Catherine Doo

Architecture is the creation of spaces that can serve users and evoke a strong sense of place and belonging believes Catherine whose first foray into the field was designing basic floorplans for her young friends’ houses as a schoolgirl.
Later, after graduating from the University of Auckland, she spent her OE visiting important buildings she had studied; world-renowned structures such as Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion left an indelible impression on her.
Catherine, who joined RTA studio in 2017, began her career working on projects in the aviation sector in the UK and the Pacific Islands. What she learnt in airports such as Heathrow and Gatwick, she dialled back to the fundamentals for smaller facilities in Tonga, Tuvalu and Kiribati.
At RTA Studio, she continued the theme, playing a key role in the design of Auckland Airport’s Air Traffic Control Facility but has also spread her wings wider into the commercial, educational and hospitality sectors.
Catherine, who became an associate in 2021, has been instrumental in setting up the Women’s Group at the practice – an informal, safe place to discuss issues that happen within the profession. She is also accomplished at building relationships externally, with clients and stakeholders.
Known for her organisational skills, she is never without a notebook and is the queen of the spreadsheet and action list. Balancing her career and motherhood responsibilities, Catherine is a mentor of design and in her day to day who, in her downtime, enjoys hiking in the Waitākere ranges with her young family.

“I love getting to visit well-known buildings in real life; I find it fascinating that one building can evoke so much reaction.”