September MEMBER SPOTLIGHT 2026

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT | Guido Seoanes Perla

Guido C. Seoanes Perla, Associate AIA, NOMA

DESIGNING ACROSS CULTURES, COMMUNITIES, AND SCALES

With more than 20 years of experience, Guido C. Seoanes Perla has built a career shaped by an expansive understanding of architecture and the many ways design can connect people to place. An architectural designer, urban sketcher, artist, furniture designer, and historian, Guido approaches the built environment through multiple lenses, combining professional practice with a deep appreciation for culture, history, and community.

His professional journey began in Seattle, where he contributed to single-family residential, mixed-use, academic, and multifamily projects. Over the years, his work has taken him across Washington State, Washington, DC, Northern Virginia, Southern Maryland, and Colombia, steadily expanding his technical expertise and leadership responsibilities. Today, his portfolio spans academic and laboratory facilities, federal work, major public transportation initiatives, residential projects, and mixed-use development. Throughout that progression, Guido has helped coordinate multidisciplinary teams and support the delivery of increasingly complex projects.

His project experience reflects that range. Guido has contributed to projects including Ross Ranch in Palm Springs, The Broadway in Seattle, Orr Elementary School in Washington, DC, and the Morgan State Science Building in Baltimore, serving in design, project coordination, and production roles at different stages of his career. His work also extends internationally, including independent design work in Colombia.

Across these experiences, Guido has developed a practice that reaches beyond any single building type or geography. His career demonstrates how architecture can become a means of understanding communities, documenting their evolution, and contributing thoughtfully to the places people call home.

ADVANCING REPRESENTATION THROUGH SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP

Guido’s commitment to creating a more inclusive architecture profession began early in his career. In 2006, he joined the AIA Seattle Diversity Roundtable Committee, later serving as Chair from 2008 to 2010. During his tenure, the committee received national recognition at the 2010 AIA National Convention for its work advancing diversity within the profession.

During this same period, Guido helped establish the NOMA Pacific Northwest Chapter, contributing to a growing network of professionals committed to increasing representation and creating stronger pathways for underrepresented designers. That early involvement established a foundation for a commitment to NOMA and professional service that has continued throughout his career.

Today, Guido continues that service through DCNOMA, where his involvement reflects the same values that have shaped his career for nearly two decades: community, visibility, mentorship, and the belief that a stronger profession is one in which more voices and experiences are represented.

His leadership demonstrates the lasting impact of sustained involvement. From helping build new professional networks early in his career to continuing to advocate for architecture as a more inclusive and culturally responsive profession, Guido has consistently used his experience to create space for others.

PRESERVING PLACE THROUGH ARCHITECTURE AND STORYTELLING

While architectural practice is central to Guido’s career, his passion for history and cultural preservation has become an equally defining part of his work.

In 2020, Guido founded the Bureau of the Modern Movement (BMM), an international nonprofit volunteer organization dedicated to preserving and celebrating the heritage, history, architecture, gastronomy, culture, and legacy of the Modern Movement, particularly throughout Latin America. As Chair, Guido has helped transform his interest in architectural history into a platform for public education, cultural advocacy, and community engagement.

Through BMM, he leads BaMoMo, Barranquilla Modern Movement, an annual four-day initiative that invites residents, scholars, designers, and community members to explore the influence of the Modern Movement on Barranquilla’s development and cultural identity. Through lectures, conversations, tours, and other educational programming, BaMoMo encourages people to look more closely at the buildings and places around them and recognize architecture as part of their shared cultural heritage.

For Guido, preservation is not simply about protecting buildings. It is about preserving the stories, memories, traditions, and identities connected to them. His work through BMM demonstrates how architectural knowledge can move beyond professional practice and become a tool for helping communities better understand and celebrate their own history.

SKETCHING THE STORIES OF CITIES

Guido’s connection to place also comes alive through drawing. As an urban sketcher and artist, he has spent decades documenting architecture, streets, and city life through hand drawing, using sketching as both a creative practice and a form of architectural observation.

His work has been featured in newspapers, magazines, and books across the United States, Colombia, and Italy since 1999. In 2014, his work appeared in Architecture and Cityscapes: The Urban Sketching Handbook by Gabriel Campanario alongside internationally recognized artists and sketchers, including architect Frank Ching, FAIA.

More recently, Guido contributed to the 2026 publication Viaje al Corazón de Barranquilla (Journey to the Heart of Barranquilla) by José G. Stevenson, a project celebrating the heritage, history, architecture, and culture of his hometown.

Through sketching, Guido captures more than the physical form of buildings. His drawings become records of place, documenting architectural character, everyday life, and cultural identity in ways that complement his professional and preservation work. Together, architecture, research, and art allow him to tell richer stories about cities and the people who shape them.

BUILDING A LEGACY OF DESIGN, CULTURE, AND COMMUNITY

Across more than two decades in the profession, Guido’s journey demonstrates the many forms architectural leadership can take. He is a designer and project professional, but also an artist, historian, organizer, preservation advocate, and community builder.

Whether contributing to complex architectural projects, advancing representation through NOMA and AIA, documenting cities through urban sketching, or bringing communities together to celebrate architectural heritage through BMM and BaMoMo, Guido consistently connects his professional expertise with a larger commitment to people and place.

His career reminds us that architecture extends far beyond the design of individual buildings. It can preserve memory, reveal overlooked histories, strengthen cultural identity, and create connections across communities, disciplines, and generations.

DC NOMA is proud to spotlight Guido C. Seoanes Perla and celebrate his continued contributions to architectural practice, cultural preservation, artistic expression, professional advocacy, and the communities whose stories inspire his work.