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…….

Here is a map of our projects in Southern California through 2017.  You can zoom in and out, and the Legend gives the key to the colors.Click here for the map

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.

Marcos was born on a small farm in rural Galicia, Spain.

From an early age he learned how to do things with his own hands and to respect nature.

By the time he was eight years old, he was exploring Spain as a musician, and continued to do so for ten years.  When he decided music wasn't his call he dropped music in favor of other media to express his creativity.

He studied architecture in Spain and moved to New York where he worked in high-end residential architecture for almost twenty years with projects in; New York, New Jersey, Aspen, Florida, California and abroad.  Many of the projects were published or received architectural awards.

He and his family traded the northeast weather for the California sun in January 2018, where creativity has been overflowing since he arrived.

When possible, he visits Spain or travels elsewhere as a photographer and tour guide with Better World Tours, his wife's new travel company.

In his free time, he enjoys life, biking, photography, traveling, woodcarving and leather-working.

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.