StudioThe Team

Born and raised on the East Coast of the United States, Karen Curtiss studied in Scotland, and then lived in Hungary, before settling in San Francisco.  Her cultural explorations, intellectual pursuits and participation in competitive fencing eventually led her to architecture and inform her unconventional approach to the practice.

Since founding Red Dot Studio in 2005, Karen has championed a design thinking and engagement based on a belief in the profoundness of the prosaic in elevating the human experience and creating spaces imbued with the feeling of good design.

Karen holds an MA in Philosophy from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, an MA in Interior Architecture and a California Architect’s License.

Mark was raised in suburban Kansas and later moved to metropolitan Boston. He was drawn into architecture after viewing images of Mies Van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion in a high school art history class. The images lead to questioning the physical world we inhabit, and opened the possibilities of the man-made environment.

After graduating from the Boston Architecture College in 1998 he worked for several design oriented practices in Boston, New York and San Francisco. His Clara street project was on the 2013 San Francisco AIA home tour as well as receiving an honorable mention in the Portland Living Smart housing competition. 

Mark is committed to understanding how the physical world interacts with our emotional well-being, and thus how design plays an important role in our daily life. He currently lives with his partner, son, and dog in San Francisco.

Growing up in France, Camille always dreamed of designing houses and creating spaces according to people’s own habits and dreams. She has worked at interior architecture firms in France and in New York and loves to discover the valued habits of everyday living wherever she travels. To make meaningful spaces, Camille has learned to analyze the users’ needs, to answer them, and to realize the projects at a human scale.

Camille received a Bachelor’s in Interior Architecture and a Master’s in Sustainable Cities from L’École de Design Nantes Atlantique. Her thesis focused on vacant urban spaces, and her project aimed to inhabit them, with the creation of a minimally-sized, livable structure that could be placed in unoccupied commercial spaces.

Jackie has provided integral support to staple San Francisco organizations such as SFMOMA, Project Open Hand, ACLU, Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center and the Community Music Center, in their development and administrative efforts for over fifteen years.

At Community Music Center she was involved with the capital campaign and supported a 95-year-old organization’s goal of expanding its campus and bringing more accessibility to its community of learners and musicians. This experience has reinforced her belief that a well-conceived, creatively-designed and efficiently-produced physical space can bring a community together and increase its inclusivity.

An avid globetrotter, Henry has traveled to over 30 countries for leisure, work, and study abroad. This experience has provided him with a unique perspective on architecture, design, and life outside of work. He holds a MArch from Cornell University, as well as a Bachelor’s from Carleton University in Canada.

Henry is interested in the intersection of design and storytelling. He has an extensive background in both fine arts as well as rendering and visualization from his training as a designer. With a particular focus on architectural illustration, Henry pursues visual narrative and graphic communication throughout his work. Outside of work, Henry has a special love for teaching and coaching others. He regularly teaches graphic communication workshops and has found this to be a real passion.

Spark and Sparkle are our tiniest team members but easily the most vocal. Equal parts watchdogs and snack enthusiasts, they specialize in barking at nothing and demanding treats with theatrical flair.

Spark has a low, serious growl that says, “I’ve been very good—where’s my cheese?” Sparkle prefers a high-pitched alert that doubles as a calendar reminder: walk now, emails later. Their daily tasks include supervising lunch breaks, shedding on samples, and offering unsolicited feedback on Zoom calls.

We’re not sure if they understand architecture, but they’re firm believers in warm laps, soft rugs, and frequent outdoor meetings. They keep spirits high, feet moving, and treats flowing, proving once and for all that great design is best done with a dog (or two) under the desk.