1974 and has served on the Board of Directors of the Community Environmental Council and The Sustainability Project. He was a member of the Santa Barbara County Board of Architectural Review and was founding president of the Green Building Alliance. He is a LEED Accredited Professional and is an active volunteer with the Mesa Architects. Dennis lives with his wife, Lois, on the Mesa in Santa Barbara, and in his off time he loves hiking and road biking.

In 2017, he was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects, an honor based on his many years of advocacy for green building and sustainability.

Susette Naylor's resume reflects a varied and diverse background – besides her Master in Architecture from Berkeley, her academic degrees include an A.B. in Anthropology, Vassar and a Masters in East Asian Studies, Stanford.  Her work history spans a variety of roles including serving as the Director of a joint educational project at Stanford and UC Berkeley and being a principal designer for residential and institutional projects in Namibia, Africa. This background has served not only to inform her work in her current position as partner but also her community involvement. She has been privileged to serve over the years in diverse ways:

• - In the County, as a Human Services Commissioner for Santa Barbara, as a part of the Guidelines subcommittee while a member of the Montecito Architectural Review Committee and as part of the Process Improvement effort for the Planning and Development Department at the County of Santa Barbara.
• - In the City, as a member and chair of the Historic Landmarks Commission for the City of Santa Barbara, an involved task force member of the Historic Resource Element of the General Plan, and a member of the City Library Board.

Jeff is a licensed architect and is certified by the US Green Building Council as a LEED Accredited Professional. He also holds a California State Contractor’s License, and has over thirty five years of experience in architecture, construction, land surveying and site planning. Raised in Santa Barbara, he attended Architecture School at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and in Florence, Italy. His projects have ranged from residential and urban renewal, to commercial, institutional and industrial. Sustainable design has been his focus since attending architecture school in the seventies, and as a member of the Mesa Architects he does volunteer work toward making his Mesa neighborhood a model of sustainability and community. Jeff has two daughters, one teaching English in China and one at Southern Methodist University, and is married to Kristi, a Nurse Practitioner with Santa Barbara County Public Health.

Rodrigo is a native Argentine, born and raised in Mendoza (now famous for its Malbec wine), who recently relocated to Santa Barbara with his wife and young daughter.  Rodrigo received his first degree in Architecture from the University of Mendoza and a Master's degree in Building Restoration from the University of Genoa Italy.  Rodrigo has lived, studied and/or worked all over the world including Argentina, Mexico, Italy, Spain and the U.S.  He has more than 15 years of experience as an architectural designer and strives to create bold and memorable places.  Rodrigo has also cultivated his passion for food and cooking.  Winning both the amateur and professional categories of the annual Santa Barbara Independent BBQ competition with his version of a traditional Argentine "asado" was his debut into the Santa Barbara culinary scene.  He now teaches cooking classes at the SBCC Center for Lifelong Learning and in his free time dabbles in catering.

Raised in Calumet City, Illinois, a small suburb outside of Chicago, Kim moved to Santa Barbara in 1979. She spent many years in the banking industry, working for Santa Barbara Savings and Loan and Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, where she had numerous positions including supervising in the retail offices, and supervising the Commercial Loan Assistants in the Commercial Lending department. Kim joined Thompson Naylor Architects in 2007 as Office Manager; she was compelled to find a job that better aligned her personal convictions of sustainability with the place she worked. When not at work, Kim enjoys gardening and has recently added chickens to the list of her family’s pets.