Heather Wassell
Director of Planning
Heather Wassell is an urban and architectural designer with a professional architecture degree from the University of Miami. She works as part of the design team to develop urban plans and architectural visions for developments that range in scale. She applies her years of involvement in placemaking and form-based coding to her work at Beinfield Architecture. Heather’s experience includes work on a variety of project types, including new community and transit-oriented development master plans, main street (or “downtown”) revitalization, and multi-family apartment building design.
Prior to joining Beinfield Architecture in 2018, Heather worked at DPZ CoDesign. During her employment there, she participated in over 50 public and private charrettes and workshops. Notably, Heather managed the engagement and design process for 20-year Comprehensive Master Plan (CMP) for Hot Springs Village, Arkansas (26,000 acres). That process included a 2-week public charrette, greenfield town and hamlet center designs, and zoning code analysis and modification development.
Heather has participated in TOD and corridor planning processes in Albuquerque New Mexico, Phoenix Arizona, Orange County Florida, and San Jose California. She also participated in the Downtown Derby, Connecticut charrette, developing master plans for a 19.5 acre grayfield addition to the existing town center. Heather also has experience in writing form-based codes.
Since joining Beinfield Architecture, Heather has continued her work in master planning and public engagement, most notably on the Coliseum development in New Haven Connecticut. There, she has lead a yearlong public engagement process, including numerous community stakeholder workshops and design reviews with city staff.