Announcing our New Principal
Posted in News — January 22, 2024
Soderstrom Architects is proud to announce the promotion of Wayne van Loon to Principal. Previously with Laurence Ferar & Associates, he joined Soderstrom in 2020 after the two firms merged. Since then, he has risen to a leadership position within the Wine & Spirits studio and is a key contributor to the firm’s management team.
Wayne van Loon, Director of Wine & Spirits
Promotion to Principal
Wayne brings a unique perspective to winery and distillery design, having worked in the industry for many years on the client side. This experience allows him to create thoughtfully designed spaces which support his clients’ facilities needs and achieve their production and sales goals. Wayne’s notable projects include the award-winning Abbott Claim Winery, Lingua Franca Winery, and a manufacturing facility currently under construction for Straightaway Cocktails. His most recent project for Echolands Winery is a landmark facility which reinforces Soderstrom’s involvement with the growing Walla Walla, Washington wine market. The new Echolands Estate facility opens in the Spring and features production space, a glass-walled tasting room with expansive views, a roof deck, and an underground wine library.
In his new role as Principal, Wayne will focus on growing the Wine & Spirits Studio and will also ensure a balanced firm practice for all the market sectors that Soderstrom serves. This includes approaching projects through a sustainable lens not only from a materiality perspective, but also energy usage and environmental impacts and efficiencies. Within the office, Wayne is dedicated to nurturing a collaborative firm culture. Wayne believes in supporting design excellence, noting however that it’s about more than creating eye-catching buildings:
Excellent design goes beyond aesthetics and designing a beautiful space; it needs to function well and address the program needs of the client and their visitors/stakeholders.
