The American Institute of Architects has long set the bar for quality design in the United States. The organization awards buildings and architects that are contributers to a high quality built environment. Awards are given by the national, state and local chapters of the organization. The AIA San Joaquin has a bi-annual awards program.

Projects that are eligible for award are to be built within the San Joaquin region or by an architect from the region. The architect submits their project along with a fee. An independent jury then deliberates on what submissions are deserving of awards.

This years awards ceremony packed the Sky Room of the Holiday Inn of Downtown Fresno with over 160 individuals attending the banquet. The keynote speaker was John Dugan the City of Fresno Director of Planning and Development. Mr. Dugan recounted his first perceptions of Fresno, detailed the departments current efforts and called for architects to get involved in the process.

Also at the banquet, the AIASJ presidency was transfered from Rod Andreasen AIA to Paul Halajian AIA. Mr. Halajian noted in his speech that his effort over the next two years will be to build the relevance of the AIASJ to both the profession and the public.

2009 Award Winners
Honorable Mention:

Coalinga Community Swim Complex – Darden Architects

Merit

Willow-International Center – Darden Architects

Zumwalt Residence – Arthur Dyson Architects

Honor

Clovis Performing Arts Center – Darden Architects

William Jessup University Student Apartments – Taylor Teter Partnership

Ranchos Middle School – Taylor Teter Partnership

H Street Lofts – Taylor Teter Partnership

Excellence

Riverbank High School Gym – Darden Architects

Alex G. Spanos Elementary School – Darden Architects

Below is biographical information about the independent jurors that selected the American Institute of Architects San Joaquin Chapter 2009 Design Awards. A review of the experience was written by Fresno Bee arts writer Donald Munro and can be found here.

Dan Fletcher, AIA

Dan Fletcher is a principal in the firm of Fletcher + Hardoin Architects located in Monterey California. Fletcher + Hardoin was established in 1988 providing architectural services for high end residential and visitor serving commercial. Some of the firm’s most recent projects include the restoration and conversion of the 14th century Borgo Villa Saletta in Tuscany into a Raffles hotel and spa, the renovation of historic Robles del Rio Lodge in Carmel Valley and the recent completion of Wild Bird a residence on the Big Sur coast. Fletcher + Hardoin has been recognized for their design excellence with many awards from AIAMB, Gold Nugget awards for their custom residences, hardbound publications and a feature segment on HGTV’s Homes Across America Dan Fletcher received the Robert Stanton Design Award for significant design contribution to the field of Architecture in the Central Coast of California.

Michael R. Pratt, AIA – Principal Lionakis

Mike Pratt is a “Hands-on Principal” and is the leader of Lionakis’ Modesto Healthcare Team. He has over 25 years of professional experience and brings invaluable leadership skills and agency expertise to any project. Born and raised in the central valley, Mike returned to practice architecture after graduating from Cal Poly State University SLO in 1976. His previous and continued service on numerous community boards and commissions fits well with Mike’s observation that the “citizen architect” brings a uniquely valuable perspective to any discussion. He is also involved with the AIA Sierra Valley Chapter activities and is the current president of the AIACC Architectural Foundation.

Norman Millar, AIA – Dean, School of Architecture – Woodbury University

Norman Millar is an educator and practicing architect. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Design from the University of Washington (1976) and a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Design (1978). He received a Certificate from The Ross Minority Program in Real Estate at the Lusk Center for Real Estate in the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (2006). He has been a registered architect since 1983, licensed to practice architecture in California, Washington and Hawaii. He established his Los Angeles practice, Norman Millar Architects, in 1985.

Norman Millar is the Dean of the School of Architecture at Woodbury University having run the architecture program there since 1999. Prior to that, he taught at several Los Angeles institutions including the SCI-Arc, USC, Pasadena Art Center, and UCLA. He is also a regent for the California Architecture Foundation. He also serves on the a Hollywood Design Review Advisory Board and the advisory boards for the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design, the Los Angeles Chapter of the AIA, and the architecture departments at several Southern California community colleges.

Donald Munro – Fresno Bee

Donald Munro has worked for nearly 20 years covering arts and culture for the Fresno Bee. Prior to that he worked as an entertainment writer and editor at the Anchorage Times. He has an undergraduate degree in journalism from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and a master’s degree from the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University. In 2002-03, he was a 10-month fellow with the National Arts Journalism Program sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts. He’s twice been selected to participate in National Endowment for the Arts critics institutes: the first in theater, and the most recent, in October, in classical music and opera.

Inspired by an article that John King wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle, we decided to do a Decade in Review article to identify the 10 best buildings representing Fresno architecture. Our parameters were that the buildings be in Fresno County with construction completed between 2000 and 2009. The reviewers were Joe Moore, president of the Downtown Association, Shaunt Yemenjian, principal of spacio|design, and Kiel Famellos-Schmidt, curator of archop.

What we found in making this list, is that Fresno has a collection of high quality, well designed buildings that have significantly improved the built environment of an important metropolitan area. We had no trouble pulling together a shortlist of 20 exceptional buildings. Below you will find our top 10 list organized chronologically.

Building: UCSF – Fresno
Client: University of California Medical Center, San Francsico
Architect: Fong & Chan Architects
Year Built: 2002
Photo: UCSF
Description:

As Northern and Southern California continue to spread energies into the Central Valley, good design has come with the territory. The UCSF Medical Building anchors a prominent corner of the Community Medical Center Campus. The med‐student facility features a rotunda lobby with three‐story tall metal fins that are angled rhythmically as a nod to the notion of pages turning in a book. The rounded exterior walls along the street façade also set a rhythm in motion that gives the building an interesting street presence. The carefully designed sun shades which also embrace the curved streetwall provide shading from the summer sub for the space within. The exterior space created by the inward facing portion of the arc is designed as a pleasant semi‐public gathering space that can accommodate multiple social functions.

Building: Fresno Yosemite International
Airport Terminal
Client: City of Fresno
Architect: AECOM
Year Built: 2002
Photo: Bing.com

Description:

While the decade before brought us the internationally recognized Fresno City Hall – this decade brought about its younger cousin: The Fresno Yosemite International Airport Terminal. Equally progressive in its form and structure, the curved glass facade floods the entire Terminal with natural light. The exposed steel framing transcends the human scale enough to draw your attention and inspire awe yet is detailed and finished in such a way that does not make it feel overbearing. The reverse angle of the curtain wall gives the Terminal’s rounded fascia a form that begins to mimic the profile of an object in flight.

Building: Woodward Park Library
Client: County of Fresno
Architect: DSJ Architects
Year Built: 2004
Photo: DSJ
Description:

Embraced by the sweeping concrete surfaces that seemingly nurture the space within, your imagination is stimulated by the forms and surfaces even before picking up a book. Exceptional natural lighting on the inside with very little direct light make the interiors highly conducive to reading, studying and focusing your attention. With the circulation cleanly arranged around an entry foyer, the flow of circulation is comfortable yet interesting. A ‘Friends of the Library suite that is open after‐hours allows for the building to remain active through the evening as community space.

Building: Sante Fe Depot
Client: City of Fresno
Architect: Johnson Architecture
Year Built: 2005
Photo: Joe Moore
Description:

The historic Santa Fe Depot is a shining example of historic preservation in Fresno. Built in 1899 by the San Joaquin Valley Railroad (later to be acquired by Santa Fe) , the depot is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building was originally designed by W.B. Story, and the 2004 / 2005 historic preservation project was led by Fresno based firm Johnson Architecture. Before its renovation, the building had suffered from years of neglect. It was last used as a passenger facility in 1966, was converted into a railroad communications center, and eventually sat vacant for decades. The building is typical of the Mission Revival style, with clay roof tiles and beige stucco walls. A small porte-cochere and clock tower, with a large wrought iron clock face, dominate the Santa Fe Avenue elevation of the building. The $7 million renovation removed decades of insensitive patchwork additions to the building, and restored the building’s historic appearance and functionality as a working passenger rail station. It now serves Fresno passengers on Amtrak’s popular San Joaquin line. The project received the prestigious Governor’s Historic Preservation Award, an Award of Excellence from the AIA San Joaquin, and a Preservation Design Award from the California Preservation Foundation.

Building: Coyle Federal Courthouse
Client: US General Services Administration
Architect: Moore Ruble Yudell Architects with Gruen Associates
Year Built: 2005
Photo: Clark Pacific
Description:

The later part of the 1990’s into the beginning of the 2000’s we saw substantial investment from the GSA on well designed federal buildings throughout the country. Fresno received that investment in design with the new Federal Courthouse. The building’s massing and intricate concrete paneled façade draws inspiration from rock formations in Yosemite National Park. The lobby is awe inspiring. The floor combines smooth and rough stones punctuated with granite boulders cut in half to form seating. Beyond the lobby the way finding, courtrooms, law library, and roof terraces all are well thought out, detailed and accentuated by local art.

Building: Unitarian Universalist Church
Client: Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno
Architect: McCamant & Durrett Architects
Year Built: 2007
Photo: McCamant & Durrett Architects
Description:

Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno is first and foremost distinguished by their commitment to sustainability and community. Those commitments are masterfully combined in a building that pays equal attention to interior and exterior spaces. The roof lines, material choices and color palate give the building a contemporary and earthy feel that sets it apart from other churches. This was Fresno County’s first LEED Certified building. The sustainable strategies range from drought tolerant landscaping, natural lighting and low water plumbing.

Building: Clovis Fire Station No. 5
Client: City of Clovis
Architect: Don Dommer Associates
Year Built: 2007
Photo: Terry O’Rourke
Description:

Clovis Fire Station No 5 opened in 2007 at 790 N. Temperance Avenue, just north of Highway 168, in the Clovis Research and Technology Park. It was designed by the Oakland, CA based firm Don Dommer Associates, The building uses a mix of industrial materials such as corrugated steel and concrete block in a contemporary context. The three bay garage area is highlighted by an open truss roof system supporting a gently arching steel roof. Clerestory windows provide natural light to the garage bays during the day, and at night creative up lighting highlights the exposed roof structure and interior in dramatic fashion.

Building: H Street Lofts
Client: Reza Assemi
Architect: Taylor Teter Partnership
Year Built: 2008
Photo: RSM Studio
Description:

H Street Lofts demonstrates an awareness of its context, and uses the adjacent railroad as inspiration for the façade. It also shows a curiosity and willingness to test new ideas and use materials in untraditional ways. The varying sizes, placement and treatment of the windows creates the feeling of moving boxcar. The building wraps around a courtyard to foster interaction of neighbors and includes a memorial mound landscaped with native plants to commemorate the property’s former life as an army induction center. In the past decade Reza Assemi has become synonymous urban living in Fresno. Of all the multifamily housing built in Fresno County during the decade, H Street Lofts stands out as the most authentic to the region.

Building: Clovis North High School
Performing Arts Center
Client: Clovis Unified School District
Architect: Darden Architects
Year Built: 2008
Photo: Tomas Ovalle
Description:

Home of the Paul Shaghoian Concert Hall and the Dan Pasesano Theatre is one of the finest high school performing arts facilities in the nation, rivaling many collegiate and professional concert venues. The Shaghoian Concert Hall seats 750 on one level, in a traditional box configuration, featuring a stage that sits within the main body of the theatre, with no proscenium arch. The stunning interior of the Concert Hall is known for its superb acoustics, with wood paneled walls, and a 50 foot ceiling. Above the stage sits a a fully automated “acoustic cloud” structure that adapts to change the acoustic properties of the room. Additional adaptive acoustic treatments are designed in the upper levels of the hall, allowing the venue to be customized for performances ranging from choirs to orchestras to jazz ensembles. Adjacent to the Concert Hall sits the Paesano Theatre, a 150 seat “black box” theatre performance space. Both venues are shared by programs from throughout the school district. The exterior of the Performing Arts Center is constructed largely of concrete block and steel. Massive steel columns support the entrance to the lobby, a visual reference to the steel framed agricultural packing houses that still function nearby.

Building: New Harvest Church
Client: New Harvest Church
Architect: Anthony C. Pings & Associates
Year Built: 2008
Photo: Shaunt Yemenjian
Description:

The balance and careful treatment of every surface of the building are enough to have made Christian Dior jealous. Built as an adaptive re-use of a fruit packing plant, the tapered planes spread outward in a way that resembles the opened husk of a fruit. With so many 20th century buildings addressing a single façade (dismissing the notion that buildings have context and multiple vantage points), the New Harvest Church campus captures your attention up front and sustains your interest as you move about. One can also appreciate use of modern technology in the CNC cut signage carved away from the webs of steel I-beams throughout.

Are we on the mark? Do you feel we missed any? Share your comments with us below.

A report of unemployment statistics through the 3rd quarter of 2009, released this week, finds the architecture industry is the hardest hit by the continued recession.

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Job losses in the profession jumped 17.8 percent, bringing the total number of employed architects to 189,000 in the first three quarters of 2009, compared to 230,000 in the same period a year earlier, according to the BLS. I could not locate the original report on the BLS website, however MSNBC summarized the report.

For a region like Fresno who is dealing with higher than average unemployment rates, this new report begins to paint the picture of Fresno’s architecture industry. Personally, I know dozens of individuals at all levels that have been laid off. Several of them have been out of work for over 6 months, some even pursuing changes of career.

Of the local architecture firms, the large firms are struggling to keep as many employed and busy as possible, while the smaller firms are scrapping by with already lean staff.

Further illustrating the picture of architects, drafters, and other staff, I came across this Craigslist ad.

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I could not reach the above architect for comment. I was also laid off. Rather than waste time looking for a job that wasn’t there, along with a partner, we focused on launching our own practice. From what I’ve seen this is not as common a route locally, but it is in other metropolitan regions. There are even some unemployed architects coming up with innovative ideas such as John Morefield pictured below.
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What the future holds for these local businesses and architects is unknown. This trend does not show signs of turning around. Little help for the architecture industry is coming from federal stimulus money. This is due to the fact that the funding is going more toward infrastructure projects that don’t require architects and shovel ready projects that have already been designed.

The impact of these conditions on the Fresno’s built environment are yet to be seen.

For those in the architecture industry seeking advice, see Architetural Record’s Survival Guide

Most fresnans are familiar with the brain drain concept. It is a term referring to the most talented individuals draining away from our region because better opportunities and higher quality environments exist for them elsewhere. In the impact series we demonstrate that many of these individuals should not be mourned but celebrated for the impact they are having on the built environment around the world.

In this impact article we introduce you to professor Milton Curry. We first learned that Milton was a Fresno native during an interview with one of his students, Enoch Sears.

Milton has taught extensively at Cornell University for 15 years, and at Arizona State University and Harvard University. The coursework ranges from architecture to to the arts, urban design, and real estate. His full biography can be found on the Cornell website. Below is the Q&A that I had with Milton.

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KIEL: What was your experience like growing up in Fresno? Do you have any memories with strong ties to places here?

MILTON: I grew up in West Fresno during the late 1960’s to early 1980’s. I have fond memories of a city caught between a rural sensibility and the growing pains of a mid-sized American city trying to figure out how to manage growth. It was a politically active time, coming out of the mid-1960’s and the aftermath of 1968. Fresno, however, felt isolated from the rougher edges of the political situation, and somewhat distanced from in-the-streets protest. i wondered about this later while I was in graduate school and realized all that was going on outside of Fresno, in cities like Oakland, Chicago, and many other American cities.

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KIEL: Much of your academic work has a socio-ecomonics/spatial equity focus. How did this become an interest of yours?

MILTON: I realized in college that architecture has a unique role to play in making the social and political commitments to a democratic society physical – that is, to actualize common aspirations using design and aesthetics. Eventhough aesthetic intention doesn’t always translate to everyone, it establishes a dialogue, and the dialogue is what is vitally important. When affordable housing or a city hall physicalizes the aspirations for a customized living unit or a participatory and transparent hall of government, then i believe architecture has connected with its constituencies.

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KIEL: With Fresno’s concentration of poverty and other issues, did it play a role in your work? Has it been a case study in any of your classes or writing?

MILTON: I have not revisited Fresno as a site of my own research work. I recently sat on a final thesis review at University of Virginia and for the first time critiqued a student whose project dealt with the San Joaquin Valley and its problem with fog and air pollution. It hit me then that Fresno should be leading a discourse on new sustainable agriculture and progressive solutions to improve air quality because these problems are so pervasive throughout the Valley. I don’t know if that kind of work has found a constituency in the political domain in fresno, but it certainly is a timely set of topics for the citizens of Fresno.

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KIEL: How do you stitch together the varying subject of design, real estate development, and art?

MILTON: Global transformations in the financing of urban development and the pace of urbanization in the Asian peninsula, the Middle East, and parts of Europe has led to an increased disciplinary focus on the processes of urbanization. I have been working on issues of race and class for a while – predominantly concerned with cities and the evolution of inner cities and suburbs. These issues are magnified by the current subprime crisis – which exposes a pervasive and peculiar aspiration for a single family home on a 1-3 acre plot. Simultaneously, I have been working with artists and curators on the interaction bewteen contemporary art and architecture, specifically the reimagining of public space and new typologies of urban development where art and installation art is a vital component.

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KIEL: What lessons have you learned from design studios you taught on Mexico City and Havana?

MILTON: Urbanization in Mexico City, Havana, and other latin and South American cities evolved differently than it did in the United States in the postwar period. These cities have unique historical patterns of development that end up merging or synergizing with modernist building types and modern building and construction processes. Therefore, the modernism of the city is reacting to a different context than say Chicago or Fresno. The modern architecture in these cities has a more regional personality to it, eventhough massive masterplanned cities and large-scale urban developments have had negative impacts on the diversity of building design.

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KIEL: So far what is your most significant accomplishment?

MILTON: Teaching for over 15 years at Cornell University, one of the nation’s premiere program in architecture. We have a tremendously talented and diverse student body – they graduate with an informed perspective on the real-world challenges that exceed simplistic architectural solutions. i am proud to be a part of their intellectual development.

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KIEL: What are you currently working on (design, academic and/or teaching)?

MILTON: I am working on some large-scale urban development in Northern California, and on designing some unique prototypes for compact urban living within what would be traditionally identified as suburban contexts.

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READER QUESTION: “The San Joaquin Valley’s abysmal poverty and education attainment rate – among the worst in the U.S., combined with a limited range of distinguished architectural practice and infrastructure – approximates the conditions that spawned the late Samuel Mockbee’s Rural Studio in the Deep South. What inspiration might you offer our region’s architecture profession to use its transformative bag of tricks to similarly address our regrettably similar socioeconomic/quality of life conditions?”

MILTON: When I return to Fresno for Christmas Holidays I am amazed by the sameness of the entire built landscape. I ask myself why there is not more experimentation, more diversity. I think that clients and designers need to simply take more risks. In a place like Fresno I think there is tremendous opportunity to deviate from the norm and create a real following – whether its in the area of a local business, temporary structures for Summer, or occupying vacant storefronts.

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READER QUESTION: “Do you think Fresno has a distinctive vernacular style?”

MILTON: No. What i remember about the Fresno that I grew up in, what I remember the most is the vast landscape of open space, farmland, and the incredible potential to inhabit the landscape. I often imagined what Fresno was like when it was all desert. I lived and taught in Phoenix/Tempe for 3 years – before its last growth period that produced the worst problems of suburban sprawl – I grew to love the desert as an inhabitable landscape but also for the mystical qualities that it possessed when the sun set or when the monsoons drenched the land. I hope that that magical quality to imagine these uncanny qualities of the city are not lost. Every city needs this parallel reality that also gets physicalized once in a while.

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If you know of any fresnans making a strong impact in the built environment around the world that we should write about, then leave a comment or contact us.

Architecture thrives on creativity and creativity thrives in architecture. It is perhaps the single greatest force which moves architecture forward. However, creative ideas emerge through a conscious effort to seek them. New ideas are developed in practice, discourse, technology and materials as a result of investing time and energy in creative pursuits. Mark Wigley, Dean of the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP) at Columbia University touched on this phenomenon during a recent conversation that took place at Columbia University when he suggested that during a healthy market we “minimize the friction between what we are asked to deliver by our clients and what we deliver.” Friction – in this context – referring to a tolerance for creativity and our interest in challenging norms.

Half disgusted with the current economic climate and half motivated by the availability of time to pursue ideas which time did not allow for during the past few years, I set out to find others who were leveraging changes in their career in creative ways. What I found were several inspiring stories which only confirm that creativity not only thrives in down economy but also that it can create opportunity regardless of the state of the economy.

Across the country, large firms, small studios, ateliers, young professionals, associates, and recent graduates alike are faced with the challenge of reduced workloads, furloughs or unemployment altogether. This posits and interesting challenge to either seek stability, or to pursue creative opportunities regardless of the potential instability. Follows are a few stories to help inspire those debating whether or not to invest the time, energy and resources.

Ryan Spruston | Ryan Spruston Architect, Los Angeles

After nearly 10 years of “working on great projects with great people” at Gensler, ELS, and MBT, Ryan Spruston decided to resist the intuitive notion of job hunting and venture out as an independent contractor. His newfound mobility and freedom to pursue work independently allowed him to shift his focus from the corporate, developer-based approach to one that has him teamed up with a multi-disciplinary team pursuing affordable housing solutions using shipping containers.

‘project retan‘ is an affordable housing solution developed for the City of Pomona using ISO shipping containers. The multi-disciplinary team which prepared the response to the “ULI 100 Home Competition” included recent business school graduates, social housing service associates, city planners and architects. Not only has the economy afforded Spruston the opportunity to pursue creative ventures such as project retan but it has allowed for his creative energies to be directed towards helping address need for social housing.

Working outside of the corporate arena for the first time in his career has afforded him several opportunities to team up with sole-proprietors looking for talent and expediency; something Spruston and his network of independent contractors can certainly provide given their new found freedom.

Joel Karr | Group 41, Inc./Container Nation, San Francisco

As the recession impacts the ports of the world – creating a surplus of empty shipping containers – Joel Karr recognizes an incredible opportunity to house people in need. With over 15 years of research and design invested into shipping container projects, Joel is experiencing what he considers as the “moment of inflection in affordable housing.”

He is currently working on affordable housing projects which “up-cycle” the shipping container for a prominent Indian Tribe in Central California as well as a developer driver 200 unit project in Salt Lake City. Both of these are examples of projects which are now moving towards realization as a result of the bad economy and increased need for affordable housing. While Karr suggests that project such as these were ‘on the boards’ even in otherwise healthy times, he admits that the projects are now met with a certain level of urgency as a result of the downturn. He is careful to remind me that there is plenty of room for creativity in a healthy economy, “the difference now is that the ideas are finally taking hold.”

With projects that creatively repurpose shipping containers ranging from housing for the poor in 3rd world countries to environmentally friendly re-use of containers for housing that can be achieved for less than $6 per square foot Karr’s projects are gaining more and more traction now as economics become a critical factor. Group 41, Inc. is hardly feeling the effects of the economy nowadays, a great example of the benefits of ‘front loading’ creativity.

Edgar Papazian | DOON Architecture, Portland

Avoiding the myopic challenge of how to survive the recession altogether, Edgar Papazian is utilizing the free time as an opportunity for calibrate his studio in Portland to embrace the inevitable return to a healthy economy. “In the downturn, I have concentrated solely on what happens after the downturn.” For Papazian, this means shifting his focus away from billable hours and pursuing work in new markets and towards testing some of his creative ideas and concepts. This has led to the commencement of work on an “innovative yet necessarily low-cost renovation” of a private residence in Portland.

Having built up a portfolio of work while with Cesar Pelli and the Polshek Partnership in New York, Edgar ventured to the Pacific Northwest to begin a practice in a region where a thriving culture, design community and the arts have attracted talent from around the nation in recent years. However, shortly after launching his practice the economy began to decline. Rather than take the simple road back into corporate architecture, he has turned his focus towards putting his creative ideas to the ultimate test – by building. Cognizant that a shift in focus away from his desired market could lead to becoming confined to that market, he has directed most of his energies towards a manifestation of his theories, concepts and cultural background into physical form.

What began as an exploration of a casual curiosity has led to a realization that economically difficult times are as important, if not the most critical stage, in the development of a career or a practice. As Mark Wigley has pointed out, healthy economic times do not afford us the opportunities to pursue new ideas, new concepts and new markets nearly as much as economically recessed times. Proof that when there is little or no work out there…..it’s time to get to work!

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More information on Mark Wigley and the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation can be found at: http://www.arch.columbia.edu/ and http://bldgblog.blogspot.com
More information on Ryan Spruston’s work can be found at: http://ryanspruston.com/

More information on Joel Karr’s work can be found at: http://www.containernation.com/ and http://group41inc.com/index.php

More information on Edgar Papazian’s work can be found at: http://doonarchitecture.com/

Discussion

Above are three example of how creativity in architecture is blooming not despite of but because of the current economic climate. We would like to hear example of local architects, designer and creatives doing the same with their creative pursuits. This will be the topic of a follow up article.

I get lots of lawn care flyers at my door. These flyers for the most part are copies of hand written originals. Others where created in the computer and include clip art of a lawnmower or other yard care icon.

When I got home yesterday, there was a new flyer jutting out of my mail slot. When I unrolled it, I was pleasantly surprised.

This flyer is obviously drawn by Juan’s son or daughter. It is my favorite and intrigues me because it shows a curiosity about architecture and landscape, it also demonstrates an understanding of how people interact with space and the concept of perspective (the men in the background are drawn smaller than in the foreground). These are concept many architecture students struggle with.

In my experience doing community and participatory design workshops I’ve found that many have the raw talent needed for architecture or design. But often it is not nurtured along.

Any one can be an architect, not to say everyone can be an architect, but an architect can be found anywhere. The hand that drew this is the hand of a future architect.

For those of you unable to attend, M. W. Steele Group presented the following 1st draft of the Tower District streetscape master plan to the community meeting Tuesday night for feed back. Click on the images to zoom in.

I’ve decided just to post the plans here and not issue an opinion. Feel free to discuss here and I’ll try to answer any questions you have. On a side note, there is an essay I wrote about the Tower District and public space in 2005 that was a finalist for the Berkeley Prize. The full version isn’t online but check out the abstract.

For opinions and discussions focused mainly on the proposed traffic circles see:

The Anthro Guys
Gustav’s Groupie
Fresno Beehive

Related posts:
Tower District Streetscape Plan
Q & A with Diego Velasco
Tower District Streetscape charrette video
Critique: Tower District Streetscape Design Charrette

Hank Delcore, Ph.D., and Kiel Famellos-Schmidt
also found at http://theanthroguys.com

Saturday from 10am to 2pm, about a hundred Tower District residents and business owners gathered for a design charrette put on by the City of Fresno planning department and MW Steele Group. Steele has the contract for planning a redesigned Tower District streetscape as part of the Tower District Specific Plan. Saturday’s event was a day of community input, with Steele returning this Tuesday night to present some design alternatives.

We laud City Councilman Blong Xiong, the city, various Tower District advocates, and the Steele Group for putting on this event. Mark Steele and his team listened, took some hard questions, and were willing to engage in some good give and take.

As professionals in participatory design and community design methods, we also noted some things about the program that can inhibit the quality of community input and seriously limit the degree of real community participation in the design process. This critique is intended to increase the quality of design charrettes and community input in Fresno as well as raise awareness about the potential of participatory design.

Expert focus of the event
The organizers stated that the day was all about the participants, but in practice, the more consistent emphasis was on the expert status of the architects/planners vis a vis the participants. After an introductory presentation on the distinctiveness of the Tower by two long-time Tower advocates, Mark Steele took the stage and talked mostly about his firm and their approach to the project. He presented his goals for the project, despite acknowledging that the day was about understanding our goals and aspirations. His associate, Diego Velasco, followed with the firm’s views of the strengths and challenges of the Tower District – again, topics that the charrette was supposed to probe. Expert statements are not the best way to begin an event meant to foster community participation in the planning and design process.

It wasn’t until 11:15am that the twelve tables of participants were unleashed on the first design drill. By that time, some participants had already turned their attention away from the stage and were fingering the maps, stickers and other supplies on the tables. An hour is too long for facilitators to dominate the stage at a four hour event. The long lead-in both cut down the time for participants by a quarter, and set a strong expert-focused – not participant-focused – tone.

Diversity
The tower district is a very diverse place. It is called home by many including: African American, Asian, Caucasian, Latino, young and old, the progressive community, and the GBLTQ community. Economically, there is a mix of home owners and renters, working class through upper class and even homeless. As well, Tower is a destination for those throughout Fresno and beyond in search of unique cultural, entertainment and dining experiences.

The participants at the charrette were overwhelmingly white and weighted toward local property and business owners; the average age looked to be about 50. Conspicuously absent were youths and Latinos, two large and important resident/user groups in the Tower. Tower visitors from other neighborhoods were also missing. Those who attended are important, but they are already the most likely people to have their voices and preferences heard in this process, and they have a partial view of issues at stake in the streetscape. For example, there were probably relatively fewer public transportation users among the participants than some other Tower constituencies, an important point when it comes to redesigning bus stops and associated features like sidewalks and bike racks.

Tight format, short time
For each design drill, the participants had 15 minutes to work through complex issues, like recommending placement of street furniture and other features all across the Tower District business core. Each exercise time was followed by 30 minutes of often repetitive presentations from each table to the entire group. The design charrette had us wrestling with important and potentially highly creative design issues, but the format was too tight.
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Constrained approach to community participation
Finally, with the design alternatives meeting coming up Tuesday, we wonder how much of Saturday’s charrette can really be incorporated into the process. Again, we agree that Mark Steele and his colleagues (and by extension the city) are sincerely trying to listen. But it’s hard to believe that Steele and company didn’t already have some designs in mind or drawn up before the charrette. If not, then they would have to work day and night from Saturday afternoon till Tuesday night to synthesize ideas from a hundred participants and come up with some design alternative to present – and even then, this time frame is probably too tight. Surely they are working with the charrette data right now, but they also probably had some designs already laid on and ready for their return to Fresno Tuesday night. This raises the question: how much community input can really be incorporated when the goals, strengths, challenges and preliminary design work have all already been done before the community is consulted? (In fairness, Mark has said that the design alternatives they will present Tuesday night will not be very detailed; we’re sincerely curious about the firm’s process for analyzing charrette data and incorporating it into their designs.)

What We Would Do
In our experience, facilitating dozens of participatory design charrettes, as well as observation of other charrettes and research of best practices, here’s how a truly participatory design charrette might look:

Participant focus
At one point Saturday, Mark Steele said, “today we’re gonna make you into streetscape designers.” In other words, the experts were ready to teach us how to do something of what they do. But a community design event shouldn’t be about transferring knowledge about design practice from experts to community members. Instead, we start from the principle that everyone is a designer already, without expert help. In other words, we all have design ideas and practices related to our surroundings, including our streetscapes. A community design charrette should be aimed at unlocking the design insights we already have (or could have, in the right context), and making those insights available to professional designers. Professional designers apply their experience and expertise to produce the actual design, inspired by community input.

In practice, a participant focus means that you deemphasize the role of expert or facilitator. No long and potentially intimidating statements of who has what degree or affiliation or expertise; instead, you dive right into the participatory design exercises and maximize the time that the participants have at center stage.

Recruitment means diversity
If you open the event up to “concerned citizens and business owners,” you tend to get a self-selected group of the usual suspects, as we saw on Saturday. Instead, we recommend targeted recruitment among all user groups to ensure a diversity of participants in the design process. This of course takes more work upfront in recruiting and screening. The result is much more useful data that can more accurately influence the design process.

Loosen up the format, take your time
Getting true participation takes time and flexibility. We would have recommended a series of three participatory design charrettes, with smaller yet more diverse participants, and more creative exercises involving, perhaps, larger scale prototyping and methods drawn from theatre and the arts — this is after all the Tower! (Diego said that they considered a skit-making exercise but time constraints precluded it.) Participants could act out common Tower interactions with streetscape props. Examples we bounced around included: the bus stop, the sidewalk café, the tower rat hangout, bar hopping, Rogue, etc. This would give the designers data about our culture and spatial needs. Using audio and visual recording, can capture both the data and the process through which it was produced for later analysis.

Another method we thought would be useful is to have different tables focus on different areas of the project area. With twelve tables of participants at the event all focused on the same design drills never more focused than the entire project area, a lot of redundant results were produced. The area is easily broken into six overlapping parts. Each area is then worked on by two tables. This would get all of the project area equal focus. At Hank’s table and the three tables Kiel facilitated, we noticed input was light at the edges. Also at the 1”=30’ scale aerial photo that was the last of the design drills, it was hard to definitively place streetscape elements and furniture represented by stickers in our tool pallet that included: sidewalk cafes, potted plants, streetlights, handicap ramps, benches, bike racks, etc.

Some of these measures would increase costs at the event level. However, we have Fresno-area expertise to accomplish participatory design and planning work and the savings from keeping the work local would more than pay for the changes we suggest.

True participation
Let’s face it, whenever we create something, we become wedded to it: we want to defend it, sometimes not even consciously. From talking with Mark, and Diego, observing how the community was prompted, and the tight timeline, it seems much of the design is already in place. Community consultation should take place before any designer digs into a project or puts pencil to paper.

While we value and honor the expertise of MW Steele Group and the work done by the City of Fresno and the Tower community, this is our honest assessment of the design charrette process and how it could be improved upon. Please attend the next meeting Tuesday, July 28th 7-9pm at Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theatre, where the design alternatives will be presented.

Related posts
Tower District Streetscape Plan
Q & A with Diego Velasco
Tower District Streetscape charrette video
Bored in Fresno? Become an Anthropologist
ArcHop Construction Proceeds

Dear Archop Nation,

I was intrigued by the recent ‘Theory Thursday’ post concerning the concept of authenticity. Below is my attempt to further the discussion.

The notion of authenticity has in it the idea of a pure, genuine original, a sort of Platonic ideal – ‘this is an authentic 1952 Tops Mickey Mantle Rookie card, all others are copies, replicas, or fakes’. A thing’s authenticity is a measure of its faithfulness to the original; and its value is measured by the degree to which it approximates the original. The authentic rookie baseball card is a far greater prize than the re-issued anniversary edition.

Applying this model of authenticity to the built environment sheds light on a notion of authenticity that enables us to assess the building’s value. If an exact replica of the Eiffel tower were erected today in Buenos Aires, it is doubtful that it would become the same symbol of national identity and pride for Argentinians that it has for Parisians.

If the London bridge was removed from its original location and reconstructed in Lake Havasu City, Arizona –then it would be an abhorrent grafting that stripped a historic structure of any meaningful contextual significance.

Rootedness

What is clear from the above examples is that the measure of a building’s authenticity is inseparably wed to its time, its place, its people, its cultural milieu. It is not so much the degree of faithfulness to the original that matters, but, rather, the degree to which a building is faithful to the environment in which it exists. It is this notion of “rootedness” that provides us with a meaningful tool for assessing the value of authenticity for a built work.

Perhaps no living architect embodies this notion of “rootedness” better than the Australian architect Glenn Murcutt. When asked what idea he is most concerned with communicating to his students, Mercut replied:

They must think that every project they do is worthy of being. Their work has to speak about place, technology, climate, structure, materials. They must work honestly, with heart and mind, rather than structuring what is a visual delight alone. Their work has to have roots. I think what we admire
most about architecture of all periods is rootedness, authenticity. We recognize authenticity, and we recognize the five-minute flash. The authentic lives on; the flash quickly dies.

Almost all of Mercutt’s work has been done in his native geographic region. He does not have a single high rise, flashy concert hall or show piece museum on his resume, yet he has received the two highest professional honors that can be bestowed upon an architect – the AIA Gold Medal and the Pritzker Prize. What he has left is a trail of thoughtful, progressive, sustainable ‘gifts’ to his clients and fellow Australians. I offer his Marie Short House, built in Kempsey in 1975, as a model of an authentic building rooted in its environment. A May 2007 New York Times article entitled “The Native Builder” features the building.

Our challenge as designers will be two-fold. First, we must study, comprehend and recognize what is unique to our culture, our area, our people. Second, we must share and celebrate these findings in the public forum that is our local built environment. Beauty will have no choice but to follow; and we will all have reason to smile. I will be listening with open eyes and mind.

Humbly,

Michael Pinheiro

Today on the Fresno City Council agenda is a proposal by Mayor Ashley Swearengin to amending the Fresno Municipal Code relating to the Historic Preservation Commission.

That is not as drastic as it may sound and maybe a good modification. In fact, her bid for election as mayor was supported by several prominent local architects. With that and their continued advisement, Mayor Swearengin is well suited for improving Fresno’s built environment and making changes to City policy to support that.

The proposal by the Mayor is to amend the Historic Preservation Ordinance that governs the Commission to clarify residency requirements.

“The proposed amendment to Fresno Municipal Code Section 12-1605 would require five (5) of the seven (7) members of the Historic Preservation Commission to be a resident of the City of Fresno, but would allow two (2) of the seven (7) commission members, as long as they had the historical background described in Section 12-1605, to reside outside of Fresno but within the State of California.”

The story broke Monday through The Business Journal. This proposal was not a surprise given what I’d heard in the City Hall Lobby after the June meeting of the Commission. I had been there to report about 1, 2 items in front of the commission during that meeting. The commission has all 7 seats currently filled. However, 2 commisioners terms (4 years) are expired. It was a frustration of the preservation community during the Autry administration that there was never a full commission. There has been a change from that with the Swearengin administration, as 3 new members have been appointed since she took office.

Architect and commission co-chair, Chris Johnson AIA stated that:

“My understanding is that filling this commission with the energy and expertise needed to sustain it over a long haul is the issue. Protecting Fresno’s history goes beyond the city ‘boundaries’ and ‘limits’ and currently the Mayor is precluded by the city attorney at having individuals that do not live in the City limits serve on the HPC.” A co-author of the current Ordinance, Johnson continues, “There is no language clarifying this issue in the ordinance so the language proposed will provide clarity and give the Mayor more flexibility to fill the commission with the best possible candidates in and around Fresno.”

If you’re in to this kinda stuff, here is a PDF of the current Historic Preservation Ordinance. And here is a PDF of the Mayor’s proposed amendment to the Ordinance.

The County of Fresno also has a historic preservation counterpart. But I must admit I know little about it. Historical Landmarks & Records Commission

Share your thoughts here:

What are the benefits or pitfalls of allowing county residents on this City Commission?

Could this create more City / County cross pollination?

Could this set precedent for other City of Fresno commissions such as the Planning Commission?

What is needed to spur more civic engagement so that there is actually competition for these commission appointments?

Post updated 7/16/09 with facts from Kevin Enns-Rempel’s comment.

The Business Journal has been contacting me allot lately for information about architecture in the San Joaquin Valley. Most of this interaction has happened because of Twitter. I think this is fantastic. One of archop’s goals has been to get architecture more regularly and accurately feature in local media. The Business Journal is setting the bar.

Most recently, Gabriel Dillard contacted me to request my employer’s participation on an Executive Roundtable focused on architecture. I diligently passed on the questionnaire to Russ Taylor AIA, partner and architect at the Taylor Teter Partnership. I also passed the questionnaire off to the board members of AIA San Joaquin.

After transcribing Russ’s responses, I put my fingers to the keys to put down some of my thoughts on the questions from an archop perspective. While I’m not a licensed architect or an executive, I fired it off to Gabriel. Below are my responses to his questions.

1. Please tell us a little about your firm.

archop is a project of the American Institute of Architects: San Joaquin Chapter. It was launched in October of 2007 as a response to the need for an improved built environment in Fresno and the greater San Joaquin Valley. The program emphasizes the importance of quality architecture, landscape architecture and urban planning by: showcasing gallery exhibitions; designing and building full scale installations; holding panel discussions on relevant architectural topics; and organizing public workshops for outreach, educational and research purposes.

2. How has the economic downturn affected business?

As a not for profit effort aimed at improving our built environment we find ourselves surrounded problems that need solutions, public art, homelessness, inner city park space. We have been able to tackle these problems with a budget under $5,000 per year. Financial donations have become increasingly rare. Our response to that is to identify scrap or surplus building materials and utilize those in our installations. Substantial contributors include: Western Building Materials, Patton Air Conditioning, Better Flooring, CBC Lighting, Shipman Fabrication, Trinity Construction, and White Pine Lumber. Economic issues have also increased our volunteer base.

3. What advice would you give business owners trying to find the right architect for their project?

While experience, referrals, and past performance should remain architect selection tools, I’d add web content is an interesting litmus test. Our world is increasingly digital and that will not change. An architecture firm with well designed web site (functionally and aesthetically) and developed web communication tools, understands the ways this technology has changed today’s economy.

4. What are the current trends in architectural design in this area, and what can we expect in the future?

I see two current trends in the region. The first is rampant in our city. That is what I call artificially flavored architecture. It is the use of branded styles that are only skin deep. Examples are Tuscan and Italianate which hardly resemble their European counterparts and achieve their look with veneers and foam details. They are popular simply because of marketing and pop culture.

A trend that gives me hope is the acceptance of sustainable design strategies into the mainstream market place. I want this to develop further and a new local vernacular will emerge that embraces our climate and locally available materials.

5. What kinds of clients are you serving these days?

We do not serve clients in the traditional fashion. In this sense my inspiration comes from my former employer Public Architecture. We treat the entire public as our clients. It is our responsibility to engage and educate the public so that they can recognize good and bad design in their daily lives and call upon political leaders, developers, and architects to provide a quality and healthy built environment for our city and region.

We are also pursuing design workshop projects with the Institute of Public Anthropology (1, 2) and research grant partnerships.

6. What kinds of projects are you designing these days?

To date archop has held 7 exhibits, 5 panel discussions, 4 public workshops, and built 2 installations. The current installation is the redevelopment on an underused park in central Fresno underneath a freeway overpass. The park will demonstrate successful planning strategies to invigorate the park and low water low maintenance landscape to ensure long term sustainability.

If you are involved in architecture feel free to answer any of the above questions in the comments. All others comment on what you’ve read here if so inspired.

To build without engaging the “cluster” is impossible. To design without engaging the “cluster” is a missed opportunity.

Though it had been published several years prior, I can recall being captivated by the notion of “clusters” in Michael Porter’s article in the Harvard Business Review called “Clusters And The New Economics of Competition”. As Porter has described it, clusters are geographic concentration of interconnected companies and institutions in a particular field. As I had interpreted it, the “architecture cluster” is the network of interrelated professionals – with whom I was responsible to be exchanging information with.

As architects, we are traditionally very good at exchanging information among our peers – essentially only a single sector within the “architecture cluster.” This phenomenon can perhaps be traced back to our days in studio when the entire design process was transparent to our colleagues, professors and critics alike. This form of information exchange is embedded in our working models and should remain. However, where I see huge potential for improvement is within the “architecture cluster.”

Recognizing the value that other professionals can add to our design process is the first step. As mentioned, architecture can not be realized without the participation of interrelated disciplines such as; finance, development, engineering, planning, environmental sciences, marketing, journalism, product design, product suppliers, construction, etc. We share space within the “architecture cluster” with these professionals but too often exclude them from the design process.

In Porter’s article, he draws upon the example of the California Wine Cluster. Among the 680 commercial wineries, it includes grape growers, suppliers, irrigation utilities, harvesting equipment suppliers, label printers, advertising firms, etc. Recognizing all too well that without one of these components, the availability of wine to the consumer would be compromised.

Admittedly, it will most often be the architect’s responsibility to organize and engage the related disciplines when working on a new project but with digital communication and social media marketing tools available to us today, this is significantly easier to organize and facilitate.

As always, I welcome the opportunity for this to be more of an open dialogue. Perhaps a suggestion to others who are contributing to this topic to think back on projects in which information was exchanged within the “architecture cluster” and how beneficial the information was to the help deliver a successful project……….

September 22nd, 2008 the City of Fresno Historic Preservation Commission accepted the Mid-Century Modernism Historic Context report prepared by Lauren MacDonald. Robin Gay McCline and his wife Sue were present at the meeting. The report include interviews with Gay, features several of his notable works and a short biography. It was a momentous day for him.

On the City Hall front steps we talked at length. Gay offered 2 water color paintings as a donation for auction at archop’s anniversary exhibit. With childlike glee Gay also talked about his latest design project. The project was three houses for his family in Del Dios, Escondido, CA. The houses where to replace 3 that had burned in a wide fire. He related how the project had brought back a flood of memories as he tackled a new building code and a design that addressed the dangers of earthquake and wildfires. He loved being back at the drafting table.

Three days later Gay passed away. He was honored at the anniversary exhibit were his 2 donated paintings were displayed along with flowers and a memory book. The books cover was pieces of sheet metal from the Snake Wall installation.

In the book 14 architects shared their memories of Gay and condolences to Sue. I delivered the book to Sue during the memorial service that was held at the Fresno Art Museum.

IÂ received a thank you card from Sue. She thanked archop for honoring Gay and for giving the book to the family. They appreciate its design and kind words it contained. Sue said that the book will remain in their family.

Sue also included progress photos of the houses that were the last buildings Gay designed. The same houses we had discussed on the steps of City Hall. It was touching to know that the family is completing these houses and will live in them.

I will not review that designs of these lovely houses at this time. Instead I’d like to let these pictures sink in. But I will say, when I first saw the rear of House #1, I was immediately reminded of the Vanna Venturi House. A postmodern house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, designed by Robert Venturi. But not being familiar enough with Gay’s design a can not say if that similarity is only skin deep.

Below is Gay’s biography from the Mid-Century Modernism Historic Context report prepared by Lauren MacDonald.

Robin Gay McCline (1928-2008)
Born: Frenso, CA
Education: University of California Berkeley, Architecture (1951)

Robin Gay McCline was born in Fresno, California on March 1, 1928. McCline served in the U.S. Army Air Force and attended college on the G.I. Bill. After completing studies in architecture at the University of California Berkeley in 1951 McCline went to work for David Horn as a draftsman from 1951-1956. He worked in the firm of Robert Stevens AIA in 1957. Later that same year McCline started his own firm with James A. Oakes, called James A Oakes & Gay McCline, Associate Architects. In addition to his architectural achievements McCline spent approximately 23 years as an instructor at Fresno City College, between the years 1963 and 2002 teaching courses related to the study of architecture in the schools Technical and Industrial Division. He has also acted as a part-time instructor of watercolor in the Humanities Division (2000-2002). Gay McCline is a renowned watercolorist frequently showing works at local galleries and museums, including the Fresno Art Museum, Plum’s Gallery, Door Gallery and Rollf’s Gallery to name a few.

Gay McCline was a member of the Artist League of Fresno, Fresno Art Museum, and American Institute of Architects. He has been the recipient of awards, including the A.I.A. award of merit in 1962 for his work on the McKinley Medical Center, Fresno, CA, located at 410 W. McKinley; Fresno Arts Council Horizon Award.

Principal Works:
Guarantee Savings Bank, under Robert Stevens (1958)
Torburn Davies Medical Offices, 159 North Thesta, Fresno, Ca (1960)
McKinley Medical Center, Fresno (1962)
Mills Residence 1313 W. San Bruno, Fresno (1958)
Houses #1, 2 & 3 Del Dios, Ca (2008)

Prominent Canadian architect Arthur Erickson died Wednesday May 20th at the age of 84. He was living in a Vancouver B.C. suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. This was brought to my attention through an article in Washington Post (requires login), same article without pictures on HeraldNet (no login required).

Erickson was a very accomplished architect and designed several controversial buildings including the Canadian Embassy in Washington and Fresno City Hall.

In Fresno, conversations about architecture often stray to the question “So, what do you think about City Hall?” and they are often delivered in a loaded tone. My response is that I admire the building’s bravery, in breaking from the tradition of NeoClassical and Beaux-Arts styles overused for civic building in the United States. Further I appreciate that it took on an Organic feel the building embraces.

The angular metal roof line references the Sierra Nevada mountain range to the east. A gap at the peak reinforce that reference and reads through to the interior as a skylight in council chambers. The roof juts out over pedestrian walk ways, and becomes landscape. There is strong formality with symmetrical and grand sweeping entries up to the second floor and council chambers.

The council chambers, I find particularly beautiful. Polished metal, soft wood and natural light pouring in the the sky light above make the space uplifting no mater what the topic is on the dais.

The building of course is not with out it’s flaws. And I imagine some might share those thoughts here. But there was a review written about the the Canadian Embassy in Washington that I feel also pertains to Fresno City Hall: “Erickson has given us a powerful building in a place that calls for one, and there is as well a certain entrancing, poetic quality in its forceful contradictions,” Forgey wrote in The Post in 1988. “His building is an edgy, flawed masterpiece … but a masterpiece.”

William Patnaude FAIA was the local project architect and construction administrator of Fresno City Hall. The creation is as much his as Mr. Erickson’s. I will update with Mr. Patnaude’s thoughts on Erickson next week.

I’d like to close with an excerpt from Mr. Erickson’s 1986 AIA Gold Medal Citation

“Global architect, Arthur Charles Erickson is a passionate advocate of cultural awareness, and a fervent explorer of human and natural environments. His buildings, though remarkably diverse, share deep respect for the context, incomparable freshness and grace, and the dramatic use of space and light. He has brought to his work an understanding of the community of man that, when filtered through his insightful mind and fertile imagination, gives birth to a singular architecture that is in dialogue with the world.”

Photos courtesy of www.arthurerickson.com and Mark Darley / Esto www.esto.com