I’m in Portland for National Charrette Institute training. So , unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the 1st public meeting for the creation of the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan and Downtown Neighborhood Community Plan. Though some discussion has been picking up on twitter.

So did you attend? What were your thoughts and observations?

I also will have a synopsis for a community member on the community advisory committee. So stay tuned.

As a side note, I went to Moule & Polyzoides website just now and saw this new realease with a pretty cool transformation of a street-scape in Lancaster.
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UPDATE 3/12/2010

We’ve compiled the slides below that Mr. Polyzoides presented at the meeting. Also you can download an mp3 of the audio here. A big thanks to KFSR for the audio and photo, to Socient for helping convert the slides.

I posted about a bad façade job yesterday. Then today I saw some news in the Business Journal about Fresno County’s façade improvement program. It seems to be pretty effective. [PDF]

It was a little reminder that the City of Fresno’s façade improvements are getting more and more behind. I mean if Caruthers businesses are getting $50,000 0% loans with 50% forgiven if they don’t sell for 5 years. The the City of Fresno RDA ought to be able to offer more than $2,500 in matching funds. [PDF]

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In doing a little searching, I found this 2006 post by Elliott Balch on Fresno Famous. “Fulton Mall ideas you can touch” lists 12 sound & attainable ideas, I think numbers 2, 5, 8 & 10 have been accomplished. I included this because #6 is about façade improvement program. Elliott if you’re reading feel free to chime in. I’m curious if your perspective has changed in the 3 1/2 years since you wrote that.

This is the first of a reoccurring feature we will cal: What The Façade or WTF

Every once in awhile you come across a building that is really well thought out, contextual and pleasing to the eye. This is not the case with the building below. One of our readers sent us the image below with the comment “It makes my eyes water. Really bad.”

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It is as if someone vomited faux architecture all over this building. There is foam molding, weird window pop-outs with fake clay tile above. The whole building got a orange, brown and grey stucco wrap that classes with the fuax stone at the base.

The graphic designers out there are probably clinging at the 3 different typefaces used for the sign and address. Not to mention that the ampersand (&) is backwards.

Below is the Google Streetview as the building sat vacant after a fire between 2003 and 2004. Note the original details of the building. The double wood outriggers are of note. How anyone would take the good mid-century modern bones of the building below and envision this final product, I will never know.

The building at 700 E. Shaw used to be home to Helen Smades Real Estate. Helen Smades was a prominent Fresnan. Helen Smades Trust sold the 5,690 square foot building in 1998.

View Larger Map

I don’t know who is responsible. The Owner/developer, contractor, architect/designer or tenant. Maybe they’re all to blame. But it is obvious that this is an ugly façade.

If you see an ugly building out there in our built environment send it in to curator@archop.org It maybe the next one shown for WTF.

The days of vague plans for downtown Fresno are over. It’s time to get specific.

This is the hope of the Swearengin administration, Downtown Revitalization Department, The Planning and Development Department and a diversity of private citizens.

The contract for the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan and the Downtown Neighborhoods Community Plan were approved by Fresno City Council on January 28, 2010. Now the sleeves get rolled up and the hard work begins. The contract allots $900,000 in Community Block Grant funds (I believe there are some other minor funding sources) this year in a total contract of $2.3 million with Moule & Polyzoides | Architects and Urbanists along with other specialized consultants.

If you read Craig Scharton’s meeting calendar blog then you’ll have seen that preparation meetings for the spacific plan have already been occurring. They have even launched a new website [http://fresnodowntownplans.com] “This website will contain a variety of information pertaining to the development projects, include details about public involvement process and how you can help shape Downtown Fresno.”

The site announces the first of the public meetings:

TUESDAY
March 9th
4:00PM – 6:45PM
Downtown Neighborhoods Community Advisory Committee Meeting #1
Location: The Grand, 1401 Fulton St, Fresno
In this first Community Advisory Committee Meeting, the consultant will outline the planning process that lies ahead, describe some of its initial findings, and give the Committee and the public a chance to share thoughts regarding priorities, issues, and concerns for the Downtown Neighborhoods Community Plan area.

TUESDAY
March 9th
7:00PM – 8:45PM
Fulton Corridor Specific Plan Community Advisory Committee #1
Location: The Grand, 1401 Fulton St, Fresno
In this first Community Advisory Committee Meeting, the consultant will outline the planning process that lies ahead, describe some of its initial findings, and give the Committee and the public a chance to share thoughts regarding priorities, issues, and concerns for the Fulton Corridor Specific Plan area.

This blogger will be out in Portland at the National Charrette Institute training. However, we have arranged for a corespondent that will be covering Fulton Corridor Specific Plan Community Advisory Committee. If you are on the Downtown Neighborhoods Community Advisory Committee or plan on attending most the meetings, then consider being our corespondent as well. If interested please contact us.

What are your hopes and aspiration for the Specific/Community plans? Post them in the comments below.

I’ll start. I ride my bike to my office in the Cultural Arts District from my home in Tower. I would see some of the weird intersections redesigned for better flow and safety from the pedestrian and cyclist perspective. One in particular is the Divisadero, H Street, Weber intersection.

Many the announcements and outreach about the plans are pretty focused on investment. Investment will revitalize downtown, investment will disperse alleviate concentrated poverty. I would like to see equal or more attention on the people. I guess it is a different perspective or approach. I think downtown should be a healthy inviting place for people and people will bring money/investment. Feel free to disagree, I would like to have that discussion.

There is much anticipation for the California High-Speed Rail and the transformative properties it may have on Fresno. With state and federal money now allotted to the project, it is hard to curb my enthusiasm about the idea. After all we must be realistic that it will be several years if not a decade or more before it is fully operational.

So why am I posting about it now? Recently there was a public meeting with the CHSRA at the Tower Theater. The most current iteration shows the new track to the West of the Union Pacific right-of-way. And the track is planned to be elevated. The tracks would be 60 feet above the ground for roughly 12 miles. It maybe hard to visualize, but it is an interesting exercise in imagination.

Below is a twitter conversation that I had with the individual who manages that outreach aspect of the California High-Speed Rail Authority.

You have to read it from the bottom up to go in order.

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If these are the types of conversations you’d like to be part of, then follow the California High-Speed Rail Authority on twitter @cahsra and of course, continue reading.

So the implications of the statements above are very interesting. So locals, what do you want our station to looks like? Kinda hard to start from nowhere. So here is some context
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I have discussed the station with Craig Scharton, director of the City of Fresno Downtown & Neighborhood Revitalization Department. Their vission for the station includes the Southern Pacific Depot. The building is a Queen Anne style and on the Local Register of Historic Resources.
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Here is the Google aerial photo of the station
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The struggle then becomes how does this single story building get you to a station platform that is 60 feet above? Do we add on the the building with a similar style? What does a Queen Anne style high-speed rail station look like? I don’t think one exists yet.

Do we add on the the Station with a more contemporary look? These are all question I hope you can help answer below.

While the CHSRA said that they wish the locals to decide on the station aesthetic, there are renderings on their website which do define a look. These may have just been place holders. What do you think?
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The above design also seems to be an earlier iteration when the tracks were on grade. So how does the 60 foot height change that. What does 60 high look like anyway? Here is a SketchUp model I threw together to give you a feeling for the scale.
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Wow that’s tall. But kinda interesting right? Yes that is a 6 foot tall person standing next to the left column. I don’t know how this will actually be engineered, but I heard the concrete columns or piers would be 14 feet in diameter spaced at 120 feet. Of course this will have a strong visual impact and will be seen for miles.

I had a conversation with Fresno City Council Member Blong Xiong recently. We discussed how this would effect the neighborhoods. While one huge concern would be noise. We discussed how this may not further cut off the West side like a ground level or trenched track would. Those other two would require bridges or underpasses. All you have to do is look at how 41 or 99 divide and weaken connections of neighborhoods.

What if the right-of-way under the could be used as park and trails. We need to be sure to advocate for those uses rather than the no mans land that exists along the Union Pacific right-of-way. This is especially pertinent seeing that the course of the high speed rail laps into the East end of Roeding Park.
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So? What do you think? What should the station look like? What kind of materials? What are sustainable/green building strategies that could be used? What about the height? What are uses for underneath the tracks? How could the sound be mitigated? Everything is fair game, let’s just try to keep it constructive.

On the front page of Saturday’s (1/29/10) Fresno Bee there ran another success story of downtown revitalization. However, after I read through the story, there were a few key details that were left out regarding the San Joaquin Light & Power Corporation Building aka International Trade Center.

Both in the article and at the State of the Downtown Breakfast earlier that week, Cliff Tutelian was praised for the investment he’s done over the years in downtown Fresno. Specifically, according the the Fresno Bee, he “invested more than $10 million in the landmark International Trade Center in downtown Fresno, preserving what original 1920s-era architectural features he could and replicating those he couldn’t.”

However, not mentioned in the article is the architect whose specialization in historic preservation made the project a reality, Chis Johnson AIA. It is common for Fresno news to forget to mention the architect, so that is to be expected. But the thing that caught me more off guard is that other key facts of the story were glossed over by the Fresno Bee and mayor Ashley Swearengin in their praise of Cliff Tutilian and the beautiful International Trade Center.

The fact is that Tutilian refused to pay the Johnson Architecture fees for completing the design and construction documents for the renovation. It had even gotten the the point that Johnson Architecture had to fill suit against Tutilian & Company for non payment of fees.

In classic litigation fashion, Tutilain filed a counter suit against Johnson for failing to complete services. If you have been in the building, you’d be hard pressed to argue that it is incomplete or that there were any aspect of the design that the architect didn’t execute with expertise.

So you can see that I was simple baffled hearing all this praise while knowing a little more of the truth. In Fresno, I dream of the day when there is a level of respect for our architects and accountability of our developers.

I’d like to call on Cliff Tutilian to accept the praise that you received for the International Trade Center as a sign that your architect did a fantastic job, drop you lawsuit and pay your fees in full.

*due to ongoing litigation, I did not try to reach either party for comment.

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.

A few week back I stumbled upon the first blog post I wrote on Fresno Famous. That was two years ago. I wrote a handful of posts on Famous before eventually branching out and creating this site.

It’s awesome to see that I’ve implemented many of those ideas set back then. We’ve made great progress together. Yet so much work remains to be done. Below is that first post I wrote. Big shout out to Fresno Famous for fostering so many bloggers over the years and to Paprika Studios and for developing and helping maintain this site.

Fresno’s First Architecture and Built Environment Blog

Submitted by kiel on Wed, 01/09/2008 – 22:59.

I’m proud to announce the launch of the first and only blog dedicated to architecture and the built environment of Fresno, California. We are at a critical point for Fresno as a city and as a regional leader. Fresno’s built environment and how we choose to develop it will play a key role in our quality of life, success, healthy growth, and maturation, or our stagnation, and failure to achieve our true potential.

Education and public discourse are essential elements of progress. This blog aims to be a platform for progress toward an improved built environment in Fresno. Everything is interconnected. To truly understand this complex and dynamic topic we will take a holistic view at Architecture, Landscape Architecture, City & Regional Planning, and the Construction Industry.

Content
Content to be included will be: interviews with leading and emerging design professionals, building reviews, comments on City Council agenda items, other governmental actions, and community news from an architectural point of view.

You can also expect blog entries on my experiences as an architect in training. Architecture is a unique career path full of: continuous education, diverse styles and points of view, frustrations, hectic deadlines, creativity, and highly visible impacts. My experiences should make for some interesting reading. If nothing else it will keep me writing and give me an outlet for celebration of architecture.

Your participation is an important part of this effort. I encourage you to contribute to this blogs content. Please comment on and discuss any of the topics I post.

Goals:
Along with many of my activities, the goal of this blog is to educate and inspire interest in an improved built environment. Buildings and landscapes have a strong impact on our happiness and quality of life. Good buildings, good landscapes, good planning equals a high standard of living for all, that is the goal.

This will tie in with the efforts and goals of the successful ArcHop event with a written compliment. I will give periodic updates and opportunities for input on and involvement in this event as it matures and grows. See www.fresnofamous.com/archop_and_we_don%E2%80%99t_stop for a discussion on January’s ArcHop.

Upcoming Posts:
Review of the San Joaquin Valley Housing Symposium www.sjvhousing.com
Review of California Avenue community design workshop

Topics to watch:
Mayoral Race
City and County 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness
Metro Rural Loop
ArcHop
Downtown Housing

Disclaimer:
This is the personal blog of Kiel Famellos-Schmidt and in does not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, or objectives of the American Institute of Architects: San Joaquin, ArcHop sponsors, Fresno Famous, the Tower District Design Review Committee, or my employer the Taylor Teter Partnership.

I’d like to thank Fresno Famous for providing a platform for this important discussion. And thank you for your readership.

Kiel Famellos-Schmidt

The video below was produced by friends of the owner, Vicente Aello and design/builder, Josh Ganshorn, of the remodeled 1968 Airstream Ambassador that was on display during the January, 2010 Art Hop. Check it out, it’s pretty retro & groovy.

Fresno, CA – The City of Fresno’s Planning and Development Department has been awarded a 2009 Governor’s Historic Preservation Award for its 2008 publication, Architecture, Ethnicity and Historic Landscapes of California’s San Joaquin Valley. Fresno is one of 12 statewide projects that will be honored at a ceremony and reception at the Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park in Sacramento on January 20th.

Karana Hattersley-Drayton, Historic Preservation Officer for the City, will accept the award on behalf of the Department. Ms. Drayton served as the Executive Editor for the publication and also wrote several of the illustrated essays. Kevin Enns-Rempel, archivist for Fresno Pacific University who served on the editorial board, will join Ms. Drayton at the ceremony.

Architecture, Ethnicity and Historic Landscapes of California’s San Joaquin Valley is the first-ever published collection of essays, short articles, historic photographs and original art to examine the vernacular architecture and cultural heritage of the region. The work includes 29 essays by 22 authors and is collated into seven sections by themes which were developed for the Vernacular Architecture Forum’s annual conference held in Fresno in May 2008. The preface was written by author Gerald Haslam. Although the publication was produced by the City of Fresno’s Planning and Development Department as a companion volume for the conference, the intent was for this work to have a life well beyond that of the conference. Copies of the publication were subsequently distributed to libraries and archives throughout California.

The publication won a 2008 California Preservation Foundation Award and in a review published last year the work was described as an “extraordinary little volume.” Copies of “Architecture, Ethnicity and Historic Landscapes…” are available for sale from the Planning and Development Department.

For more information contact Karana Hattersley-Drayton, Historic Preservation Project Manager at (559) 621-8520.

Tuesday 01/12/2010 I was interviewed by CBS 47 for a news segment regarding the City of Fresno’s use of twitter. Below is the embedded video. I’d like to know what you’re thoughts are on @CityofFresno tweets. Is this platform a good way to increase government transparency? How does Fresno stack up to other jurisdictions that tweet?

Also in @CBS47 video is @jamescollier.

Airstream trailers have their origins in the 1930s. Their product reached a peak of popularity in the late 1960s. They a characterized by aerodynamic form and sheet metal skin. In the past decade there has been a resurgence in their popularity because of their vintage appeal and simple mid-century modern design.

Enthusiast have even gone beyond refurbishing these vintage trailers to complete interior redesigns. One such remodeled airstreams will be on display in Fresno for the January Art Hop. A Fresno client hired ABLE + BAKER DESIGN to design and build their Airstream dream.

1968 Airstream Ambassador
Remodel Exhibit
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Art Hop
First Thursday
January 7th 2010, 5-8
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1724 Broadway Ave.
across from the Rainbow Ballroom
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It is worth venturing out on a chilly January evening for this unique retro experience. The Airsteam will be outside in the parkinglot between 1724 Broadway and Tokyo Gardens. For a full rundown of Art Hop events see FresnoArts

Below are some plans and photos followed by some words from the design/builder.

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Josh Ganshorn Bio:

Josh has spent his whole life drawing, painting and making things. In the early 1990’s Josh was an unemployed, unknown artist in need of work. A good friend’s father generously offered him a job at his construction company, Yosemite Lumber Construction. Carpentry came naturally to him, and he worked on and off throughout the decade, mostly as a way to support his artistic habits. Eventually he moved on, and relocated from Fresno to the Bay Area. He continued doing construction and honing his woodworking skills, and eventually started his own company. In Berkeley, he joined a small, but well established woodworking co-op. In addition to the founder, who began the shop in 1973, his partners there included award winning furniture makers and design instructors, who were very generous with their knowledge and skills. His personal company, Able + Baker Design, continues to evolve. More recently he has been allowed to take on jobs that require a more artistic aesthetic, combining the many years he spent as an artist with the skills he developed as a craftsman and business owner.

The Airstream Project:

In early 2009 a friend asked if he was interested in converting a 1968 Airstream travel trailer into a more usable space. After coming up with a budget and a plan, he agreed to do the work. At the end of the summer, Josh headed out to Las Vegas, New Mexico, where he picked up the Airstream, and made his way back to the shop in Berkeley. The plan was to open up the interior of the cluttered Airstream as much as possible, while retaining a little space to socialize and get a little work done. It was his goal to try to retain some of the original 60’s RV aesthetic, while adding his own sense of style and design. It also happened that the weekend he returned to Berkeley they were celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Moon landing in nearby Alameda. There, on permanent display, he discovered another 1968 Airstream that was used as a quarantine facility for the Astronauts returning from the Moon. Josh began to think about people’s idea of the future, but from a 60’s perspective, when some believed we’d be driving flying cars by now, and Disney’s Tomorrowland set the stage.

Josh typically begins a design with his most fantastic and extreme ideas, and then continues to scale it back to something more practical and understated (and budget friendly). Certain restrictions influenced some decisions, such as the client’s request to have as much open space as possible, while still wanting a desk, a fridge, a bath, and a place to take a nap. Other ideas were strictly superfluous, but these are the things people seem to remember, rather than my use of space, color, proportion or the actual craftsmanship or engineering. That’s why, despite easily quantifiable or practical applications, people still like art.

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

Below is the talk I gave at the Boomerang Reception held on 12/20/2009 at the CSUF Smitcamp Alumni House. I was the first speaker of the evening. The other speakers were Mayor Ashley Swearengin, CSUF President Dr. John Welty, FUSD Superintendent Michael Hansen, and FPU President Merrill Ewert. It was an honor to be included with such a prestigious list and take part in trying to attract talented professionals to boomerang back to Fresno. There was over 100 potential boomerangs in attendance.

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Welcome back to Fresno. My name is Kiel Famellos-Schmidt. I am here this evening representing Creative Fresno as the vice chair to the board of directors. And you were greeted at the door by our membership director, Andy Hansen-Smith.

Creative professionals are in the business of new ideas. This includes artists, architects, designers, scientists, among others. Another term used is “knowledge workers,” who make their living developing or using knowledge. Creative Fresno’s mission is to engage creative professionals to create a stronger community.

To that end we have numerous projects that encourage the lifestyle our constituency desires. Our mural project that has paid artists to create over a dozen murals downtown. We brought the global phenomena, Pecha Kucha Night, to Fresno to showcase the work of local designers. We organize monthly Blenders to connect creatives. We host an online listserv, MindHub.org, for creative discussions. In October, we held our second annual music festival of 40 local bands. We also partner with other organizations to create events like this Boomerang Reception that we are at today.

All of this is united by a membership of creatives that all have interesting stories. I’ll share a piece of my story about how I boomeranged back to Fresno after being educated at UC Berkeley and working in San Francisco, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Sri Lanka.

Three years ago, this week, I moved back to Fresno after two months of volunteer service in Sri Lanka. It was not long after the devastating tsunami that hit the island nation as well as an ongoing civil war. I spent my time amongst the tea lined hills of a town called Nawalapitya, to design an orphanage and community center to help fill the needs of a devastated people.

It was during my work in this beautiful but embattled landscape that I came to a realization. All of these challenges that I was trying to fight around the world, poverty, homelessness, unsustainable growth, access to resources, and access to quality and healthy housing. They all existed in my hometown. Not only did they exist in quantity, but I was intimately familiar with them from my childhood and young adult life.

I did not move back for the satisfaction of being a big fish in a small pond. It was not my family asking me to move back, they wished me to explore the best opportunity wherever it happened to be. I chose to move back to Fresno because I believe I’m uniquely suited to make an impact here, more than anywhere else in the world.

In these three short years, the impacts of my efforts can already be seen:
I joined Creative Fresno and organized the Pecha Kucha Night. The event’s 1 year anniversary this January 11th is entitled Benchmarks and Milestones. We built awareness of local design talent and introduced many creatives, who now regularly collaborate.

I founded and curate archop, a quarterly architectural exhibit and lecture series, accompanied by a built environment news and opinion website, archop.org. The exhibit in its third year, the website one year old. We’ve reached over 12,000 fresnans, who now know more about architecture and quality design.

26 other citizens and I co-authored the City and County of Fresno 10 Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness. The plans first year goal of moving 100 chronic homeless individuals into housing has been met under the Swearingin administration

And most recently in November, with my partner Shaunt Yemenjian, starting up an architecture and urban design firm called Spacio Design with offices in downtown Fresno and Los Angeles. We have projects of various scales from Los Angeles to Hawaii. And we are taking advantage of new technologies and our city’s low overhead to be competitive with a global reach.

If you have the skills and passion to make Fresno a better place, I want to personally invite you back.

I now have the pleasure of introducing this city’s passionate and diligent mayor. Recently she was one of five mayors invited to Washington DC to attend President Obama’s job summit. Ensuring that our city has access to all the resources it needs

During her campaign for mayor, Ashley had given a response to a question that rang true for me. The question from a well respected architect, Paul Halajian, was “How can we get the talent here that we need?” Her answer was that the best and the brightest will be attracted because this is a rare place where young, intelligent people can lead and shape the future of this entire region. That is why I am here.

Please join me in welcoming Fresno Mayor, Ashley Swearengin.

10am-2pm Saturday 12/19/09 – Sunday 12/20/09 Fulton & Divisadero

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As some downtown buildings just begin construction and others get a new lease on life, the Iron Bird Lofts opens its doors.
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I ran into developer, Reza Assemi, Wednesday morning on my way back from the Bank of Italy press conference. He was busy giving direction to the concrete sub-contractor at Broadway Lofts. However, he did take the time to talk to me about Broadway Lofts (more about that later) and the open house of Iron Bird Lofts.
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Some of the units have passed final inspection and others are scheduled to have tenants move in on the 1st of January. The landscaping is also shaping up. Reza said he want’s to welcome prospective renter in to experience and possible move in to their newest creation.

Saturday and Sunday 10pm-2pm the gates will be open and leasing agents will be on hand to get you living downtown. While we chatted, Reza fielded a phone call in which he requested there be lots of signs, banners, and balloons.
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Iron Bird Lofts consists of 16 three-story row houses, 48 lofts and 16 two-bedroom flats, ranging from 900 sq. ft. to 1,600 sq. ft. The architect for the project is Warren Thompson FAIA and the landscape designer is Jennifer Feaster.

Tractors have been rumbling outside my office this week. I decided to walk over and snap some photos. I caught this one of Tommy Yoshioka, owner of Tokyo Garden, and construction worker look on as tractor pushes dirt around Granville Homes latest downtown project Fulton Village

I was also lucky enough to chat with Darius Assemi while he was there. He says they are just doing the underground work for now, until the plans for the buildings are approved by the City of Fresno.

In Fresno, CA there is only one building on the Fulton Mall that is also on the National Register of Historic Places. That is the Bank of Italy Building. A new owner of the building was announced today in a press conference hosted by the City of Fresno.

The new owner is the Penstar Group, a Fresno based developer. The soft spoken but confident Penstar Group CEO, Tom Richards said that they had investigated buying the building before but the timing was not right. He also stated that them buying the building now is a vote of confidence from the private sector in the actions and policies that the City of Fresno is putting in place regarding downtown revitalization. Another investor in the purchase of the building is Brian Wagner. They formed a partnership called in a Pentori Inc.

The City of Fresno staff did play the role of matchmaker between Wagner and the Penstar group. Wagner was initially interested in purchasing the building but needed additional investors. The city also cleared various code enforcement and legal actions on the building before it was purchased. Craig Scharton comment on this was that with a developer with a proven local track record, we don’t need the “big stick” and that this way they have a clean slate.

Buildings that the Penstar Group have completed includes the IRS building and the United Security Bank Building at M & Inyo in 2003. Projects in progress include the One-Stop Center and Library on California next to Edison High School and Terry’s House

The Bank of Italy building was built in 1918 and designed by architect Charles Franklin

What is not clear is what the new uses of the building will be or the time line for reopening. Tom expressed that the sale went very fast and they have not had the opportunity to program future uses or find potential tenants. Their first course of action will be to secure the building from people breaking in and seal weather proof the exterior to prevent any further degradation.

See additional coverage in:
The Business Journal
Fresno Beehive

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This morning I will be on a jury of a design competition that is organized by the Fresno City College AIAS club. Below is a model of the site in SketchUp that was provided to the student competitors.

Jury will include Michael Fennacy, AIA. He is an architect with Darden Architects. and on the AIASJ board. The 3rd member of the jury will be Shaunt Yemenjian, Assoc. AIA. Shaunt is a LEED Accredited Professional and a principal with spacio|design.

Below is the project brief and user provided to the student competitors. I will post the designs after the jury review.

Saturday was a very active day in the Lowell Neighborhood.

Hundreds of volunteers met up at Lowell Elementary School to kick of HandsOn Central California’s Make A Difference Day. This is an annual event that focuses local volunteers on one neighborhood with the hope of making a big difference. Mayor Ashley Swearengin was on hand to release the volunteers into the neighborhood.

archop park AKA San Pablo Family Park was one on several locations that volunteers worked at. From 9am to noon 30+ volunteers planted desert willow trees, and daffodil bulbs. We cleaned up garbage, broken glass and even some dirty needles. Other projects at the park include tree trimming, repainting the graffiti covered chessboard and setting up a bike race track.

Volunteers came from Heald College, Fresno City College, HandsOn, and Twitter. Donations came from Intermountain Nursery, H&E Nursery, and A-1 Feed Store.
Below are photos taken by myself and James Collier