FDA is delighted to announce that Cathleen Bachman has joined Joe, Bob, Peter, and Josh as a Principal of FDA. Her work has always been outstanding, and her role leading our communication with clients and collaborators has been steadily expanding. Please join us in congratulating Cathy!



Cathy is an architect and LEED Associated Professional with over 20 years of experience working on a wide range of projects, from residential to institutional. She has moved creatively within the field as her interests have evolved; she has had her own practice and has worked at other well-known architectural firms.

After her initial years with FDA from 1993-95, Cathy returned to FDA in 2013 to resume her role as key designer in the firm’s theater design and planning work; she is now the department head. She has deep expertise in room design, back of house planning, test-fit studies, and programming.

Cathy is currently working on new homes for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, as well as a masterplan for the 92nd Street Y.

She has completed work on the Xiqu Centre for Chinese Opera, an 1,100-seat opera house in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District; an innovative performance space for the Duke Ellington School in Washington, DC; the University of Wisconsin’s Hamel School of Music in Madison; and the renovation of the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Canada, among many others.

During her time with FDA previously, Cathy worked on room planning for acclaimed halls at Ciudad de las Artes in Mexico City, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, and Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth.

You can extend your congratulations to Cathy via email at:
cbachman@fda-online.com