Platt-Whitelaw Architects

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Exciting Changes at Le Lycée Français

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All combined, members of our Platt/Whitelaw team can speak nine languages and dialects, and we hail from six different countries. Of course, when Le Lycée Français de San Diego approached us about architectural design services to support its international French school, our answer was, “mais oui!”

We’re proud to help this school expand its classroom capacity and add enrichment spaces by building out the second floor of its two-story building in Kearny Mesa.

About Le Lycée Français de San Diego

Le Lycée Français provides children from preschool through eighth grade with a well-rounded, international, French education. It’s child-first philosophy means teachers and staff focus on the students’ overall well-being and growth.

The curriculum prepares students to be citizens of the world. Instruction is provided 100% in French during preschool and 80% in later grades.

The international focus is about more than language, though. It offers an international education with culture embedded in everything so that the children are open to all aspects of the world and its offerings. International trips are also available through the school to augment the students’ learning experience.

“At LFSD, our commitment extends beyond academic excellence. We are dedicated to creating a safe, nurturing environment where our students can thrive,” said Le Lycée Français de San Diego Principal François Tregouet. “We believe their well-being is the foundation of their success.”

The San Diego student body, numbering approximately 250 kids, is very diverse, with most kids speaking more than one language at home. More than half of the students claim a family cultural origin other than, or in addition to, American.

“We all want our kids to be open to multiple ‘normals,’ not just one way of thinking and learning,” said Emanuelle Takahashi, a parent and team member at Le Lycée Français de San Diego.

The Scope of Work

Learning opportunities will certainly expand through the scope of work planned for the school.

The second floor of the two-story building has remained vacant since Le Lycée Français moved into the first floor in 2018. Soon, the second floor will be filled with 15 general-purpose classrooms, a science classroom/lab, a maker’s space, an art classroom, a staff lounge, a movement room and a small library.

The maker’s space (au plastiques) will provide multi-discipline project space, a 3-D printer, a podcasting set-up and more. The movement room will be home to dance, yoga and martial arts classes. It can also be used for general physical education.

Finally, the expansion plan includes small meeting spaces and breakout areas, as well as lockers.

“School design is one of the things we love to do best,” said Naveen Waney, owner and principal of Platt/Whitelaw Architects. “Even more so, whether it’s our identity as a parent, an immigrant or a citizen of the world, the international education focus of Le Lycée Français speaks personally to the members of our team.”

By growing its footprint, Le Lycée Français de San Diego will be able to accommodate more activities for all grades and allow for future capacity. Second floor improvements are expected to be complete between late 2025 and early 2026.

A future phase will include repairing the elevator and replacing the existing roofing and roof structure.

We are so lucky for our chance to contribute to this remarkable school and its students’ learning experience. Merci, Le Lycée Français de San Diego!

Lifesaver at the Bay? Designing for Comfort…Stations

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Platt/Whitelaw is Architect-of-Record for Many of Mission Bay’s Most-Visited Buildings

On average, humans spend up to three years in the bathroom over their lifetimes. Chances are, you visit the bathroom six to eight times a day.

With the pun very much intended, isn’t it a relief to know there’s one nearby?

If you’re in Mission Bay, there certainly is one — or a whole lot more — nearby. And you’re welcome for that. We’re confident to say we wear the architecture firm crown in Mission Bay thrones.

Can an architecture firm really tout itself as a top civic design firm without having serious cred in public restroom design? We think not.

Our Work

Allow us to submit to you not one, not two, but eight public comfort stations in Mission Bay for which Platt/Whitelaw Architects provided architectural services.

They are, in relative chronological order:

Through a mix of new construction, remodel and pre-manufactured replacements, we’ve helped provide swimmers, surfers, paddle boarders, dog walkers, bike riders, sunbathers and others the essential accommodations they need while enjoying the Mission Beach and Bay area.

Specific Requirements

It’s not all sunshine, warm breezes and a walk in the park, though. These comfort stations need to be tough!

The City of San Diego has a lot of design guidelines for the buildings. They must be low maintenance, highly durable, safe, accessible and vandal resistant.

The current stock of comfort stations in this area is a mix of types and styles, but the city is moving toward a model of gender-neutral, individual toilet rooms with sinks on the outside of the building. Patrons at Tecolote Shores will see this new model.

Being within five miles of sea air, metal material in any of these comfort stations must be coated appropriately for durability. Concrete floors help fight erosion from sandy shoes and feet. Natural (stack or cross) ventilation keeps the buildings comfortable, even on hot days.

When possible, we orient the comfort stations based upon air flow, nearby foot-traffic flow and so the doors are visible to passing safety patrols.

Wait, There’s More!

It’s hard to overshadow our decades-long legacy of Mission Bay/Beach bathrooms, but we’re proud to have an even bigger footprint in this sand. We’ve also worked on the Fiesta Island Master Plan with KTU+A; a master plan for a lifeguard headquarters on Hospitality Point; ADA upgrades at Santa Clara Point Recreation Center; and design for the Associated Students of San Diego State University and UCSD Recreation’s Mission Bay Aquatic Center.

Consisting of over 4,235 acres of land and water, Mission Bay Park is the largest aquatic park of its kind in the country. The adjacent Mission Beach is one of San Diego’s most iconic beaches. We are grateful to have the opportunity to help people appreciate these coastline gems, whether it’s from the bird’s eye view of a master plan or just a convenient place to “go.”

Platt/Whitelaw Architects’ Leadership Team Expands

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Thomas Brothers and Peter Soutowood Elevated to Principal

You don’t get to be one of San Diego’s oldest architecture firms without always planning for the future. On that note, we’re excited to announce our next generation of leadership. Longtime Platt/Whitelaw architects Thomas Brothers and Peter Soutowood are now principals of the firm, while Naveen Waney, AIA, becomes senior principal.

Here’s a recap of what ran in the San Diego Business Journal about our news.

In his 22 years of experience with Platt/Whitelaw Architects, Thomas Brothers rose through the ranks after starting as an intern. Thomas now leads many of the firm’s school and water and wastewater projects. He taught sustainable design at NewSchool of Architecture & Design and served as an ACE Mentor and volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. He looks forward to continuing the firm’s focus on mentoring, sustainability and community outreach.

Peter Soutowood’s diverse experience includes seven years in international affairs and 20 years in architecture, including seven at Platt/Whitelaw, and four years as a restaurant owner. Peter leads a variety of public-facing projects for the firm. He also led the La Mesa Village Association as chair for more than three years and spent three years chairing the City of La Mesa’s Design Review Board. He is looking forward to leading the firm as it evolves and expands.

A lot has happened in our firm’s 70 years, and we know this is the right leadership team to keep us moving forward.

Innovative Strategies for Pure Water: Preserving Our Vital Resource

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The North City Pure Water Facility and Pump Station is Key to Supplying Nearly Half of San Diego’s Drinking Water

The North City Pure Water Facility and Pump Station will recycle water treated for use in irrigation into water so clean that the City of San Diego has to add minerals back in to produce the best drinking water. Platt/Whitelaw Architects is honored to be working with prime engineer HDR to manage architectural design for the pump station component of this new pure water facility.

The facility’s five-stage process  creates water so pure it is nearly distilled water quality, which is then pumped to the Miramar Reservoir. There, it undergoes further processing at the Miramar Water Treatment Plant to make it potable. The facility will convey approximately 30 million gallons per day of purified water.

North City Pure Water Facility and Pump Station is expected to be the first site in California to follow this innovative, five-step treatment process. The City of San Diego’s goal is for Pure Water to supply nearly half of the City’s drinking water upon completion.

San Diego’s progressive water recycling program reduces the region’s dependence on imported water and the challenges that go along with securing it. Additionally, pumping water long distances is very expensive. Recycling water locally and transporting it through the City’s piping system is more fiscally responsible.

The North City Pure Water Facility and Pump Station is located north of Miramar Road, east of the I-805 Freeway. It sits across the street from the North City Water Reclamation Plant, which recycles water for use in irrigation. Some of that water will then go to the North City Pure Water Facility and flow through the Pump Station.

The 3,800-square-foot pump station we designed contains three rooms: a pump room, a large electrical room for equipment and a small control room. The control room sits in the middle, with a window to view the pump room and windows on both exterior sides.

Sometimes, pump maintenance means lifting an entire pump out of the pump room. We included large access hatches on the roof above each pump so they can be lifted straight out of the building. We also designed rails on the sides of each pump for a bridge crane.

The exterior design matches the rest of the facility, which will be made from concrete molded with chamfered designs. Since we designed the pump station before another team designed the rest of the facility, one challenge that arose was having to modify designs to ensure the facility and its pump station would complement each other aesthetically.

We are used to working in a team environment, so close communication with the City’s project manager, the other design team and HDR made for a smooth process.

“HDR brought us on because they knew our firm has designed a lot of pump stations and other water and wastewater projects,” said project architect Thomas Brothers. “Our firms share understanding and an appreciation for the importance of water infrastructure for our region. It’s been great working with the HDR team.”

Construction is underway with an expected completion date in mid-2026. Shimmick is the contractor for the entire facility. The Platt/Whitelaw team for this project includes Thomas Brothers and our senior firm principal, Naveen Waney, AIA.

Designing a Stand-Out School to Inspire Students and Staff

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This Back-to-School Year is Especially Exciting for Clairemont Canyons Academy Wildcats

It’s back to school time, and we’re marking the occasion by shining a spotlight on Clairemont Canyons Academy (CCA).

This public school stands out in the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD). It’s a mainstream elementary school with a high percentage of special-needs students. (SDUSD merges special ed programs into standard operations for diversity and a stronger student body.) As such, our design for the school includes many unique features.

For the last two years, the students have been using the new classroom building we designed, but when school starts for the 2024-2025 term, all the finishing touches will be complete. One of those touches that we’re particularly excited about is a ceiling-mounted harness, called a HOPSA dress track, which lives in the classroom of Karin Wehsener, Education Specialist, Moderate/Severe.

The harness enables children with limited mobility to be up close to an interactive board on the wall. Here, they can explore mechanical and tactile objects while easily moving themselves from side to side. We are particularly grateful to Ms. Wehsener for her valuable input throughout our work.

The Building

The 37,500-sf, two-story, ground-up administration and classroom building contains 14 classrooms, a maker’s lab, a sensory room and an administration core with student services. These services include counseling and speech and music therapy programs. More details about this building and its forward-thinking features can be found in one of our previous blog articles.

This year, the students will also have a new joint-use field and ball courts to use, and older buildings throughout the campus will be modernized. Students will have access to three new, shaded, outdoor learning classrooms that take advantage of San Diego’s temperate climate and offer the calming effects of an outdoor environment.

The Team

Our PWA design team of Sandra Gramley, AIA, Peter Soutowood, AIA, and Samantha Saltzman worked closely with SDUSD and the school to generate designs that allow for maximum positive impact on student learning and wellbeing, core values of community service-based learning and the logistics of building on an occupied site. We organized the programs and spaces within existing buildings in collaboration with the teachers and staff on campus to ensure equity and alignment with the school’s mission.

Without excellent construction execution, innovative designs can fall flat, so we are grateful to have Swinerton as our construction partner for CCA. The great communication and construction skills of their team have been invaluable in bringing this school design project to fruition.

Thank you

Our dynamic duo team is better characterized as a trio, because our SDUSD project manager Kurt Stolle is a talented visionary. We appreciate his leadership.

This trio grows to full-orchestra size when we account for the subconsultants, product representatives, contractors and site staff who stepped up to give the students of CCA an inspiring school.

Here’s to a great school year for the new and returning CCA Wildcats!

Sensory room photos by Peter Soutowood at Platt/Whitelaw Architects.
Other photos courtesy of Swinerton.

Want the 411 on Balboa Park’s Botanical Building Redo? Tour with Us!

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Excitement Builds as Renovation of Iconic Balboa Park Structure Progresses

In the early 20th century, California was promoting redwood construction. The 1915 California-Panama Exposition was the perfect place to showcase its redwood lumber to the rest of the nation and the world.

This is why the Botanical Building in Balboa Park, built as part of said exposition, is made predominately from redwood.

A Tour & Trivia

We’d like to thank Wayne Donaldson, who co-led a recent construction tour of the Botanical Building for our staff and threw in some trivia, like the fact above. It’s exciting to see our architectural restoration design come to life and to learn more about the preservation of this majestic building.

Wayne, a preservation architect and former State Historic Preservation Officer of California, is part of our design team for the Botanical Building restoration, which is currently underway. EC Constructors is serving as the general contractor, and its owner, Jim Summers, was the other half of the duo leading our tour.

Rebuilding a San Diego Icon

“EC Constructors is doing great job producing high quality work,” said Platt/Whitelaw Principal Sandra Gramley, AIA, who along with Yolanda Velazco, LEED Green associate, and Sam Saltzman comprise our PWA team for the Botanical Building. “Curved, wood moldings are something contemporary framers don’t often have to deal with, so Jim and his team truly became craftsmen to form the wood to match the moldings from 1915.”

Also taking shape are the windows and the arcade across the front of the building, which are being recreated from the original design.

“The stucco arcade and windows were part of the original building but few people living today have seen them as part of this structure,” Sandra added.

The last renovation of the building happened in the 1950’s, which is when the windows and stucco arcade were removed.

Even More Trivia

The Botanical Building is one of just four structures from the 1915 exposition that was designed to remain in place after the exposition.

Another piece of trivia Wayne shared during our tour was this: The building wasn’t included in the original master plan for the park.

It not only got added to the plan, but the building is still here nearly 110 years later. What’s even more fascinating: it just had a refurbished, 2,000-pound cupola plopped on top of it.

Our readers may have seen press coverage of the cupola installation. The copper steeple and dome cupola is the same one first installed in 1915.

Men (& Women) at Work

Restoration work still pending includes window installation, some framing, wood trim, stucco application and molding work. Those keeping careful tabs will already know that the work is happening from the west end of the building and progressing to the east end.

The restoration work also involves preserving the iconic Moreton Bay Fig tree planted at the northeast corner of the building when it was originally constructed in 1915. Over time, the tree roots grew into the building! To make sure the tree can keep growing, modifications were made to the exterior facade.

While a few other mature plantings remained in place during construction, the City of San Diego will eventually repatriate and add new smaller plants that have been living off site while work progresses.

Then, Now & Gratitude

Over the decades, water damaged the wood and steel extensively and a remodel compromised the original design of the Botanical Building. For the past couple of years, we’ve provided architectural design services to restore this beloved structure and worked with a wonderful team to do so. It’s an incredible project to be part of, and we’re grateful to the City of San Diego for the opportunity.

Revitalizing San Diego’s Historic Golden Hill House: A Fusion of Architectural Notoriety and Community Impact

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Our work on Golden Hill House, in San Diego’s Golden Hill neighborhood combines two of our favorite things: historic renovations and helping our community.

Originally designed by noted architect Irving Gill in 1895, and known as the George Garretson House, the Shingle style of architecture was progressive at the time of design. The house is now owned by the County of San Diego, and leased to a substance use provider for their program operations.

The substance use provider utilizes the house as a residential treatment program for women.

The Power of Architecture

We know that architecture has power, including the power to promote calming and healing. A beautiful, safe space can bring peace through a challenging experience. We want Golden Hill House itself to be part of the positive journey these women take.

“I appreciate that this project has a social-benefit aspect to it,” said Architect Randy Biegenzahn, AIA, LEED AP who is leading this project for us along with support from Principal Sandra Gramley, AIA, LEED AP. “People are getting help, and there’s an altruistic, societal benefit.”

The Improvements

The aesthetic upgrades for the house include a new paint scheme and dual glazed wood windows that match the original design of the house. We’re also repairing and replacing the exterior stairways and landings.

While not as noticeable, the livability upgrades include accessibility improvements, upgrading the HVAC system with a heat pump, updating the electrical system, and upgrading the fire alarm system.

Additionally, the house’s layout of living quarters upstairs and communal spaces downstairs requires fire zone separation doors and additional egress for the residential use.

Thank You Team

The design process is well underway and we’d like to acknowledge some of our wonderful subconsultants on this project, Turpin & Rattan for MPE, Nasland for Civil  and Aark as Structural Engineers. We anticipate construction starting for all these renovations and improvements in spring or summer of 2024.

We are grateful to the County of San Diego for the opportunity to work on a socially and culturally important project like Golden Hill House.

Photo by Architect Randy Biegenzahn. The photo is before.

Designing Safe Sleeping Sites in San Diego’s East County

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Safe Parking Lots Will Offer Refuge

For our county’s unhoused citizens, sleeping can be dangerous. Will someone take your things? Will the weather make you suffer? Will someone do you harm? The list of worries goes on.

We’re proud to be working with the County of San Diego, along with prime contractor Michael Baker International and its GC partner Turner Construction Company, to provide Safe Sleeping Sites for people currently unsheltered and living in their cars.

Construction is starting soon at a safe parking site in Spring Valley. People living out of their cars can park there and stay the night, legally. The site will be secured and staffed, and occupants will be screened. These sites will provide people with the basic dignity of restrooms and showers.

A similar safe parking lot is planned for El Cajon. The lots will most likely open in mid-2024.

When designing these safe parking lot adaptations, we site the ingress/egress, fencing, services, administration buildings and security lighting and cameras. We’re also designing for ADA compliance. The parking lots need significant modifications, including pervious paving in some cases.

Coordinating the project for Platt/Whitelaw is James Mason, who said, “It’s very rewarding knowing that people in need will be secure and have a place to go to find a better situation.”

Collaborating with James on the project is our firm Principal Naveen Waney, AIA, and our intern Malie Little. Our fantastic roster of subconsultants includes Turpin & Rattan Engineering, Bender Dean Engineering, Petersen Structural Engineers (PSE) and Engineering Partners Inc. (EPI).