STULL AND LEE ABOUT
Architecture and planning
Founded in 1966, Stull and Lee, Inc. (S+L) is an award-winning architecture, urban design and planning firm. The firm’s experience includes the design of multi-family housing and the design of educational and health care institutions, office buildings, retail and manufacturing facilities. The S+L portfolio also includes highway infrastructure, transit stations and related facilities. A significant portion of the firm’s work is in institutional master planning and large-scale urban design and planning commissions nationwide.
Stull and Lee Inc. is a 100% minority-owned firm with Massachusetts Certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) designation.
Projects
S+L projects have frequently been cited for design excellence, including the Presidential Design Award from the National Endowment for the Arts for the design leadership of Boston’s Southwest Corridor transit project. The firm has also received multiple awards from the American Institute of Architects, and its Boston and New England affiliates.
Leadership
The firm was established by the late Donald L. Stull, an African American pioneer in the profession. He was a graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, a member of the distinguished College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects, and recipient of the Boston Society of Architects 1997 Award of Honor.
Continuing under M. David Lee’s leadership, the firm is committed to distinctive design outcomes and avoiding the direct application of stored solutions, whether found in research or the firm’s past projects. S+L’s obligation to its clients is to offer innovation, creativity, and practicality, and a fresh approach that respects clients’ needs and aspirations.
M. David Lee, FAIA, NOMA
President
David Lee is a nationally recognized architect, urban designer, and planner with over four decades of experience leading impactful, community-centered design. His portfolio includes civic, institutional, and residential projects such as The Clarion in Boston, Oakwood Shores in Chicago, and the award-winning Dutch Point master plan in Hartford.
A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and recipient of NOMA’s Lifetime Achievement Award, David has shaped major public initiatives from post-Katrina recovery in New Orleans to Boston’s air rights vision over the Massachusetts Turnpike.
He has taught at Harvard, MIT, and RISD, and served as president of the Boston Society of Architects. David remains committed to advancing equitable, design-driven solutions across architecture and urban planning.
Donald Respress, Jr., Assoc. AIA, MBA
Project Manager
Donnie Respress brings a distinctive blend of architectural insight and engineering precision to his role as Project Manager. With over 15 years of experience in program management and technical leadership at firms like General Electric, Sensata Technologies, and General Motors, he leads projects with operational clarity and strategic focus.
At S+L, Donnie manages projects from schematic design through construction administration, with a portfolio that spans multi-family housing, K–12 schools, and large-scale mixed-use developments. He is known for his expertise in consultant coordination, project scheduling, and leading collaborative design processes.
Donnie holds master’s degrees in both architecture and business, and a bachelor in electrical engineering. His multidisciplinary background strengthens his ability to bridge design excellence with execution. His work reflects a commitment to community impact, technical rigor, and long-term value.
Thomas J. Maistros, Jr., RA
Senior Project Manager/Urban Designer/ Architect
Tom Maistros brings over four decades of architectural and urban design experience, with deep expertise in public approvals, environmental review, and complex project delivery. He has led a wide range of development efforts, from civic and institutional projects to large-scale housing and commercial plans across Boston and beyond.
As both a former executive at the Boston Redevelopment Authority and director of the Boston Civic Design Commission, Tom has shaped many of the city’s most visible projects and guided them through design and permitting with clarity and efficiency.
His role at S+L bridges planning and execution—managing schedules, overseeing compliance, and advising clients on city and state regulatory processes. Tom also brings valuable healthcare planning experience from his time at Partners HealthCare, including leadership on major capital projects for Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.
Across all sectors, he is known for balancing design vision with pragmatic, results-driven coordination.
Vision, Content, and Detail Grounded in Theory and Creative Invention.
At Stull and Lee we approach each project with the understanding that architecture and urban design require not only creativity, but also practicality, responsibility and organization. We avoid the direct application of stored solutions, whether found via research or in our past work. While the importance of experience must not be denied, its proper role is to inform the creative process of design and not simply to offer a palette of past options from which to choose Equally important to our design approach, is the inclusion of the client throughout the design process. In each project, we strive for design solutions that are uniquely responsive to time and place.
