Thursday, February 05, 2009

The Future Vision - The Next Generation of Young Bay Area Architects

Join us on February 24, 2009 at 6:30pm for a presentation and discussion that will give you a glimpse into the work of three young architects and the role they believe architecture can play in the future. They will explain how with more socially conscious design concepts and methodologies architecture has the ability to improve people's lives, local communities and the built environment.

Liz Ogbu is the Associate Design Director at Public Architecture, where she is responsible for design initiative selection, execution, and advocacy as well as oversight of the organization's pro-bono service grants. Liz is also a designer at FOURM design+build+educate. She recently was selected as "Green Giant" by Steelcase, Inc. for her work in promoting environmentally and socially sustainable design. Liz has also been involved with many community focused projects and organizations, including the launch of the Community Design: Now or Never website and its associated symposium; the operation of the Mayors' Institute on City Design; the creation and stewardship of a design outreach program for local youth in Cambridge and Boston; and the board of a nonprofit affordable housing developer in the San Francisco Bay Area. She also has been a lecturer at the California College of the Arts. Liz earned her Bachelor of Arts in architecture from Wellesley College and Master of Architecture from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University.

Deanna Van Buren received her Bachelors of Science in Architecture from the University of Virginia in 1994 and a Masters in Architecture from Columbia University in 1999. She quickly accepted an opportunity to work abroad and left for England to join the concept design offices of Eric R. Kuhne & Associates as a designer and assistant project manager. Over three years Deanna was involved in a variety of mixed use development projects in England, UAE-Dubai and Malaysia with a focus on urban infill, civic spaces and high street retailing centers. Her experience and contacts in Europe led her to Australia where she joined with the Buchan Group as an assistant design director. Deanna was the design team leader on projects ranging from master planning new town centers of leisure precincts in China to sustainable office buildings in Sydney. After returning to the USA in 2005 Deanna shifted gears and joined the Oakland offices of Michelle Kauffman Designs as a project manager for sustainable modular single family homes. She currently brings her passion for conceptually based socially sustainable design to the San Francisco office of Perkins + Will as a project architect and is the founding partner of FOURM design+build+educate.

A native to San Francisco, principal Yakuh Askew, AIA has founded a studio that is attuned to its clientele, understands its community and offers solutions that feature honest and environmentally intelligent materials. Yakuh Askew earned his Bachelor of Architecture from California Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo, CA, which included a 9 month program in Florence, Italy. Beginning his professional career with STUDIOS Architecture, Yakuh worked on large scale office developments for 3Com in Santa Clara, CA, the Milpitas City Hall, CA and the 1.2 million square foot office development, Foundry Square in San Francisco's SOMA district. Yakuh also spent several years with Cass Smith at CCS Architecture working on the design of restaurants in San Francisco, CA, San Jose, CA, Tahoe, CA and Baltimore, MD as well as private residences in the Cole Valley and Buena Vista neighborhoods of San Francisco. At Y.A. studio, Yakuh has built a design team that has proven itself designing restaurants, single-family residences, multi-family residences (ranging from 2 units to 9 units), offices, warehouses, medical facilities, and consulted on a 87 unit residential development, the Californian Academy of Sciences and over 200 other projects throughout San Francisco and the greater Bay Area. Y.A. studio is a full service architectural firm committed to a process of investigation, exploration and collaboration. Y.A. studio's designs offer modern solutions to both private and commercial clients seeking specific responses to urban or natural context.

2/24/09

Future Vision: The Next Generation of Young Bay Area Architects

Co-sponsored by SFNOMA.

Time: 6:30pm - 8:30pm

Location: AIA East Bay Chapter Office, 1405 Clay Street, Oakland

Contact: 510/464-3600

Cost: None; this program is open to all. Please RSVP.

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