Archinect - News

Louis Kahn-designed Graduate Theological Union building in Berkeley reopens following two-year renovation

2023-11-24T15:15:00-05:00

After two years of alterations, the Louis Kahn-designed Hewlett Building at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA has reopened. According to the college, the renovations were undertaken to “better serve the needs of students” while remaining loyal to Kahn’s original vision.

Image credit: Graduate Theological Union

Kahn was selected to design the building in 1972 but passed away two years later while the scheme’s final drawings were being produced. Having subsequently been delivered by local firm Peters, Clayberg, and Caulfield in association with Esherick, Homsey, Dodge, and Davis, the Hewlett Building is one of few projects of Kahn’s completed after his death.

Image credit: Graduate Theological Union

The latest alterations to the building began in 2022, led by local firm Russell Architects. Among the stated goals of the college for the renovations were to bring the institution’s community “under one roof and offer more collaborative spaces to gather in study, classroom setti...

Featured architecture and design jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area

2023-10-26T14:07:00-04:00

This newest edition of our curated job picks from Archinect Jobs features 13 employers with exciting job openings in the greater San Francisco area, including Berkeley, Oakland, and Emeryville. If you're an experienced professional seeking architecture and design jobs in this region, this list is just for you.

To explore specific job titles from the architectural profession, consult Archinect's Guide to Job Titles series. Also, follow our Archinect Tips series to improve your portfolio, resume, and interviewing skills, to increase your overall chances of getting that next job.

Walker Warner seeks a Project Director in San Francisco
"The Project Director role is critical in helping us continue to deliver exceptional results and help lead and develop our staff. This role reports directly to the Principal-in-Charge and provides proactive direction, oversight and project management on a single large project of 100,000 sq. ft. or more and/or across multiple smaller projects running concu...

Walter Hood prepares to lead UC Berkeley's landscape department

2023-08-24T11:37:00-04:00

Professor Walter Hood is set to become chair of UC Berkeley's Department of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning (LAEP) for a two-year term beginning this fall. Berkeley describes Hood as “one of the pre-eminent American landscape designers working today,” whose projects “combine architectural and public art approaches with a concern for ecological sustainability.”

As our 2021 interview explored, Hood's education began at UC Berkeley's College of Environmental Design (CED), where he obtained both his Master of Landscape Architecture and Master of Architecture in 1989, followed by an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2013. Joining CED's faculty in 1993, Hood has previously held the position of LAEP department chair, serving one term, and was honored with the Woo Chair for Design Excellence from 2012 to 2022.

Archinect Feature: Othering Blackness in Design: Reflections with Walter Hood

Meanwhile, Hood's literary contributions include authoring Urban Diar...

Is 'Yes, in God’s Backyard' the answer to California's housing challenges?

2022-09-28T12:40:00-04:00

Houses of worship in California are now in the position to take on the state’s largest social problem with the adaptation of new legislation that allows for housing development on plots that are, in almost every case, zoned exclusively for commercial use.

In July, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill that dropped a zoning requirement that mandated a certain number of parking spaces if the religious organization would build 100% affordable or workforce housing on its property. Obstacles remain, but case studies from Berkeley and other embattled communities have provided some examples of how the measure can positively stem the tide of displacement that has particularly affected people of color and other marginalized groups.

"Churches are some of the last, I think, property owners of color throughout Berkeley," local church leader Derrin Jourdan told KQED recently. "If we don't find ways of leveraging our support, we're going to find it enormously difficult to hold on to the property."

...

UC Berkeley revises proposed People's Park housing scheme as Chancellor promises to accommodate its unhoused population

2021-09-01T16:48:00-04:00

An amended plan for new student housing at the University of California, Berkeley has been announced amidst protests surrounding the development that have touched on issues related to the state’s ongoing housing crisis.

Local outlets are now reporting that the planned dormitory in People’s Park will be reduced to 12 stories and moved to direct more sunlight onto the city’s landmark First Church of Christ, Scientist, which was designed by prominent Arts and Crafts Movement architect Bernard Maybeck in 1910.

The housing development as viewed from Dwight Way. Image courtesy LMS Architects / Hood Design Studio via UC Berkeley.

University Chancellor Carol Christ said the revised double-winged scheme will still be able to accommodate approximately 1,100 residents (down from the original 1,200) and that the school will wait until it can comply with demands of protesters before it breaks ground on the new housing complex.

Students gathered last week at the park’s iconic Sather Gate to prot...

'Hobbit Revival' Enclave dormitory in Berkeley now completed

2020-09-15T18:11:00-04:00

Even with everything else going on right now, the crazed excess of the newest building on Berkeley’s Telegraph Avenue is guaranteed to stop you in your tracks.

The Chronicle’s urban design critic, John King, reviews the now-completed and very much style-agnostic Enclave dormitory in Downtown Berkeley. "It's as if Harry Potter and Fred Flintstone decided to build a McMansion. On acid."

Image courtesy of LCA Architects.

"The design mimics a Moorish palace and is inspired by numerous other
muses such as Tibetan forts, Italian hill towns, and the rock-cut
façades of Petra," states the project description from LCA Architects, the architect of record.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by LCA ARCHITECTS (@lca.architects) on Aug 12, 2020 at 5:07pm PDT

The seven-story student housing project, designed by Kirk E. Peterson & Associates, first appeared on Archinect last summer.

Berkeley to open municipally-owned homeless encampment

2020-01-27T13:55:00-05:00

The Berkeley City Council has voted to create a new city-run homeless encampment to help provide a safe and clean place for some of the city's unhoused residents to live temporarily.

According to a report from Curbed, the measure was supported by a majority of the City Councilmembers and will bring wind-resistant tents, bathroom facilities, and trash collection services to a yet-to-be-determined city-owned site. The services are set to be administered by city employees and is billed as a "stopgap" measure to help establish a certain level of cleanliness and safety for these types of camps while other permanent and transitional housing facilities get under way across the city.

According to the report, the temporary facility would be able to accommodate 50 residents for "less than a year."

The nearby city of Modesto launched a similar effort in 2019 that contains roughly 150 tents located underneath a bridge in the city, The Modesto Bee reports. The facility there is operated by a ...

Berkeley's natural-gas ban creates a chain reaction in the West

2019-10-03T09:00:00-04:00

When Berkley, California recently made the announcement that it would become the first city in the United States to ban natural-gas installations in newly constructed buildings, public took note. After the news broke, four other California cities established new rules to "encourage buildings to use only electricity," according to a report from Salon. Since then, more cities, such as Santa Monica, San Jose, and Menlo Park have made the change, as well. Several larger California cities are seriously considering such a ban, as are more far-flung cities like Seattle and Brookline, Massachusetts. However, why is there still a group of individuals against this proactive approach to helping mitigate better carbon cutting practices?

Nathaneal Johnson of Salon highlights, "The Berkeley ban outlaws gas in new single family homes starting in January. It will apply to the construction of larger buildings as soon as state regulators put the finishing touches on standards for all-electric buildin...

Dozens of buildings at UCLA, UC Berkeley pose "severe" earthquake risks

2019-08-31T09:00:00-04:00

Although no campus buildings were deemed to be in the worst category, “dangerous,” six at UC Berkeley and three at UCLA were found to have a “severe” risk to life. The remaining 62 at UC Berkeley and 15 at UCLA were said to have a “serious” risk to life, according to the first reports released this week in response to a UC Board of Regents 2017 directive calling on every campus to undertake a seismic risk assessment.

The list includes some of both campus's most historic and important buildings, including Berkeley's architecture building, Wurster Hall, and UCLA's Powell Library. A potential 2020 ballot measure and a recently-proposed California State Senate bill could provide funding to make necessary retrofits.

Hobbit Revival dormitory headed to Berkeley

2019-08-09T06:09:00-04:00

A proposed dormitory block headed to Downtown Berkeley has a few people scratching their heads.

The beguiling, 254-bed student housing project, known as the Enclave and designed by Kirk E. Peterson & Associates, will bring 55 dormitory units to a site located just across from Berkeley's People's Park.

Mission Revival on top, cave dwelling on the bottom. Image courtesy of LCA Architects.

If you look only at the top three or four floors of the peculiar seven-story complex, it might be hard to notice anything out-of-hand. A series of Mission Revival-inspired faux bell towers, for example, punctuate the project's upper levels, where handsome red tile roof and blue-green tile accents round out an otherwise stucco-and-brick apartment tower.

Aerial view of Enclave. Image courtesy of LCA Architects.

The building's lower levels, however, are something else entirely. Renderings for the project depict the five-over-two-style podium building's three lower levels wrapped in what the project ...

Berkeley bans natural gas in new homes (and makes city code language gender-neutral)

2019-07-18T15:02:00-04:00

The city of Berkeley will no longer allow natural gas pipes in many new buildings starting Jan. 1, 2020. It’s the first city in California to pass such a law, officials said. [...] Public support was also unanimous during 45 minutes of comment from community members and representatives of the University of California’s Office of the President (UCOP), energy giant PG&E and the Sierra Club, among others who spoke.

According to the council report on the ordinance, "the effect of this legislation will be that builders will be prohibited from applying for entitlements that include gas infrastructure — gas piping to heat water, space, food, etc. — except for specific building systems that have not yet been modeled for all-electric design" by the state, reports Emilie Raguso for Berkeleyside.

"We have to take more drastic action," said Berkeley Councilwoman Kate Harrison who had initiated the legislation.

Berkeley's direction could soon be replicated by other municipalities nationwide. In 1977, it became the first U.S. city to ban smoking in restaurants and bars and later spearheaded now widely applied environmental regulations.

The Berkeley City Council this week also approved an ordinance that eliminates masculine and feminine pronouns from its municipal code to introduce a gender-neutral language: "he" and "she" will switch to "they" and "them." Certain other terminology will get a makeover as ...

PAU's Vishaan Chakrabarti to lead UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design

2019-06-27T17:38:00-04:00

The University of California, Berkeley has named Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) founder Vishaan Chakrabarti as the new dean for the university's College of Environmental Design (CED).

Chakrabarti comes to UC Berkeley after teaching at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. Chakrabarti is an alumnus of CED graduate program and currently serves as a member of the school's Dean's Advisory Council. Chakrabarti earned a master's degree in city planning from MIT, as well as dual bachelor's degrees in art history and engineering from Cornell University.

Chakrabarti founded PAU in 2015 and previously practiced at SHoP Architects and SOM. He also served as the director of the Manhattan Office for the New York Department of City Planning under Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Chakrabarti will expand PAU to include a west coast office when he assumes the role of dean. PAU studio director and associate partner Ruchika Modi will lead the New ...

UC Berkeley names Renee Y. Chow new Architecture Chair

2018-09-27T15:48:00-04:00

The College of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley is pleased to announce Professor of Architecture and Urban Design Renee Y. Chow as the newest Chair of the Department of Architecture. Chow, who has taught at the College since 1993, began her tenure in July. Most recently, she was the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies and formerly held the Eva Li Chair in Design Ethics (2005-2010) at CED.

Professor Chow, who is also a principal of Berkeley-based firm STUDIO URBIS: Architecture/Urban design, on her vision as the department's new Chair: "I hope to immediately strengthen our connections with the larger community—professional, alumni—and with residents and agencies in the Bay Area. I want the department to be seen as a resource and a partner in exploring the future of architecture and environmental design."

Berkeley's College of Environmental Design Launches Masters in Real Estate Development and Design

2017-10-17T11:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by the University of California, Berkeley

The College of Environmental Design (CED) at the University of California, Berkeley is pleased to announce the formation of an innovative advanced degree in real estate development. The newly launched Masters in Real Estate Development + Design (MRED+D) is an 11-month interdisciplinary degree program incorporating finance and cutting-edge design to prepare real estate development professionals to build sustainable, equitable, and prosperous cities.

As our rapidly urbanizing world faces major challenges—from climate change to social inequality—creating a need for professionals who understand the power of design and have a deep knowledge not only of the mechanics of real estate, but also how development can bring positive benefits to society and the environment, is paramount to the future.“As a developer with both private and public sector experience, I know the importance of the built environment and its design to ...

What drives creativity among architects?

2016-07-13T14:48:00-04:00

What makes a person creative? What are the biographical conditions and personality traits necessary to actualize that potential? These were driving questions behind a 1958-59 study conducted at the University of California, Berkeley, which attempted to divine the elements of creativity by analyzing and interviewing several prominent architects of the time, including Mies van der Rohe, Charles Eames, Gregory Ain, and Quincy Jones. The architects were also encouraged to rate each other. Bottom line? Richard Neutra "has intellect" while Mies Van Der Rohe was considered to be "a great sculptor" although "human comfort is disregarded."

The study languished in obscurity until this year when Pierluigi Serraino published The Creative Architect (and spoke about it on Archinect's 1:1 podcast). On reading the book, Steven Holl commented: “We now know that childlike wonder, an absence of fear, and strong intuition are key aspects of creativity. The Creative Architect is a thought-provoking and ...

Measured Genius: One-to-One #29 with Pierluigi Serraino, author of 'The Creative Architect'

2016-06-27T13:16:00-04:00

In the late 1950s, some of the world's most prominent architects gathered in Berkeley, California, to take part in a landmark psychological experiment on creativity and personality. Eero Saarinen, Philip Johnson, Richard Neutra, William Pereira and dozens of other architects were put through a barrage of tests and surveys, to gain a better understanding of what creativity is, and its place in architecture. They also rated one another, and in the process exposed not only exposed their egos honestly, but also their insecurities.

For the first time, the story behind the study (along with its data and results) have been made public, in The Creative Architect, by architect and author Pierluigi Serraino. I spoke with Serraino about the context of psychological research in the 1950s and the evolving personality behind being a “creative” architect.

Listen to One-to-One #29 with Pierluigi Serraino:

iTunes: Click here to listen and subscribe to the new "Archinect Sessions One-to-One" podcast
Soun...

Berkeley balcony collapse investigation: no criminal charges from the DA, but five contractors could face license revocation

2016-04-19T17:25:00-04:00

The Californian district attorney investigating a balcony collapse that killed six students – five Irish and one Irish American – and seriously injured seven others in June last year has said she will not be bringing manslaughter charges because a successful prosecution seems unlikely.

"But another state agency, California’s Contractors State License Board (CSLB), has determined that five contractors involved in building the balcony probably violated California law, and has submitted its findings to the state’s Attorney General’s office. The move could lead to the suspension or revocation of the contractors’ licenses."

The tragic Berkeley balcony collapse previously in the Archinect news:

'Architecture of Life' exhibition marks opening of DS+R-designed new Berkeley Art Museum next week

2016-01-25T15:51:00-05:00

Commissioned to convert an abandoned printing plant into a university art museum, Diller Scofidio + Renfro took inspiration from fresh fruit. The architects left the original building intact, stretching a sleek skin around it, split open at the front. The new Berkeley Art Museum will open next week with an exhibition that historically contextualizes Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s design process, and provides a formidable storehouse of ideas for future architecture.

Recent photo of the almost completed structure on January 21. (Image via @BAMPFA on Twitter.)

Previously on Archinect: DS+R's new Berkeley Art Museum gets opening date

13 lawsuits emerge after deadly balcony collapse in Berkeley

2015-11-16T18:51:00-05:00

The lawsuits make disturbing allegations that the balcony was poorly constructed, sustained dry rot to the point of growing mushrooms and officials at the apartment complex knew about the dangers, but failed to fix them. [...] The lawsuits allege the builders cut corners to save money, that a subcontractor did not use plywood called for in the plans, but cheaper oriented strand board that is more susceptible to water damage and dry rot.

After a balcony collapse at the Library Gardens apartment complex in Berkeley, CA killed six and injured seven others in June, the city has tightened building codes and began a forensic inspection into the balcony's construction. Lawsuits have since been filed against Segue Construction (the complex's builders and sub-contractors), Blackrock Investment (current Library Gardens owner) and Greystar (the complex's property management firm), among others involved in the building's construction.

The lawsuits, filed by the surviving victims and their families, allege that the balcony wasn't properly waterproofed:

The builder framed the balcony in Oct. 2005, but did not waterproof it right away. The next two months, the bare wood was exposed to more than 13 inches of rainfall. It was a wet winter.

The lawsuits say, that January, "These defendants consciously chose to waterproof and complete construction of the balcony for apartment 405, without correcting the water saturated wood components."...

After deadly balcony collapse, Berkeley building and safety codes tighten

2015-07-17T18:29:00-04:00

Balconies in Berkeley must now pass a safety inspection every three years, and new ones must be built of rot-proof wood or steel, under measures passed Tuesday as the campus community addresses the deaths last month of six young people and grave injury of seven more. [...] With pressure from one council member and the lawyer for one of those killed in the June 16 tragedy, the City Council agreed to shorten the time between mandatory inspections [from five] to three years.

The deadly balcony collapse that took place almost exactly a month ago today prompted an investigation into Berkeley's building codes and safety inspections, culminating in this new inspection practice. Primary in the discussion of safe and best building practices here on Archinect was the use of wood, especially in climates where water can drastically compromise a building's integrity.

We discuss the delicate balancing of liability among city building departments, victims and building owners on episode #36 of Archinect Sessions.

For background on the balcony collapse in Berkeley, California:

Poor Doors of Perception: discriminatory design, collapsing balconies, and virtual realities on Archinect Sessions #36

2015-07-02T20:11:00-04:00

This week, we dip into the swamp of whether so-called "poor doors" (separate entrances for affordable and market-rate housing tenants) are discriminatory, highlighting discussion points made in the wake of New York's decision to make them illegal. We also follow up on the investigation into a balcony collapse in Berkeley, California that led to six deaths, and ask Brian Newman, Archinect Sessions' Legal Correspondent, what legal recourse is possible for everyone involved.

Virtual built environment wizards Thomas Hirschmann and Anthony Murray, founders of documentation and preservation firm The Third Fate, also join us for an interview. Their work seeks to document, preserve and activate the built environment through virtual realities.

Listen to episode thirty-six of Archinect Sessions, "Poor Doors of Perception":

iTunes: Click here to listen, and click the "Subscribe" button below the logo to automatically download new episodes.
Apple Podcast App (iOS): click here to subscribe
Stitcher: ...

DS+R's new Berkeley Art Museum gets opening date

2015-06-29T18:44:00-04:00

After having to relocate its facilities due to seismic issues, the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archives, collectively known as BAM/PFA, will open its new home on January 31, 2016 in Downtown Berkeley. Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the $112M project integrates a preexisting art deco building, the former printing plant of neighboring UC Berkeley, into a 35K sq ft new structure. All in all, the new BAM/PFA will include two theaters, a performance space, cafe, four study spaces (the museum has a strong connection with UC Berkeley's film and art departments), an "art-making lab", and a reading room.

Given its hybrid exhibition/screening requirements, BAM/PFA's total gallery space is relatively small at 25k square feet – compared to Snøhetta's SFMOMA across the bay at 130K, or Renzo Piano's new Whitney at 50K. The museum's inaugural exhibition, "Architecture of Life", will "explore the ways that architecture—as concept, metaphor, and practice—illuminates aspects of life ex...

Dry rot to blame for Berkeley balcony collapse; existing building codes called into question

2015-06-24T21:05:00-04:00

In a report released a week after the incident, officials with Berkeley’s Building and Safety Division confirmed suspicions that dry rot had deteriorated the wood beams supporting the balcony. They also said they found no construction code violations.

It's been a week since the tragic balcony collapse occurred, and while the victims' families try to cope with the grief, experts have been searching frantically for the cause of the accident. Was the fault in the structural design? Is the contractor to blame for poor execution? Speculations quickly ran wild, and the comment section of Archinect's news post quickly flared up.

The newly released report seems to have determined the cause of the collapse, but the debate on how to improve existing building codes (and properly enforce them) has just begun.

6 dead after Berkeley balcony collapses

2015-06-16T17:51:00-04:00

Berkeley city officials have shut down access to public records regarding the construction of the apartment complex, which was completed in January 2007. Normally, they would be viewable upon request, but zoning office staff cited a pending police investigation and a request by the Berkeley city manager that the records not be made immediately available.

The fifth-floor balcony collapsed early morning Tuesday, in the midst of a birthday celebration for one of the victims. At the time of collapse, there were reportedly thirteen people on the balcony; the seven who survived the fall now face life-threatening injuries. Of the six dead, five were Irish citizens, living or working in the Bay Area for the summer.

Library Gardens apartments, where the collapse occurred, was completed eight years ago, and typically houses students and faculty of nearby University of California, Berkeley. As victims were identified and families notified, the collapse quickly became international news, and a police investigation into the building's safety is pending. Historically, the Bay Area has been a popular destination for Irish students to spend a summer abroad – it's unclear what effect this tragic event will have on future exchanges.

Update: Dry rot could be factor in Berkeley balcony collapse, engineers say (via LA Times)

DS+R's Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive announces first exhibit, preps for 2016 opening

2015-03-27T17:26:00-04:00

The Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive recently revealed details to their inaugural exhibition and other fun-sounding programs as they prepare to move into their new downtown Berkeley location at Oxford and Center Streets, across the University of California, Berkeley campus. The new museum -- which Diller Scofidio + Renfro was commissioned to design -- is scheduled to open in early 2016.

With DS + R as design architect, the $112 million project will integrate the former UC Berkeley printing plant and a new steel-clad curvilinear structure, encompassing about 82,000 sq.ft total. The new structure will include improved accessible spaces to house BAM/PFA's exhibition spaces, film screenings, offices, and other public amenities. On the other hand, the project preserves some original elements of the UC Berkeley printing plant such as the north-facing sawtooth roof to let natural light filter into the ground-floor galleries.

The new structure will also feature two film theaters (232 ...

UC Berkeley team unveils "Bloom" 3D-printed cement structure

2015-03-06T20:49:00-05:00

A UC Berkeley research team led by Ronald Rael, associate professor of architecture, will unveil today (Friday, March 6) the first and largest powder-based 3-D-printed cement structure built to date. The debut of this groundbreaking project is a demonstration of the architectural potential of 3-D printing. It will close the fifth annual Berkeley Circus, which celebrates the research and accomplishments of the College of Environmental Design (CED) community.

Now sitting empty, brutalist Berkeley Art Museum building faces unclear future

2015-02-23T18:18:00-05:00

On December 21, 2014, the Berkeley Art Museum permanently closed its iconic Modern building in preparation for a move to a nearby new building in 2016. Considered by many to be the Bay Area’s most remarkable example of Brutalism [...]. Although the building is a local landmark and listed on the National Register, its intricate concrete forms pose seismic safety risks, leaving a future for the building unclear.

Get Lectured: UC Berkeley, Fall '14

2014-10-02T14:09:00-04:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2014

Say hello to another edition of Archinect's Get Lectured! As a refresher, we'll be featuring a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. If you're not doing so already, be sure to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

Our next featured poster comes from the University of California - Berkeley, College of Environmental Design.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

Unless noted, all events begin at 6:30 p.m. at 112 Wurster Hall, and are open to the public. Below are upcoming department of Architecture events only.

Oct. 8
THE MAKING OF THE AVANT GARDE
Film screening + panel with Diana Agrest / Cooper Union - NY
Stanley Saitowitz / Natoma Architects - San Francisco
Sylvia Lavin / UCLA - Los Angeles
Nicholas de Monchaux / UC Berkeley

Oct. 15
KEES CHRISTIAANSE / Kees Christiaanse Architects + Planners - Z...

Artistic landscape architecture brings a sense of belonging

2014-05-19T13:23:00-04:00

When five of the nation's leading landscape architects gathered before their peers last weekend in Berkeley, the projects they discussed were located in Massachusetts and Minnesota, China and Spain. [...] The issues and ambitions on display can be applied to any 21st century metropolitan region like ours, where the most challenging frontiers for growth lie in struggling with issues of growth and change; where the land in question is high-profile and politically charged.

Cal Architecture Grad Asks Fellow Alums to Urge Toy Titan: LEGO My Campanile

2014-05-01T13:16:00-04:00

He merely wanted to immortalize the most iconic of Berkeley’s icons—the Sather Tower campanile—in a Lego kit. “A couple of months ago I started fooling around with Legos and I made a couple of mock-ups of the Campanile,” he recalls. “I knew that Lego has a suggestion site—if you submit a proposal and it gets 10,000 votes, they’ll consider making a kit. I thought it would be very cool if they included the Berkeley Campanile in their architecture series.”