Catherine Wilmes is an architectural designer invested in the discipline's relationship with contemporary art and photography. Her work revolves around investigating the built environment through a photographic lens and perceptual analysis. She has practiced in architectural offices in New York City, focusing on residential and educational projects at multiple scales, including master planning, building design, interior architecture, and furniture. She specializes in adaptive reuse and has completed projects throughout the United States, Brazil, and China.

Catherine joined the Cornell University faculty in 2022 as a Visiting Critic and is currently a Design Teaching Fellow (2023-2025). Prior to joining Cornell, she was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Pratt Institute GAUD (2019-2023), where she taught advanced design and residential studios at the graduate level, and an Instructor at Syracuse University School of Architecture (2023), where she taught integrated building design.

She holds an M.Arch from Pratt Institute Graduate Architecture and Urban Design and a B.S.Arch from Ball State University College of Architecture and Planning.