Founder & Design Partner

Douglas Hanson, FAIA, is a Los Angeles based architect who has worked with some of the world’s leading architectural firms designing major cultural, commercial, and residential projects in Asia, Europe, and North America. With over three decades of professional experience, Hanson launched his eponymous firm, HansonLA, in 2010.

Early in his career at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, Hanson collaborated on major European projects from design through construction. In Barcelona, Hanson managed Vila Olimpica, a collaboration between SOM and Frank O. Gehry & Associates. Hanson then joined Frank O. Gehry & Associates in 1992 as a Senior Associate and Project Architect for the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

He worked closely with the Guggenheim Foundation and the local Basque developer as the project took shape. Hanson then had the opportunity to collaborate with the Renzo Piano Building Workshop on the California Academy of Sciences. In 2004, Hanson became principal at DeStefano & Partners and led the Los Angeles office in designing and building cultural, commercial, and residential projects. In Hanson’s current role as President of HansonLA, he is the Design Principal on various residential and commercial projects in the historic Arts District and Fashion District in Downtown Los Angeles, as well as a number of hospitality projects in the area.