Deborah Berke Partners has relaunched as TenBerke in a move that the firm says “re-articulates our ethics-based vision for our practice.” The new name, which still retains the surname of founder Deborah Berke, seeks to evoke ideas of multiples and multiplicity, reflecting how the firm sees the broad responsibilities of architects.
“The number ten speaks of multiples and unity, a reflection of the creative collective who form TenBerke,” the firm said in a statement. “The name evokes the Powers of Ten: Our duty as designers to look at the biggest picture and the finest detail. And simply, we like ten because it’s a handy number — a human measure.”
Related on Archinect: Listen to our One-to-One podcast interview with Deborah Berke
Deborah Berke formed Deborah Berke Partners in 2002 with Maitland Jones and Marc Leff. Since then, the firm has amassed an extensive portfolio of institutional, residential, and commercial work, with recent projects including an adaptive reuse project for Harvard Law School and an all-electric residential hall at Brown University. In addition to her commitments to practice, Berke has served as Dean of the Yale School of Architecture since 2016.
“We believe that architecture is never an end itself,” the firm’s statement continues. “It is a tool that turns what we have into what we need. Our projects lead to outcomes: the beneficial ways people use our spaces; how our buildings grant agency; and how our projects connect us meaningfully to time and place, and to one another. We design projects to be the instruments of meaningful and sustainable change.”
3 Comments
Justice and Progress.
This is awesome and I love it. Deborah Berke was one of two architects willing to speak with Eva Hagberg four years ago on the topic of death and firm succession. The whole article is excellent, and of Berke this was included:
"...part of her motivation is, while she’s still alive and practicing, to shatter the myth of the “solo genius,” by actively promoting architects at her firm to partnership status, and by sharing the responsibilities of the firm with her other employees. Berke said her office is in the middle of a restructuring, and at press time she wasn’t prepared to offer a clear outline, but assured me a plan is in active formation. “It’s much more about inclusivity, generosity, acknowledgment of the kind of atmosphere I want to have in my office,” she told me."
Full article here. https://www.architectmagazine....
Any architects enjoying the TV show of this name who aren't thinking about should consider planning your own Succession!
Everything is about balance. Acknowledging a collaborative process shouldn't have to 'shatter the myth of solo genius' -- see that the name Berke is still in the firm title. She shouldn't have to apologize for the founding vision that structures and anchors the success of the other members within it. That is called leadership.
The name doesn't even matter that much. Everyone knows that Apple is the design vision of Steve Jobs, and that he anchors everything.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.