Kathryn Dethier

Kathryn Dethier is chair of the Design Arts Department. She is an accomplished scholar, administrator, and full professor in the fields of architecture and interior design with over thirty years of experience. After having taught and served in administrative roles at Jefferson University and Drexel University, she joined the Moore faculty.  

Dethier’s early research examines the role of the mass magazine in disseminating interior design information to the public and the use of writing as a heuristic in design pedagogy. Her current research focuses on sustainable design, an evolving topic critical to the practice of architecture, and the intersection of regenerative design, resource conservation and sustainable materials.

As an active volunteer with Philadelphia’s Community Design Collaborative, Dethier curated Storefront Stories, a retrospective exhibit of the Storefront Challenge biannual competitions, exhibited at the Center for Architecture. She managed the architectural team that produced the conceptual design for Creating a Sense of Place on the North 22nd Street Corridor and has worked to restore and revitalize urban commercial corridors through the design of several storefront projects. 

Prior to teaching, Dethier worked for ten years in the offices of William Pereira Assoc. Architects & Planners in Los Angeles, Raphael Vinoly Architects in New York City and Ueland, Junker, McCauley, Nickolson Architects in Philadelphia. Her degrees include an MS in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University, a BFA in Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design and a BS from Cornell University. Dethier maintains a private practice in interior design and residential architecture.