About Us
We are a small bespoke practice of seven professionals who design commercial, institutional, municipal, and residential projects, both big and small. While we have worked throughout the United States, most of our work is in New England. The natural and cultural environment around us provides our inspiration and our clients provide our purpose. Environmentally sustainable design is integral to our process, and we embrace these principles enthusiastically in our projects, implementing sustainable strategies, materials, and methods in innovative ways suited to a given project and budget. Our practice specializes in thinking creatively and adaptively, architecturally responding to each project in its own right.
We provide an initial consultation at no charge. Contact us to discuss how we can help with your project.
Our Team
Our firm’s growth and success over the past decade are driven by our talented design team. Together, we have delivered outstanding work across residential, commercial, municipal, and institutional projects, emphasizing creativity, sustainability, and community.
Katie Sutherland AIA LEED AP
Founder and Principle ArchitectKatie founded kcs ARCHITECTS in 2015 and has thirty years of experience in architecture, the last twenty of which have been in New England. She holds a Master of Architecture from Yale University, is a LEED-Accredited Professional, and a member of NCARB. She is currently serving as Vice President to the New Hampshire Branch of the American Institute of Architects and is looking forward to serving in her role as President in 2027.
Katie grew up in Kentucky and has worked extensively in New York City, Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Osaka, Japan. She currently lives in Chesterfield, NH, near the NH-VT border, with her husband Bob, dog Luna, and visiting college kids, Izzy and Nash, who still come home for school vacations. In her spare time, she enjoy cooking with Bob, hikes or walks with Bob and Luna, paddleboarding or snowshoeing on Spofford Lake, and working on never-ending home improvement projects.
Katie has won numerous design awards throughout her career, and specializes in thinking creatively and adaptively, architecturally responding to each project in its own right.
Steve Laput
Steve holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University, is a LEED-Accredited Professional, and a member of NCARB. He has nearly three decades of experience leading projects for academic clients, including both new construction and phased occupied renovations. As Project Architect and Manager at kcs ARCHITECTS, Steve collaborates with clients to help them transform their ideas into space and place, and works side-by-side with them as design concepts evolve into built form. With a unique talent for managing technically challenging projects, Steve is passionate about navigating complexity and ensuring that budgets and schedules are met without losing sight of the big picture.
For Steve, architecture is an amazing blend of art, science, sculpture, and craftsmanship. He enjoys continuously learning about all of these things to improve his own craft. However, his particular passion is figuring out how to build a building and how to put it together in a form that is both efficient and elegant.
Steve currently lives in Brattleboro, VT with his husband and their two cats (Lucky and Faust) and they have two grown sons who are in the construction industry. Outside of work, he enjoys cooking, gardening, endless home renovations, and beekeeping.
Project Architect and Manager
Eli Mead
Eli is an architectural designer based in Lebanon, New Hampshire. For him, architecture is all about solving problems. Eli enjoys the complexity and nuance that comes with each new project and design challenge. There are always opportunities to be constantly learning, and ways to explore new ideas and solutions.
Outside of his professional life, Eli enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, landscape and wildlife photography, fishing, and mountain biking. These activities allow him the opportunity to unwind, find new inspiration, and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
When he is not out exploring, Eli enjoys woodworking, cooking, gardening, sewing, and anything else he can do with his hands. He loves being able to design and create something new and finds great fulfillment when he gets a chance to share these things with friends and family.
Emerging Architectural Professional
Nick Tolman
Nick was born and raised in Keene, NH. Interested in Architecture from a young age, he started taking mechanical and architectural courses as soon as he entered high school and went on to graduate from Keene State College with a major in Architecture and a minor in Environmental Studies.
Nick has had the opportunity to work on a wide variety of projects with us, ranging from home renovations and additions to high-end new build residential and large scale commercial and municipal buildings.
Nick currently lives in Quincy, Massachusetts. He enjoys getting on the T to ride into Boston and walking around the waterfront or the Esplanade. He also enjoys checking out the changing exhibits at the Boston Public Library, or having a picnic at the Public Gardens. The Architecture in Boston is warm and rich in history, and Nick enjoys observing the constantly changing skyline of the city.
Emerging Architectural Professional
Erick Nyambuoro
Erick Nyambuoro is an architectural designer with a global perspective and a strong interest in community-driven, well-crafted design. Born and raised in Kenya, Erick’s early experiences working within limited resources shaped his belief that the best solutions come from collaboration, creativity, and thoughtful use of what’s available.
He began his architectural education at the Technical University of Kenya, where he designed and led the construction of a wetland boardwalk project in Kisumu, Kenya. Designed with locally sourced and recycled materials, the project supported environmental conservation while strengthening tourism and economic activity, reinforcing Erick’s interest in architecture that serves both people and place.
Erick later earned both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Architecture degrees from Norwich University in Vermont. He then joined Studio Troika in Boston where he worked in a range of projects, including life-science, commercial, educational, and mixed-use developments across all phases of design, gaining experience from concept development through construction administration.
Erick is excited to be part of kcs ARCHITECTS and as he enjoys working on projects where detailing, craft, and client collaboration are central to creating meaningful spaces.
Emerging Architectural Professional
Elaina Valdez
Elaina is a recent graduate from Keene State College with a BS in Architecture and a minor in Construction Management and she is now working towards becoming a licensed Architect.
Elaina joined kcs ARCHITECTS as an intern and has turned that first internship into full-time career in architecture. When Elaina was introduced to ksc ARCHITECTS, she immediately found that kcs had designed some of her favorite places in Keene–like Brewbakers, where she went to study almost daily, and MoCo arts, which she had claimed as her ‘favorite building in Keene’ as a freshman.
Elaina grew up on the seacoast in Dover, NH and first fell in love with architecture exploring areas like Portsmouth, Boston, and New York City. She enjoys spending her weekends and free time relaxing with her 2 kittens, Bear and Tuna, with a good cup of coffee in hand. A fun fact about Elaina is that she has been a musician/performer her entire life and loves to explore new places with her partner, friends and family in tow!
Emerging Architectural Professional
Bob Sutherland
Bob grew up in Wilton Connecticut and moved to New Hampshire to get his MBA at the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics (formerly the Whittemore School) at UNH. While at UNH, Bob fell in love with New Hampshire and never left.
After a successful career in consulting for companies like TBR, and Kennedy Information, Bob joined kcs ARCHITECTS as Business and Office Manager. Bob, a jack of all trades, works on our project invoicing and budgets, human resources and compensation, and promotional and marketing coordination. He makes sure we all have what we need to be productive for our clients. Bob also serves on the Finance Committee for the Town of Chesterfield.
Bob currently lives (and works from his home office) in Chesterfield, NH, with his wife Katie and their dog Luna, and visiting college kids, Izzy and Nash. He calls himself the Dog Wrangler and enjoys hiking, paddleboarding, and exploring the outdoors with his family.
Business and Office ManagerJoin our Team
We are always searching for talented people to join our team! To inquire about employment opportunities, view our job listings page or contact us at careers@kcs-architects.com