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A Testament to Perseverance
All historic preservation projects are a testament to perseverance. But some have a longer road to fruition than others. Take the Old Administration Building on the campus of Fresno City College. Built in 1916 as the first permanent structure on Fresno State Normal School campus, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Only two years… more
My Year in Review: Learning at Cal and ELS
In the past twelve months, I pulled my last studio all-nighter for my final project, received my B.A. in Architecture from UC Berkeley, and got my first “real job” out of college. 2012 has been a wonderful whirlwind of a year. I have been fortunate to join ELS as a new designer within one month of graduating from Cal last… more
Invisible Architecture: Notes on Sherith Israel
Sometimes, if we do our work well as architects, our handiwork is nearly invisible. At least that can be the case with historic renovation and seismic strengthening projects. Recently we completed the first phase of work on a historic Classical/Romanesque sanctuary in San Francisco’s Upper Fillmore. For more than a century, Congregation Sherith Israel has been worshipping in this building,… more
Spectator Sports: Thoughts on New Spectator Facilities
Recently I attended the national water polo championship at UC Berkeley’s Spieker Aquatics Center. I like to see how colleges and universities are actually using their facilities and managing big events, because it helps feed our design thinking. And watching a big water polo event like this is particularly revealing, because very few swim facilities in the country are designed… more
An Optimist at Heart
My wife sometimes says that I design shopping malls for a living because she knows that it will irritate me a little and also keep me grounded. But I have never really struggled to reconcile my social conscience with my practice in commercial architecture. Recently, I’ve had the occasion to reflect on my career, most of it involved in retail,… more
Speak Up for Telegraph!
Pulitzer Prize–winner Michael Chabon’s just-released novel, Telegraph Avenue, has once again put the spotlight on the novel’s namesake, that 4½-mile commercial stretch that runs from the south side of U.C. Berkeley’s campus to downtown Oakland, famous for 1960s protests and riots, home to the homeless, former home of Cody’s Books, and still a popular student hangout. But for years, Telegraph… more
Westward Ho
“I left my home in Georgia, headed for the ’Frisco Bay…”—Otis Redding Mr. Redding’s song is about loneliness and exhaustion, but for me, the journey from Atlanta to Berkeley has been quite the opposite. So many notable authors, comedians, and politicians, from Kerouac to Bill Clinton to Woody Allen, have opined about California’s greatness and flakiness that I decided to… more
Fox Lights Up Uptown
Now that redevelopment is dead in California, we can mourn its passing by celebrating some of its triumphs. Ironically, one of the biggest success stories is the revitalization of Oakland’s Uptown neighborhood, which happened under former mayor Jerry Brown—the same Jerry Brown who dismantled redevelopment as governor. True, some agencies came under fire for misappropriation of funds—to build golf courses… more