Douglas V. Pierson is a founding partner for pod architecture + design and heads up the architectural studio for the office.  Prior to pod a+d, he spent 10 years as a partner with form, environment, research (fer) studio L.L.P. and helped establish the award winning office as a forerunner in contemporary design.  As a former Project Architect with Frank Gehry’s celebrated Los Angeles office, Gehry Partners L.L.P., and Hodgetts and Fung Design Associates, Douglas developed progressive academic, commercial, civic, cultural, and residential projects for each of the offices.

Douglas has spearheaded award winning nationally recognized projects  including Connie and Ted's restaurant in West Hollywood CA, and the first LEED platinum building in downtown Louisville, KY.  He has also worked on a wide range of internationally acclaimed projects, including Seattle’s landmark Experience Music Project (EMP), Melbourne’s Victoria State Library, The Corcoran Gallery, Washington DC’s oldest private art institution, and a prefab hospital project in the United Kingdom.  He has also designed and participated in several noteworthy international traveling art and design exhibits, including The Work of Charles and Ray Eames, Pablo Picasso, and Howard Hodgkins Paintings.

Douglas grew up in and around Washington DC, first attending the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, then the Lettres program at the Université Paul Valéry in Montpelier, France before earning his Masters in Architecture at Virginia Tech.  He spent the early years of his career working at several architecture firms throughout Europe and Australia, and as the designer and curator of numerous art exhibits overseas.  His crossover participation in the realms of art and architecture, and his immersion in the varied urban landscapes across the globe have enabled him to pursue a design approach that captures the awareness of the world around us.

As a Partner at pod a+d, Doug focuses his design approach on unique, cost effective client driven designs that add richness and depth to all of his projects, always maintaining a strong and visible link between contemporary design and the formation of sustainable architecture.