Natalie Pearl

Designer

The throughline

Natalie grew up in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where architecture and landscape were intertwined. Immersed in mountain living from the start, her early sense of place was deepened by watching her father work as a carpenter and contractor. Their  home, layered with excess/leftover materials from different jobsites, became her first lesson in reuse and resourcefulness.

What pulls her to the work

Natalie believes meaningful space begins with material understanding. A geology background sharpened her curiosity of material resources, where they come from, and what their life cycle implies for how we build. Modest forms and honest materials enable spatial awareness of light, texture, and composition while remaining adaptable and timeless.

How she shapes GYDE

Natalie engages rigorous material logic and a hands-on craft sensibility to every project. Her research spans fabrication methods and material performance, with a focus on leveraging inherent material properties for more efficient structural and architectural applications. She works fluidly between concept and construction, grounding design decisions in circularity, sustainability, and the human touch.

What she's exploring now

Advancing material circularity and upcycling as meaningful design strategies. Finding the intersections between geological thinking, embodied carbon, and the tactile richness that makes spaces feel genuinely grounded.

Life beyond the studio

Natalie is dedicated to making and craft. She enjoys working with different materials in her free time, exploring form and how different materials can be shaped or transformed.