2021 AIASF Housing Symposium

Day 1: Thursday, June 24 | 9:00 - 11:00 AM (PDT)

New Ideas: A Look at Cities / Post-COVID19
American’s ideas about the form of cities are changing. We’ll examine the shifting definitions of urbanism, envisioning revised zoning for increased density, land use strategies that could green our streets and how these strategies can make our urban environments healthier and more equitable.

Keynote
Eric Shaw, Director, Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development, City and County of San Francisco

Moderator
Chelsea Johnson, AIA, Associate, David Baker Architects

Speakers
David Sim, Partner/Creative Director, Gehl Architecture
Maia Small, Panel IV, Principal Urban Designer, SF Planning
Alexandra Vondeling, RA, LEED AP BD+C, Associate, Opticos Design

Day 2: Friday, June 25 | 9:00 - 11:00 AM (PDT)
New Designs:  A Look at Right-sized Urban Solutions / Case Studies
What’s the current housing agenda for San Francisco, and how are architects responding to the demands and opportunities presented by the shifting parameters for new housing? We’ll review several case studies of current designs for San Francisco and other cities in California that offer progressive alternatives to the status quo.

Moderator
Kristen Sidell, AIA LEED AP, Founding Principal / Architect, Sidell Pakravan Architects

Speakers
Patricia Centeno, Associate Principal, BAR Architects
Ken Lowney, Founder/President, Lowney Architecture
Hector M. Perez, Design Principal/Owner, De-Arc; Graduate Programs Coordinator, Woodbury University, San Diego
Patrick Tighe, FAIA, Principal, Patrick Tighe Architecture

Co-presented by AIASF and the Center for Architecture + Design in collaboration with the AIASF Housing Committee.

Speaker Bios

(Keynote | Day 1)
Eric Shaw, Director, Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development, City and County of San Francisco
Appointed by Mayor London Breed in April 2020, Eric is an urban planning professional with experience establishing and leading cross-sector, cross-discipline and cross-jurisdictional partnerships in the areas of community and economic development. He has been recognized for his work establishing strategic initiatives that support inclusive development and resilience in communities throughout the nation. In 2017, he was recognized in the OUTstanding Leading LGBT+ Public Sector Executives List, presented by the Financial Times. Eric currently serves as chair of the board of the online publication Next City, is a member of Harvard Graduate School of Design Alumni Council, a member of the UCLA Alumni Associate Board of Directors, and serves on the National Trust for Historic Preservation board of advisors.

(Moderator | Day 1)
Chelsea Johnson, AIA, LEED AP, Architect/Associate, David Baker Architects
Chelsea Johnson, AIA, LEED AP, is an Associate at David Baker Architects, a progressive firm based in San Francisco that creates acclaimed buildings and communities in diverse urban environments. A skilled architect and project leader, she has extensive experience designing market-rate and affordable housing, with a focus on creating a vibrant public realm. Chelsea is committed to public interest design, innovative community outreach, and pro-bono design work. As part of DBA’s sustainability initiatives, she explores green-building strategies as they relate to climate resilience. She has guided two affordable multi-family projects through the ILFI Living Building Challenge Affordable Housing Pilot, focusing on all-electric design, climate-change resilience, and equity.  She holds a Master of Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley and is a Lecturer for the James Boyce Affordable Housing Studio, an interdisciplinary graduate level architecture and planning studio at the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design.

(Moderator | Day 2)
Kristen Sidell, AIA LEED AP, Founding Principal / Architect, Sidell Pakravan Architects
Kristen co-founded Sidell Pakravan Architects to investigate, through building, how form affects individual and collective experience and how architecture profoundly influences cultures and cities. Sidell Pakravan is a practice firmly committed to built work, collaborative process, and social engagement. Kristen received a B.A. in Art history from Stanford University and a Master of Architecture from University of Pennsylvania. Kristen is a Design Review Commissioner for the City of Lafayette. She serves on the Board of Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley, where she chairs the Buildings and Grounds Committee and co-chairs the Board’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Task Force. Kristen is currently a Visiting Lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley School of Architecture. She has taught at the University of Colorado and is a senior adjunct professor at the California College of the Arts.

SPEAKERS

Ken Lowney, Founder/President, Lowney Architecture
Ken is the Founder and President of Lowney Architecture, a multidisciplinary practice offering architectural, interior and master planning services. With locations in Oakland and Honolulu, the firm focuses its practice on residential, mixed-use, and retail projects. Ken’s approach to architecture is rooted in his belief that architecture is more than simply buildings; and, if thoughtfully and responsibly done it can positively contribute to society and advance a community. In his hometown of Oakland, Ken leads discussions about community and economic development while serving in leadership roles for SPUR, the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, and the Oakland Land Use Committee.

Hector Perez, Associate Professor, Woodbury University School of Architecture; Principal, De-Arc
Hector is currently an Associate Professor at Woodbury University School of Architecture in San Diego and Principal at De-Arc, a small unorthodox design studio in La Jolla, California with projects that fluctuate between Art, Artifacts, Architecture and Academia. Alternating between solo and collaborative efforts, his projects include: in(fo)SITEs — Information Centers for In-SITE 2001 in Tijuana & San Diego / Lifeguard Stations — in La Jolla Shores & Cove / FrameWorks — a public art-fence commissioned by San Diego Museum of Art / South Oxnard Community Library, a 20,000 sf library. In 2012 Hector built his first Development project called LA ESQUINA (the corner.) This small 4,000-sf infill project breathed new life into a long-vacant corner lot and has been embraced as a positive addition to the Barrio.

David Sim, Creative Director, Gehl Architecture
For more than ten years David has been focusing on Masterplanning Frameworks and urban design, collaborating with other professionals in the planning and building process, applying Jan Gehl’s theories to large-scale projects. David is also renowned as an inspiring educator and lecturer, and has taught at architecture and design schools all over the world.

Maia Small, Principal Architect / Urban Designer, SF Planning
Over the past seven years, Maia has managed the City’s Urban Design and Design Review teams and, most recently, the Policies and Strategies team under the new Community Equity Division. She is currently overseeing the 2022 Update to the Housing Element and directing the Recovery Strategies, the City’s coordinated response to the COVID-19 pandemic and recession, both centered on racial and social equity. Prior work includes being the co-author of the San Francisco Urban Design Guidelines, lead urban designer for the Central SoMa Plan, and lead design reviewer for projects ranging from houses to high-rises to new neighborhoods.

Patrick Tighe, FAIA, FAAR, Principal, Patrick Tighe Architecture
Patrick is one of Los Angeles’ preeminent architects. The highly acclaimed namesake firm, Patrick Tighe Architecture, is committed to creating an authentic, contemporary Architecture informed by technology, sustainability and building innovation. Since its inception, the firm has produced a strong and diverse body of projects that includes city developed affordable housing, commercial, mixed-use projects, installations and award winning interiors. The firm’s work has received over 50 design awards including eight National AIA Honor Awards, American Architecture Awards, a Progressive Architecture Award, Los Angeles Architecture Awards, West Side Prize, Best of Year Awards as well as local AIA Honors. In 2011 Patrick Tighe was elevated into the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects, the highest honor bestowed by the AIA. Patrick Tighe was awarded the prestigious Mercedes T. Bass Rome Prize in Architecture, the American Institute of Architects’ Young Architect Award and the 40 under 40 Award. Tighe is a Fellow of the American Academy and The MacDowell Colony.

2021 AIASF Housing Committee

Paul Adamson, FAIA, TCA Architects (Chair)
Allison Albericci, City & County of San Francisco
Patricia Centeno, AIA LEEP AP, BAR Architects
Ben Chuaqui, LEED AP, Van Meter Williams, Pollack
Michael Cresanti, AIA, MBA, CPHC, House & Home Group
Lise de Vito, Henrybuilt / Zack | de Vito Architecture + Construction
Robert  Edmonds, Edmonds + Lee  Architects
John Lum, John Lum Architecture
Rudabeh Pakravan, Principal, Sidell Pakravan
Thomas Soper, AIA, Thomas Soper Architect
Jennifer Tulley, TEF Design
Sarah Willmer, Studio Sarah Willmer, Architecture