On my drive out to Redmond to interview architect Pedro Castro (owner of Magellan Architects) I was surprised to find out how fast the drive is - at 25 minutes door-to-door, it's about the same travel time as to downtown Seattle (and if my old Volvo can make it 25 minutes, I expect Pedro on his “Motocicle” can make it even faster).
Magellan Architects is a 15 person firm (including 9 architects) with experience in a wide variety of project types (Pedro wants to avoid becoming too "top-heavy" in any one area). Their experience most pertinent to UW work includes: classroom and office design, schools, public works projects, and design for public low bid. They also have experience in: churches, commercial developments, and work for Native American facilities. The firm is equally at home with remodel and new building projects. Some of their specific experience in public projects include: Kenmore Junior High School locker room addition; a Post Office at the Everett Naval Station; and a new two story, LEED Silver office building for Puget Sound Energy in Bellevue. Other clients include: Microsoft, the Bank of America, the Catholic Archdiocese, the Chehalis Indian Tribe and Bartell Drugs. See more details in our CPO Roster file and/or visit Magellan's web-site.
Pedro comes from a family background in Brazilian architecture - his father was an architect with experience on the design of Brazil's famed capital city of Brasilia. Pedro immigrated to the USA in 1987 and feels a real debt to this country for the opportunities it has given him. I was impressed with his public service activities he describes as "giving back" for those opportunities including: by appointment of Governor Gregoire, Pedro serves on the Washington State Architectural Licensing Board; he coaches soccer for the Lake Washington Youth Soccer Association; and recruits Latino youth to play soccer and study on a the Youth League Scholarship Fund. He is also member of the Hispanic Chamber of commerce. Magellan was recently recognized by the Puget Sound Business Journal as the fastest growing MBE Architectural Firm in Washington State.
Pedro's design philosophy is very customer oriented and his firm is quite interested in working on UW projects. I know he will be watching our ads for upcoming projects, but also keep him in mind as you identify projects for consultant selection from the Roster File. As a certified MBE with the State OMWBE, Magellan can also help us in meeting our MWBE participation goals.
Dirk McCulloch and Pedro Castro Brianne Culley and Pedro Castro
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