Full Name
Kate Diamond
Job Title
Civic Design Director
Company
HDR
Speaker Bio
Kate Diamond is HDR’s Civic Design Director and a Design Principal in the Los Angeles office. Kate brings a breadth of experience for translating the aspirations of a diversity of clients into beautiful, high performance projects that encompass: justice, federal, state and local government, education, development and urban design. She believes passionately in the power of design to help clients address the triple bottom line of social, economic and environmental responsibility while meeting all of the unique requirements of their mission.
Key recent projects include:
The Orange County Sanitation District Headquarters, one of the first mass timber hybrid structures in SoCal achieved a 68% reduction of embodied carbon + NZE with an innovative circular strategy based on capturing the bio gas from the treatment process. Winner of over 20 awards including the 2024 USGBC-CA Project of the Year and Honor Award for Energy/Operational Carbon; 2025 Planet Positive Award from Metropolis Magazine in the Civic Category, and Fast Company’s 2025 Honorable Mention for Innovation by Design in the Sustainability and Circular Design Category and was a Finalist in the Innovation by Design Best Project Award. The project is finishing final reviews to earn LEED Gold and IFLI Net Zero Operational Carbon.
The Hilda L. Solis Environmental Justice Center at the Esperanza Hills Regional Park sited on the closed Puente Hills Landfill. Slated to be completed in the fall of 2026, the EJC achieves a 35% reduction of embodied carbon with a combination mass timber and low carbon CMU and focuses on rethinking waste with salvaged construction materials and furniture. Winner of the 2024 USGBC-CA Honor Award for Equity and Fast Company’s 2025 World Changing Ideas. On target to achieve LEED Gold.
The Mountain Line Downtown Connection Center, the first hybrid mass timber project in Northern Arizona and the first commercial building to achieve Gold in the Coconino County Sustainable Certification process modeled after LEED. Winner of Engineering News Record 2025 Mountain Region Best Aviation/Transportation Project, Best Sustainable Project and Project of the Year- making it a finalist for the National Project of the Year.
Kate was recently recognized by the 2025 AIA LA Board of Directors as a CITIZEN ARCHITECT for her “unwavering commitment to civic leadership, sustainability, and the public value of design – advancing architecture as a catalyst for equity, policy and environmental justice.”
In 2025, Kate completed 6 years of service on the USGBC-LA (now USGBC-CA) Board. In 1996, Diamond was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). From 1993 to 1994, she served as the first Woman President in 99 years of the AIA’s Los Angeles Chapter. Committed to sharing with the next generations, Kate has taught design studios at the University of Southern California, School of Architecture and continues to give guest lectures at various schools of architecture across the country.
Key recent projects include:
The Orange County Sanitation District Headquarters, one of the first mass timber hybrid structures in SoCal achieved a 68% reduction of embodied carbon + NZE with an innovative circular strategy based on capturing the bio gas from the treatment process. Winner of over 20 awards including the 2024 USGBC-CA Project of the Year and Honor Award for Energy/Operational Carbon; 2025 Planet Positive Award from Metropolis Magazine in the Civic Category, and Fast Company’s 2025 Honorable Mention for Innovation by Design in the Sustainability and Circular Design Category and was a Finalist in the Innovation by Design Best Project Award. The project is finishing final reviews to earn LEED Gold and IFLI Net Zero Operational Carbon.
The Hilda L. Solis Environmental Justice Center at the Esperanza Hills Regional Park sited on the closed Puente Hills Landfill. Slated to be completed in the fall of 2026, the EJC achieves a 35% reduction of embodied carbon with a combination mass timber and low carbon CMU and focuses on rethinking waste with salvaged construction materials and furniture. Winner of the 2024 USGBC-CA Honor Award for Equity and Fast Company’s 2025 World Changing Ideas. On target to achieve LEED Gold.
The Mountain Line Downtown Connection Center, the first hybrid mass timber project in Northern Arizona and the first commercial building to achieve Gold in the Coconino County Sustainable Certification process modeled after LEED. Winner of Engineering News Record 2025 Mountain Region Best Aviation/Transportation Project, Best Sustainable Project and Project of the Year- making it a finalist for the National Project of the Year.
Kate was recently recognized by the 2025 AIA LA Board of Directors as a CITIZEN ARCHITECT for her “unwavering commitment to civic leadership, sustainability, and the public value of design – advancing architecture as a catalyst for equity, policy and environmental justice.”
In 2025, Kate completed 6 years of service on the USGBC-LA (now USGBC-CA) Board. In 1996, Diamond was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). From 1993 to 1994, she served as the first Woman President in 99 years of the AIA’s Los Angeles Chapter. Committed to sharing with the next generations, Kate has taught design studios at the University of Southern California, School of Architecture and continues to give guest lectures at various schools of architecture across the country.
