Archinect - News

California's first EV-charging roadway to be built at UCLA before 2028 Olympics

2024-12-03T10:56:00-05:00

Nearly $20 million will go to electrify the university’s BruinBus fleet and install underground charging for shuttles and buses along a route that stretches for less than a mile in Westwood. The grant will also fund a new transit hub between the UCLA bus depot and a planned UCLA/Westwood Metro station that would connect to the future D Line subway extension.

The project comes as part of a multimillion-dollar grant to UCLA ahead of its hosting of the 2028 Olympic Village. Under the plans, inductive charging coils will be installed underground along Charles E. Young Drive between the Westwood Plaza intersection and Murphy Hall, while stationary chargers will also be added at passenger drop-off and pickup locations.

Buses traveling along the roadways will pick up charge while driving or parked. The team behind the project hopes it will eliminate the need for drivers to hook vehicles up to charging ports, thus saving time.

"A wireless inductive option is a game changer," UCLA Fleet and Transit director Clinton Bench told the LA Times. "When a vehicle is driving over [a charger], the vehicle can collect charge while it’s moving. If you’re stationary at a stop and you had a five to seven-minute layover [...] that’s probably giving you a pretty good head start on your next route and reducing the amount of charge you need in the evening."

The w...

Five bespoke California homes by Laney LA: Your Next Employer?

2024-12-02T09:38:00-05:00

Following our previous visit to Cover, we are keeping our Meet Your Next Employer series in Los Angeles this week to explore the work of Laney LA.

A multidisciplinary studio based in the Hermosa Beach Arts District, the firm has amassed a portfolio from private homes to masterplans. The firm describes its ethos as to “create work that speaks powerfully; sparking a dialogue between enduring architecture and its evolving environment.”

Over on Archinect Jobs, the firm is currently hiring for an Associate to join their Hermosa Beach team. For candidates interested in applying for a position or anybody interested in learning more about the firm’s output, we have rounded up five California homes by Laney LA that exemplify the firm’s ethos.

OZ Residence. Image credit: Eric Staudenmaier

OZ Residence, Manhattan Beach, CA

The 15,000-square-foot OZ Residence seeks to prioritize outdoor spaces to enhance active living. Key features include a full-size basketball court, a large herb garden, and d...

Your next role could be at an Airbnb co-founder's housing startup

2024-11-27T12:19:00-05:00

Following our previous look at an opening for a Compliance Director at AKAM, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for an architectural designer at Samara.

The open role calls for an individual who will join Samara’s Project & Design Team “as an inspirational force for creating new ways of living.” Among the responsibilities for the role will be participating in the conceptualization and development of new product design work, the iterating of design concepts, and producing 2D and 3D representations of projects.

Samara's Backyard range. Image credit: Samara

Why the role interests us

In the same week that our Meet Your Next Employer series profiled the work of Cover, the open role that Samara offers us the opportunity to profile another California-based housing startup focused on delivering prefabricated housing. As we previously reported, Samara is led by Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia and former Flex chief executive Mi...

Four micro-homes by Cover: Your Next Employer?

2024-11-25T08:13:00-05:00

Following our previous visit to RIOS, we are keeping our Meet Your Next Employer series in Los Angeles this week to explore the work of Cover.

Founded in 2014 by Cooper Union graduates Alexis Rivas and Jemuel Joseph, the company describes itself as one that offers “a turnkey solution for building homes that leverages the power of computational design and precision manufacturing to deliver homes of unprecedented quality.” Archinect spoke with the firm for a 2021 interview, in which the team described its mission as “to make thoughtfully designed and well-built homes for everyone.”

Over on Archinect Jobs, the firm is currently hiring for a Junior Architectural Designer to join their Los Angeles team. For candidates interested in applying for a position or anybody interested in learning more about the firm’s output, we have rounded up four micro-homes by Cover that exemplify the firm’s ethos.

Guesthouse/Office. Image courtesy of Cover

Backyard Rental Home, Los Angeles, CA

The Backyard R...

Considering the next Trump administration’s impact on housing in California

2024-11-22T11:56:00-05:00

As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to reenter the White House, California housing advocates are bracing for how a second term could impact the state’s notoriously high home prices, rents and rates of homelessness. This time around, that’s changed, and Trump has recognized housing affordability is a problem, said Matthew Schwartz, executive director of the policy organization the California Housing Partnership.

Democrats were also pushing a housing-heavy agenda during the campaign. Trump's return to the White House comes as the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies reports many cities across the Golden State are missing their marks where it comes to planning an adequate housing supply that matches the expanding crisis.

Trump has vocally supported the call for massive tent cities for unhoused citizens, vowing at the same time to issue tariffs, deport undocumented immigrants, open federal land to housing development, cut government assistance programs, and relax zoning restrictions, among several other countervailing ideas that could cancel out progress on what became one of the 2024 election's most significant issues.

Four contemporary LA homes by RIOS: Your Next Employer?

2024-11-18T06:39:00-05:00

Following our previous visit to AUX Architecture, we are keeping our Meet Your Next Employer series in Los Angeles this week to explore the work of RIOS.

Founded in 1985, the firm employs approximately 280 team members across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Asia Pacific. Last month, Archinect reported on the firm’s proposal for One Beverly Hills, designed in collaboration with Kerry Hill Architects and Foster + Partners, while several of the firm’s projects were recently honored at the 2024 LA Architectural Awards.

Over on Archinect Jobs, the firm is currently hiring for several positions to join their Los Angeles team. For candidates interested in applying for a position or anybody interested in learning more about the firm’s output, we have rounded up four contemporary Los Angeles homes by RIOS that exemplify the firm’s ethos.

Shifting Boxes. Image courtesy of RIOS

Shifting Boxes, West Hollywood, CA

Shifting Boxes is formed of seemingly irregular stacked volumes whose po...

Five bespoke LA projects by AUX Architecture: Your Next Employer?

2024-11-11T10:58:00-05:00

Following our previous visit to OFFICEUNTITLED (OU), we are keeping our Meet Your Next Employer series in Los Angeles this week to explore the work of AUX Architecture.

Founded in 2008 and led by Brian Wickersham, the 40-person studio has amassed a portfolio along an ethos that “brings craft and clarity to designs at every scale—from hearth to urban realm.” Archinect has previously reported on the firm’s success at the 2023 AIA|LA Design Awards, the 2022 American Architecture Awards, and the 2022 AIA California Design Awards, while 2022 also saw Archinect speak with Wickersham on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on architectural practice.

Over on Archinect Jobs, the firm is currently hiring for a Designer to join their Los Angeles team. For candidates interested in applying for a position or anybody interested in learning more about the firm’s output, we have rounded up five unique Los Angeles projects by AUX Architecture that exemplify the firm’s ethos.

Glorya Kaufman Performing...

Deadline Approaches for Architecture at Zero 2024: Showcase Your Sustainable Design by Dec 16th

2024-11-08T11:26:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by Architecture at Zero 2024

The American Institute of Architects California (AIA CA) invites students and professionals worldwide to participate in the twelfth edition of the Architecture at Zero competition, with a registration and submission deadline of December 16, 2024. This annual event calls for innovative, sustainable building designs that emphasize equity and resilience, providing a unique platform for creative solutions addressing today’s architectural challenges.

This year’s challenge focuses on designing a new facility for the Griffith STEAM Magnet Middle School in East Los Angeles, California. Participants will create a replacement for existing relocatable classrooms, incorporating science labs, an art classroom, maker spaces, outdoor learning environments, and a teacher workroom. As an ideas competition, it encourages bold, visionary proposals rather than specific construction-ready solutions.

A distinguished jury of international experts, s...

Four experiential projects by OFFICEUNTITLED (OU): Your Next Employer?

2024-11-04T13:22:00-05:00

Following our previous visit to Michael K. Chen Architecture, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series to Los Angeles this week to explore the work of OFFICEUNTITLED (OU).

A practice of architects, designers, and strategists working across Los Angeles and New York, the firm describes its ethos as one that “combines ambitious design with deep professional experience” to deliver “thoughtful yet unexpected design solutions.” In recent weeks, the firm’s work was celebrated at the 2024 LA Architectural Awards by the Los Angeles Business Council while in 2023 the firm’s Harland residential project was among the winners at the 2023 AIA Los Angeles Residential Architecture Awards.

Over on Archinect Jobs, the firm is currently hiring for a Business Development Specialist to join their Culver City team. For candidates interested in applying for a position or anybody interested in learning more about the firm’s output, we have rounded up four playful, experiential projects by OFFICEUNT...

New details emerge for One Beverly Hills plan in L.A.

2024-10-25T15:31:00-04:00

The design details for RIOS, Kerry Hill Architects, and Foster + Partners’ upcoming One Beverly Hills development have been updated in Los Angeles

What are going to be the two tallest structures in the neighborhood (at 32 and 26 stories apiece) will be joined by a new two-story conference center located on the site’s northern side adjacent to the new Wilshire Building.

Image: Foster + Partners

The presentation also details the inclusion of a landscaped component between the new Santa Monica & Garden Residences. That joins another 8-acre botanical garden included as part of the plan’s 10-acre open space design. The landscaping follows a "California Drape" pattern that will envelop the site, connecting the built forms with nature in an "ecological celebration" of the Golden State's natural beauty.

Image: Foster + Partners

Finally, the existing historic Beverly Hilton will receive a three-story enhancement that includes 17 new hotel rooms with shops and restaurants surrounding a pool.

I...

USC Architecture begins search for a new Art Director

2024-10-23T07:36:00-04:00

Following our previous look at an opening for a Capital Projects Manager at the DC Public Library, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for an Art Director at the University of Southern California.

The role, based in Los Angeles, calls for an individual to “lead the direction of all materials and visual media produced by the school.” Among the responsibilities for the role will be overseeing the school’s visual brand identity across media and publications, as well as leading creative design projects according to the school’s brand. The school hopes to attract applicants from those with a “thorough understanding of digital media and evolving online platforms” as well as expertise in photography, typography, and printing.

USC studio environment. Image courtesy of USC School of Architecture

Why the role interests us

The open role at USC comes only weeks after Archinect interviewed the new Dean of the institution’s schoo...

California begins offering $13,000 for single-family seismic retrofits

2024-10-22T17:22:00-04:00

The State of California has announced a new wave of grants through its Earthquake Soft-Story (ESS) program that will offer homeowners small $13,000 grants to be used in seismic retrofits.

The grants apply to qualified homeowners in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles and could be a potential windfall for architects with expertise in such projects. Only one- and two-story homes with dwelling space above a garage are eligible, according to MSN. Seismic events in L.A. County in 2024 recently surpassed numbers that haven't been seen in decades.

Marmol Radziner talks reinstallation strategy for Aluminaire House in Palm Springs

2024-10-09T10:21:00-04:00

“We also had to reassess the structure — we’re now in earthquake country and in a very challenging desert environment [...] To make this a permanent installation, we had to work with the city to assess how to permit it. We couldn’t classify it as a habitable structure because that would trigger the ADA and energy requirements, so we had to classify it as an exhibit."

The house had sat dormant in a Long Island storage facility until its relocation was finally worked out in March of 2015. Site preparations took until last year to commence after the museum added the house to its permanent collection in 2020. The entire 37-year process earned an Advocacy Citation of Merit at the 2024 Modernism in America Awards last month.

"We understand that frustration, but we would have had to have made the entire structure accessible and install an elevator," Marmol explained of the exhibition's limitations. "It’s tiny, the stairs are too narrow and steep, the doors are too narrow. There was no way to comply with ADA accessibility and fire safety codes without redesigning the entire house."

Julia Morgan’s first home design lists for $1.9 million in Berkeley

2024-10-02T18:08:00-04:00

Julia Morgan’s first residential design completed after opening her own practice has hit the real estate market in the Bay Area after listing for the first time in 50 years. The 116-year-old home owned by architect Claude Stoller until his death last year in Berkeley is just steps from UC Berkeley’s campus and includes four bedrooms and 3.5 baths in a 2,555-square-foot envelope.

The listing is for $1.9 million. According to SFGate.com, which first reported the news last week, "The property is also a mix of Morgan’s original vision and contemporary amenities: The 4,182-square-foot lot hosts the home as well as an outbuilding — itself a diminutive replica of the main house — currently used as a studio, and a redwood board and batten garage with a 220-volt power outlet. Established maple and redwood trees as well as a vine-covered pergola put the finishing touches on this historic landscape."

Image: Peter Lyons/Claudia Mills Real Estate Team

Morgan, who designed the famed Hearst Castle ...

Your next role could be managing the Eames Institute’s design projects

2024-10-02T13:05:00-04:00

Following our previous look at an opening for a Director of Architectural Design at Palisociety, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for a Design & Construction Manager at the Eames Institute.

The role, based in Richmond, CA, calls for an individual to “ensure success across various planning, construction, landscape, and infrastructure projects.” The successful candidate will be responsible first and foremost for the design and construction management of the institute’s Richmond location, including a workspace, warehouse for the Eames Archives, and several spaces for public programming.

Eames Institute headquarters. Image credit: Nicholas Calcott, courtesy of Eames Institute

Why the role interests us

The open role at the Eames Institute offers us the opportunity to profile an organization dedicated to awareness of two of the most well-known historical figures in architecture and design: Ray and Charles Eames. A nonpr...

L.A moves new rezoning plan forward, critics say it will codify exclusion

2024-09-28T10:07:00-04:00

Will L.A. continue to preserve communities dominated by single-family homes? Or will the city make a historic shift to allow for more affordable housing in areas that have long excluded it?

City Planning officials voted on Thursday to approve the plan, which the LA Times pointed out is limited to just 28% of the city and areas that are heavily zoned for commercial and/or multifamily construction.

The publication had to use a F.O.I.L. Act petition to obtain a copy of the city-funded Architectural Resources Group/USC-UCLA report on outdated single-family zoning policies, which reads: "Detached single-family residences cover a disproportionate amount of the land zoned residential. This has resulted in an unaffordable housing market due, in part, to a pervasive lack of supply and the fact that single-family homes are more expensive than multi-family residences."

City Council has until February to approve a final rezoning plan in line with the state's original 2022 mandate.

Bespoke hotel company Palisociety is looking for a new architecture director

2024-09-25T08:00:00-04:00

Following our previous look at an opening for a Transportation Project Manager at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for a Director of Architectural Design at Palisociety.

The role, based in Los Angeles, calls for an individual with hospitality design experience to “lead a growing team of design project managers in the production of relevant documentation to execute design at a high level.” Among the tasks and responsibilities for the role will be the hands-on creation of full drawing sets with specifications as well as the management of design team members. “Technical skills, passion, speed & efficiency, diligent attention to detail, and elevated taste level are a must,” the company adds.

Why the role interests us

The open role at Palisociety offers us the opportunity to explore the design approach behind Palisociety’s bespoke hotels and residences. Founded by Avi Brosh in 2007, the co...

Five rural contemporary homes by Koch Architects: Your Next Employer?

2024-09-09T10:20:00-04:00

Following our previous visit to New York-based Perkins Eastman, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series to California this week to explore the work of Koch Architects.

Founded by principal Joanne Koch in 1998, the Berkeley-based firm has developed a portfolio ranging from small interventions to larger residential projects. “We see the design process as an intimate, personal collaboration with our clients, and our role as guides, facilitators, and co-creators,” the firm says about its approach, adding that it is “dedicated to integrating intuition with experience, precedent with innovation, creative vision with practical constraints.”

Over on Archinect Jobs, the firm is currently seeking an Intermediate Designer to join its Berkeley office. For candidates interested in applying for the position or anybody interested in learning more about the firm’s output, we have rounded up four residential projects by Koch Architects that exemplify the firm’s ethos.

Sea Ranch Forest Retre...

Studio Gang's Verde creates an unforgettable waterfront connection in San Francisco's Mission Rock

2024-09-06T15:40:00-04:00

Studio Gang’s completed Verde mixed-use tower is turning heads in San Francisco. The latest addition to the skyline of Mission Rock, which recently includes MVRDV’s The Canyon, is a 23-story design that features 254 apartments with a competitive amenities suite and ground-floor retail and commercial spaces.

Image: courtesy Jason O'Rear

“For Verde, we wanted to create spaces where residents could connect with each other while feeling embraced by the natural beauty of San Francisco,” says Jeanne Gang. “The tower’s floorplates are carved back at the corners to create outdoor terraces that are unique across each floor. These terraces are oriented to maximize sunlight and protect from the wind while providing residents views of the surrounding city and San Francisco Bay. From the street, the alternating carved terraces give the building a rhythmic play of light.”

Image: courtesy Jason O'Rear

This rhythmic effect is added to by the selection of emerald-colored sp...

Ye’s gutted Tadao Ando home is purchased by a crowd-sourced real estate investment startup

2024-08-27T12:25:00-04:00

An upstart California property investment venture named Belwood Investments has announced the signing of a purchasing agreement for the Malibu home Tadao Ando designed for Richard Sachs (and later purchased by Kanye West) in 2013. News of the announcement was made public on Monday after the home was placed on the market for a discounted price of $39 million this spring. In a press release, the firm states the deal was made for under $22 million.

The rapper-cum-fashion mogul’s devastating handiwork might otherwise be an obvious drawback. However, the firm, which promotes a crowdsourcing model of ownership, says it plans on spending $5 million to restore its interiors to their original state (the home was worth $75 million when it was constructed). The renovation is expected to take between 12 and 16 months, according to their announcement.

Good with robots? University of Redlands' architecture school is hiring a robotics and prototyping specialist

2024-08-26T08:30:00-04:00

Following our previous look at an opening for an Exhibition Design Internship at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, we are using the latest edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an opening on Archinect Jobs for a Robotics/Prototype Specialist at the University of Redlands School of Architecture.

The role, based on-campus in Redlands, California, calls for an individual who will “support the application of computer science/information technology including robotics and prototyping to architecture and design,” as well as deliver orientations and demonstrations to students, staff, and faculty for the university’s robotics lab. Among the prerequisites for the role are a bachelor’s degree in architecture, information technology, or a related field, alongside experience in computational design.

Related on Archinect: Inside a new robotic housing factory in British Columbia, Canada. Image courtesy: Intelligent City

Why the role interests us

Redlands’ search for a robotics specialist ...

LA issues RFQ for $352 million Exposition Park recharge

2024-08-19T11:52:00-04:00

The City of Los Angeles will issue a major $352 million upgrade to Exposition Park in its build-up to the 2028 Olympic Games in an effort to address spatial inequalities in neighborhoods that had been “historically left behind,” Governor Gavin Newsom’s office said at the August 1st announcement.

In order to help mitigate the effects of an urban heat island in one of California’s most park-deficient and densely populated areas, the project will install a new six-acre green space and underground parking structure. Residents of the surrounding neighborhoods in South LA will benefit from the incorporation of other state-of-the-art amenities like EV charging stations and a new community space after asphalt surface parking areas are removed from its southeast corner. The announcement noted this area is currently underserved with only about 1 acre of green space available per every 1,000 persons, which is about ten times less than the national average.

Image: Torti-Gallas + Partners

Califor...

Four modern Los Angeles homes by Alloi: Your Next Employer?

2024-08-19T11:44:00-04:00

Following our previous visit to Washington-based mwworks architecture + design, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series to Los Angeles this week to explore the work of Alloi Architecture + Construction.

Founded in 2009, the architect-led design and build firm was established with the vision to “seamlessly blend architectural design and construction, with the aim of enhancing and harmonizing strengths of each discipline.” The firm specializes in residential and commercial projects inspired by Southern California’s mid-century modernists including Neutra, Schindler, Lautner, Revere Williams, and Koenig.

Over on Archinect Jobs, the firm is currently seeking an Architectural Studio Manager, Interior Designer, and Carpenter / Site Supervisor to join their Los Angeles office. For candidates interested in applying for the position or anybody interested in learning more about the firm’s output, we have rounded up four homes in the city by Alloi that exemplify the firm’s ethos.

Wago...

Take a look inside the new Eames Institute Headquarters Workspace

2024-08-14T11:53:00-04:00

The Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity has shared first photos of its new Eames Institute Headquarters Workspace in Richmond, California. Following the opening of the Eames Archive, the organization's first public space, earlier this year, the new office provides learning opportunities with expanded work environments for its staff members.

Photo: Nicholas Calcott, courtesy of Eames Institute

The project included the gut renovation of an original Jim Jennings commercial design from 1997. Two floors – the lower 2,755-square-foot first-floor workspace and the larger, 4,739-square-foot second floor for offices – were remade over the last year after being identified by the owner of the San Francisco-based bookstore William Stout Architectural Books.

Photo: Nicholas Calcott, courtesy of Eames Institute

"It’s such a pleasure to expand the reach of the Eames Institute and further share t...

Terner Center's report on construction defect liability turns a new page for California housing reformers

2024-07-26T11:48:00-04:00

The latest report from UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation on the stasis of multifamily developments in California has identified existing construction defect liability laws as a barrier to enabling housing justice statewide.

This issue involves the risk taken on by developers of condominium projects and particularly affects BIPOC communities who are less likely to be homeowners than their peers. California’s policies are therein compared to others in the United States and Canada. The findings will help lead to legal reforms to increase homeownership and should be considered especially by architects working in the state's surging multifamily market.

Burning down the house to make American homes disaster-proof

2024-07-21T11:00:00-04:00

Last year's devastating wildfires in California and Hawaii once again came into focus as part of a New York Times exposé on the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (I.B.H.S.)-led movement towards the “biggest overhaul of building standards in more than 30 years.”

Burn demonstrations help visualize protective interventions that best resemble moats in unison with better building materials. The Times says: “The message to homebuilders is stark: Homes in certain parts of the United States must now be constructed with wildfires in mind, or they most likely will not be insured, which would mean they couldn’t be bought with a mortgage.”

Landscape designers as well as architects working on private residences will be equally affected. The MIT Technology Review wrote more extensively on the subject of design and the disaster-proof home in California last April.

First California High-Speed Rail segment in LA County gets final EIR approvals

2024-07-09T11:18:00-04:00

The penultimate segment of the forthcoming California High-Speed Rail connection from Southern California to the San Francisco Bay Area has been approved for construction. The stretch begins at Palmdale in northern LA County and connects to Burbank. It will be followed by the final link between Downtown Los Angeles and Anaheim.

ABC7 first reported the milestone and said: “[O]fficials noted that the Palmdale-Burbank section will be largely underground, with four separate tunnels accounting for roughly 30 of the 38 miles. The tunnels will run beneath the Acton community and through the Angeles National Forest. Travel time between Palmdale and Burbank is expected to be about 17 minutes on the high-speed train.”

The initial renderings of the first four Foster + Partners and Arup station terminals were released last month. As per ABC, work is already underway at 25 sites across t...

Foster + Partners and Arup release first designs of California High-Speed Rail stations

2024-06-28T15:46:00-04:00

Foster + Partners and Arup have announced the first four designs for the hotly anticipated California High-Speed Rail as part of a series of open house sessions currently being undertaken with key stakeholders across the state’s Central Valley region. The first set of designs will stand as models for all future nodes in the 500-mile linkage that connects San Francisco to Los Angeles/Orange County.

Construction is underway, and planners expect to have the first operable line readied between 2030 and 2033 after years of financing issues and a recent multibillion-dollar boost from the federal government.

Image: courtesy of Foster + Partners

Stefan Behling, the Head of Studio at Foster + Partners, said: “We are developing an architectural language for the four Central Valley stations, including soaring canopies that draw in fresh air and shield waiting passengers from harsh sunlight. The station design reflects the sustainable ethos of the wider project.”

Meg Cederoth, the Authority Di...

FreelandBuck's LA hillside home design responds to a challenging topography

2024-06-27T15:53:00-04:00

FreelandBuck has designed a pair of stunning single-family residences, built with a shared foundation, atop a steep lot in Los Angeles’ Mount Washington neighborhood. They are defined by strong rectilinear forms and a restrained material palette, in addition to white open spaces illuminated by natural light.

Image: Eric Staudenmaier

The houses are each 2,000 square feet and stretch four storys in order to minimize their impact on the hillside. They respectively respond to the curve of the adjacent street, with one home featuring a perpendicular façade and the other taking on an angled one.

Image: Eric Staudenmaier

They both include an open, loft-like main level that joins together the front living and dining areas and a double-height kitchen. The homes also each include three bedrooms, an elevator, backyard, and patio spaces.

Image: Eric Staudenmaier

Responding to the topography of the site, the lower house is composed of shifted floor plates that cantileve...

Four stylish cafe/restaurant interiors by STUDIO BANAA: Your Next Employer?

2024-06-24T13:45:00-04:00

Following our previous visit to Portland-based LEVER Architecture, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series to San Francisco this week to explore the work of STUDIO BANAA.

Founded in 2015 by Nastaran Mousavi and Dane Bunton, the firm has built a portfolio of fresh, dynamic spaces defined by color, pattern, and personality. “Our design process is very collaborative, and we bring our entire team to the table and tackle it together,” Mousavi and Bunton told us in 2021 as part of our Studio Snapshot series. “Since we are small, our office structure is not as rigid as you see in bigger corporate offices, and each member of our team becomes involved in every aspect of a project.”

Over on Archinect Jobs, the firm is currently hiring for several positions at their San Francisco studio. For candidates interested in applying for the position, or anybody interested in learning more about the firm’s output, we have rounded up four cafes and restaurants featuring stylish, colorful interi...