Team - Magellan Architects

PEDRO CASTRO, PRINCIPAL

Pedro founded Magellan in 2000 with one goal, to provide solutions for our clients. Pedro moved from Brazil to the US over 30 years ago to further his education; he then earned his Masters in Architecture from Washington State University. When Pedro isn’t fulfilling his role as “Chief Explorer Officer” he enjoys spending time with his wife and three children, motorcycles and adventurous trips.

Pedro Castro, Founder and Principal at Magellan Architects

ERNESTO MIRANDA, PRINCIPAL

Ernesto opened our Dallas office in 2017 with over 25 years of experience in architecture and interior design. His drive and motivation to not only satisfy his customers’ needs but also fulfill the overall vision of Magellan is what makes him a good fit for his role. Outside of work he’s an avid mixologist, foodie, and loves music & traveling. He’s also plotting with his daughters to take over the world.

KARLAN BREKNE, ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

Karlan is a lifetime student of Architecture with a bachelor’s degree from the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington. He greatly appreciates the structured, organized and collaborative approach to architecture and design at Magellan. Karlan spends much of his free time working on DIY projects in his Edmonds home, where he lives with his wife, two cats and a dog.

Chris Chappon, Project Coordinator

Chris received her Project Management Certificate in 2017 from UW and was excited to join Magellan, “Each day is very different from the next, no routines, no complacency – always exciting, interactive and collaborative!” She rescued her special needs dog and enjoys time with her identical twin sister and teen nephew who has Autism. Small families at home and Magellan means closer bonds.

PAUL LOOTS, ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER

Paul has been involved in architectural design for over 20 years, primarily for restaurants and other food service projects. He has been heavily involved in commercial kitchen design as well as construction management. Paul grew up in Western Washington, but moved to Texas in 2017 to be closer to his daughter and son in-law. He travels to Seattle as often as he can to visit his other daughter and family members. When time allows, he likes to take long motorcycle rides on the open road.

Summer Castillo, Office Manager

In her spare time, Summer enjoys hiking with her friends and spending time with her Husband and two sons. She works for Magellan because it’s like a giant family, this company really shows that it cares and appreciates its employees. She values that Magellan promotes education and wants it employees to be successful and grow, the sky is the limit! 

Carlos Vargas, Associate

Carlos decided to join the Architecture profession because of his desire to design spaces that both function and create emotions to the user, it also helped that he was surrounded by architects in his family (father, brother, uncle and his aunt!). He picked Magellan because of the "people behind the company, a firm is as good as the people that works in them".

Pam Kalkandelenli, Associate

Pam has her BFA in Interior Design and comes to us from the hospitality world where she worked on boutique hotels in New York and Boston. She loves game nights with friends, traveling the world (especially Turkey) and is always up for new and fun experiences. Her motto is "Try everything twice" because you never know if the first time was the right time.

Clover Schuler, Associate

Clover added over 20 years of tenant improvement design experience to the Magellan team. She’s been with firm since 2012 and loves working for Magellan because she’s given the opportunity to mentor a young and eager to learn staff. In her free time she enjoys snowmobiling, vintage car racing and spending time with her family.