Platt-Whitelaw Architects

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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.

Architecture a Century from Now

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How our Senior Associate Peter Soutowood helped shape the conversation at the AIA Young Architects Forum’s Summit 30: Mission 2130

Can you imagine the role of architects more than 100 years into the future?

That’s exactly what Platt/Whitelaw Senior Associate Peter Soutowood had the chance to do when he was selected as one of 50 AIA members from around the country to participate in the AIA Young Architects Forum’s Summit 30: Mission 2130.

Chosen based on essays they submitted, the 50 participants were asked to imagine and address challenges the profession will face in the next 100 years, focusing on architecture, society and our planet.

“I think I was chosen because I put a lot of work into my essay and was very honest. I addressed the state of things now and how much they need to change, including food and the environment, not just architecture,” Peter said.

Through this Summit, the AIA hopes to understand what energizes a new generation of architects, even if the topics identified are outside the purview of architecture. In fact, Peter says the majority of the Summit group believed that the discipline of architecture, as we know it, would change massively over a century.

Future Solutions

Some thought artificial intelligence (AI) systems would take over many tasks. But, they asked, how vastly different would AI be in the future? Regardless, Peter points out that humans need to design for humans, and even AI is programmed by humans.

He also realizes that current AI systems reflect a lot of bias from the programmers, so the next step is to create a fresh system and use AI to see how the past can inform current and future architecture in a positive way.

Many Summit participants were excited about AI for code compliance and believe certain architectural tasks should be automated already. Also, they asked how AI can make architects more accessible to everyone—especially when current avenues are so limited and generally require a contract and money.

Peter’s working group at the Summit was called The Planeteers. Looking at a 100+-year timeline, they thought about milestones needed to eliminate fossil fuel use. For example, within the next 30 years, implementing intentional rolling blackouts may get people used to the necessity of those blackouts and further incentivize conservation. They also considered implementing a trash tax to encourage people to recycle instead of just dumping.

Several groups, including Peter’s, focused on deglobalization, where global energy and food systems would become localized. If it’s harder to transport things around the globe, they posited, people will start to localize food and energy production, thereby reducing negative impacts on the environment.

The Planeteers also discussed opening up new biomes in the ocean and on land and harvesting food and other renewable resources in different places. Peter’s group took a special interest in using waterways for food production, infrastructure and transportation.

Ultimately, each group hosted a five-minute presentation about their idea, with an oral and visual description of their vision.

Peter’s group included the idea of local neighborhood hubs for education, recycling, shade tree mechanics, energy production, food production and more.

The Summit Experience

Peter says that the Summit experience left him thinking about how to guide people to be more resilient and self-reliant and on ways to change our culture of cheap, disposable goods. While acknowledging its tragedy, Peter says that one positive outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic was the hyper-localization that happened and how quickly most of society was able to adapt to it.

Our team had a taste of this experience because Peter involved us before the workshop to further brainstorm. He presented the Summit’s prompts at a weekly Platt/Whitelaw staff meeting. Everyone, whether they specialize in architecture, marketing or administration, came up with great ideas and demonstrated that, as Peter said, “You don’t have to be an architect to know we need to make a major shift with our built environment and lifestyle. These questions of how to change behavior should be asked of everyone.”

So, esteemed reader, how do you think the design profession will change in relation to architecture, society and our planet? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

PWA’s Architecture Now Includes Restaurants!

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“Restaurants are like a machine for hosting a grand party every night.” – Peter Soutowood

And who would know that better than Peter, former restaurant owner and our senior associate? Since rejoining Platt/Whitelaw Architects, Peter has expanded our community architecture work to include restaurants.

These clients have found a uniquely qualified design partner in Peter.

“Designing is one thing but being on the ownership and operations side of a restaurant gave me a completely different perspective of why things should be laid out the way they are,” he said.

MRKTSpace

Along with Principal Naveen Waney and others from our team, Peter is helping Matt Power, owner of MRKT Space, design his third location. With locations already in Encinitas and La Jolla Shores, Matt is renovating space in downtown Rancho Santa Fe for the next iteration of MRKT Space.

As if we weren’t pleased enough to add an exciting new type of community architecture to our books, Matt selected a historic building designed by famous San Diego architect Lilian Rice for his new MRKT Space location. (This seems like a good place to shamelessly plug our experience in historic renovation.)

The Rancho Santa Fe building was subdivided over the years to make way for offices, so we’ll be restoring the original space to more closely resemble how it looked 100 years ago when it started as…a market.

The beautiful ground floor space, where a café and gourmet market will go, includes adobe, wood-framed walls. Above that level, Matt has already secured permission to create a roof deck with a full restaurant and bar, with a brand-new and historically complementary, stepped-back, second-story structure.

The Rancho Santa Fe MRKT Space will help re-activate the village center by providing an all-day venue. Opening is estimated for late 2023, and the food and beverage selections will be top-shelf and Italian-inspired.

We’re excited to be working with such a visionary restaurant owner (with impeccable taste in architecture) who has plans for further expansion of his food and beverage concept.

Little Madi & More

Fans of Madison in University Heights will be happy to hear that we’re also working with this restaurant owner to design an offshoot of Madison, called Lil’ Madi, focused on brunch service. This client is also having us design a pizza restaurant.

Allow us to drop hints about also working with some other entrepreneurs who are planning to open everything from bars to burger joints to patisseries.

No matter the type of space, “There’s a gigantic flow of stuff that needs to be invisible to people who come in, but the space still has to be as efficient as possible,” said Peter, adding that he always has the client walk them through the exact operation of their restaurant’s food or beverage concept before starting design.

Whether it’s Rancho Santa Fe, midtown or another of your favorite neighborhoods, keep an eye open for Platt/Whitelaw Architects banners on the next exciting hospitality construction site.

HOME 2024 – What’s in Store for Our Bi-National World Design Capital?

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In 2024, San Diego and Tijuana will co-host design enthusiasts from around the world who come to see the first bi-national region to be selected as a World Design Capital®. They will see graphic, industrial, architectural, artistic and other design projects that help define our region.

Billing this historic event as ‘Designing Transborder Futures,’ the local HOME 2024 team that put together the San Diego/Tijuana bid to become a World Design Capital is currently developing and aggregating much of what will be featured that year by bringing together a diverse group of creatives. The World Design Capital 2024 planning effort explores ways to design for innovation, transformation, activation and imagination.

According to the HOME 2024 website, the World Design Organization (WDO) “is an authoritative voice on design and design-driven innovation internationally. Every two years, they select a ‘World Design Capital.’ This yearlong designation involves an array of public events and legacy projects and shines an international spotlight on one successful city”…or two.

Part of what stood out to the WDO selection committee, in addition to the cross-border collaboration between San Diego and Tijuana, was our region’s focus on human- and community-centered design.
HOME stands for:
• Human-centered
• Open
• Multicultural + Multidisciplinary
• Experimental

The refresh of Balboa Park buildings was mentioned as a factor in San Diego-Tijuana’s designation. (As Platt/Whitelaw is currently working on two of these refresh projects and previously helped design refresh projects at Balboa Park, we couldn’t be happier to hear this news!)

While the groups that spearheaded the HOME 2024 bid include the Design Forward Alliance, UC San Diego Design Lab and the Burnham Center for Community Advancement (as well as the support of San Diego and Tijuana governments), a broad cross-section of design leaders helped present to the WDO committee. To provide an architectural perspective, AIA San Diego Executive Director Leigh Eisen was one of them.

We chatted with Leigh to get her perspective.

PWA: Does the architectural community have a designated project(s) it’s contributing to HOME 2024?

Leigh: Not yet. The HOME 2024 committee is completing a visioning process. They don’t want to be prescriptive. Instead, they want design organizations to leverage their strengths. One of the great things that I see happening is that the Design Forward Alliance brought different design groups and nonprofits together, both through its formation and later through its co-leadership in securing the World Design Capital designation. While we still don’t know what the specific contributions will be from architecture and other design professionals to the World Design Capital experience, we’re working more collaboratively than ever before.

PWA: Can you tell us about touring with the WDO committee?

Leigh: I attended the tour and presented to the jury at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center in La Jolla. We all had 10 to 15 minutes to pitch to the jury members. The bid committee chair MaeLin Levine was really helpful in pulling the entire presentation together. I think one thing that made a difference with the judges was highlighting San Diego’s annual Design Week, which is already a big collaborative effort between architects, designers, arts institutions and more.

PWA: How does the AIA San Diego plan to keep the World Design Capital vibe going beyond 2024?
Leigh: We will have a chance to keep the collaborative partnership between many different groups. We’re all part of “Design with a capital D,” meaning architects and designers are part of a broader community. This includes our counterparts in Tijuana and those serving on AIA San Diego’s international associate members committee.
Another of our committees, the regional design advisory council, which is comprised mostly of architecture and planning professionals, is focusing a lot on HOME 2024 and will likely identify ways to parlay that experience into a lasting legacy.

PWA: If people want to get involved with HOME 2024, what can they do?

Leigh: All regional design advisory council meetings are open to anyone. It’s a broad coalition and a dynamic group.

We’d like to thank Leigh for sharing her insights with us. We’re excited to see what lies ahead for the World Design Capital of 2024!

https://home2024.com/

Aspects of Creativity in the Architectural Design Process

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Architecture is unique for its blend of art and science. Architect Antonin Gaudí, for example, is world famous for his unconventional shapes, colors and textures. But, at the end of the day, his designs for the Sagrada Familia, Parc Güell and other noted structures had to be technically sophisticated enough to reach into the sky without falling down and to last for centuries.

In a profession ruled heavily by technical and codified requirements, what room is left for creativity, and how does it shine through?

We posed a series of questions along these lines to some of our staff members, and some themes emerged.

The Spark

The architectural design process starts with understanding the client’s vision and needs, as well as the context of the project, and then touring the site. During the first site visit, the architect is looking to learn more about the texture of site, its environs and neighbors, its history, the social and environmental aspects, sun angles, views and more.

After this visit, the architect needs a creative spark. From this spark comes the design concept around which the rest of the project falls into place.

“With a strong design concept, all other decisions fit easily into a framework,” said Sandy Gramley, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C. “As other people get involved, the design concept can guide them, too.”

For example, knowing that the North Pleasant Valley Desalter Facility in Camarillo, California was located on the border of the city, Naveen Waney, AIA, decided that using ‘gateway to the city’ as his design concept would spark the rest of his design.

Kristin Holbrook and Yolanda Velazco used a photo of a beautiful sunset as creative inspiration for the Oceanside Crisis Stabilization Unit color palette.

Sourcing a Spark

Where do these sparks come from?

In addition to the two examples above, the proverbial spark can come from anything.

“I look at lots of different resources,” said Naveen. “It might come from flipping through a magazine, from past projects or just about anything.”

The ‘just about anything’ often includes nature.

“We see a lot of nature-inspired design, including biophilic design,” said Sandy. “Biophilia is the practice of taking concepts found in nature and bringing them into design.”

She referenced the inspiration a fabric designer found in observing how geckos’ feet stick to surfaces to then create a removable wallpaper, and an engineer’s study of how a cactus sheds water in that engineer’s efforts to design a water preservation system.

Naveen also credits architecture schools for helping budding architects build a strong foundation for creative spark. History classes, for example, are helpful for reviewing magnificent architectural examples from the past and then working backwards to understand them, he said.

Kristin agrees, and added that travel is also important for sparking her creativity.

“Travel is a big inspiration for me personally. I don’t always get to execute the ideas I generate right away, but it opens your mind to a different aesthetic possibility.”

Sandy pointed out that technology has opened up travel as a design inspiration for designers who may not have the wherewithal to jet to a faraway destination. With the vast resources of the Internet, including Google Earth and three-dimensional or virtual reality tours, architects can expand their creative horizons much more easily than in decades past.

The Role of Technology

Technology, however, can be a double-edged sword.

“Now, computers allow conceptual designs to develop three-dimensionally much faster,” said Sandy. “But is that better or worse? You still have to be able to do a lot in your head. [Formulating the design] without a computer can be a slower process that gives you time to work through some parameters. Conversely, a computer offers more opportunity for iterations.”

Naveen added that technology can work in the opposite direction of modeling, but neither starting point is right or wrong. “My generation learned by sculpting with chipboard, but now many architects are used to having environmental data and light studies that they can use to work backwards to shape the building,” he said.

Despite technology comprising a significant part of her architectural education, Kristen realizes the standard options available in many software programs can stifle creativity.

“If you rely on technology over drawing, you can let it make all the decisions,” she said.

Will I Dream?

In 2010, the sequel to the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, the partly sentient computer HAL asks, “Will I dream?” – a chilling reminder that we don’t expect a computer to think like a human. It is, in fact, the human element that an architect must be responsible for infusing into a project.

“The architect has to understand where the project’s stakeholders are coming from,” said Sandy.
We need to step into their shoes, especially to have cultural sensitivity if that’s something relevant to project.”

Civic projects make up a big portion of our work at Platt/Whitelaw, so we often seek input from many different people and groups.

“[Community input] will always color your perspective,” said Kristin. “The architect should be sensitive to it and ask, ‘Who is this project is for? What is their culture? How do we honor it in the design?’”

Kristin added that as equity and diversity advance in the architectural profession itself, the shift will “open up exciting opportunities for creativity to unfold into projects” and to reflect sparks from more types of people.

Final words

As our staff contemplated the role of creativity in architecture, Naveen offered a good summary.

“Creativity doesn’t stop or have a specific place. It needs to continue through to building occupancy. It’s expressed consistently in figuring out how the pieces fit together.”

Photo by W K on Unsplash

Decarbonization Succeeds Net-Zero-Energy as Sustainability Goal

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By Sandra Gramley, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C

As little as a year ago, zero net energy dominated the discussion in sustainability circles. In architecture, that means designing or retrofitting buildings to produce at least as much energy as they consume.

Since that goal was based on solar energy supplied by roof-mounted photovoltaic (PV) panels, after PV panels became cheaper and more prevalent, the next step was to aim higher.

Enter decarbonization.

Decarbonization relates to the reduction of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. Those gasses causing the most damage are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gasses. Most of these harmful gasses are generated by producing, transporting or burning fossil fuels.

Most cites’ and states’ climate goals are closely tied to reducing the use of fossil fuels.

According to Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, “In 2015, CO2 emissions from fossil-fuel combustion in the U.S. building sector generated 565.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMtCO2e) in direct emissions, or about 8.6 percent of total U.S. greenhousegasemissions.”

This contribution makes buildings the fourth highest emitting sector in the U.S.

Health is also an issue. Air quality and public health professionals teamed to ask the California Energy Commission to safeguard public health by adopting an all-electric energy code by 2022.

Citing an article in Nature by Irene C. Dedoussi, et. al. entitled Premature Mortality Related to United States Cross-State Air Pollution, this team wrote to the Commission, “…the lack of regulation of the building sector has meant that buildings are now the leading cause of premature death from combustion emissions (particulate matter and ozone).” 

They also pointed out that one in eight Californians has asthma, and that this group of people may be at especially high risk from indoor gas appliances and systems.

Moreover, as noted in a Lancet article by Michael Guarnieri and John R. Balmes entitled Outdoor Air Pollution and Asthma, the team pointed out in their letter that “asthma rates are higher in low-income communities and communities of color.” As building codes evolve, matters of environmental justice like this are increasingly important considerations.

Fortunately, with production of wind energy on the rise and solar panels becoming more affordable, it makes sense for buildings to maximize the energy available from these clean sources.

A major aspect of decarbonization, as it relates to building design, means moving to all-electrical appliances and systems. Solar and wind energy can make electricity, and if a building uses electricity instead of gas, it can be powered entirely by clean energy.

With proper planning and design, buildings can also accommodate electric vehicle charging, thereby facilitating the transition away from combustible fuel vehicles.

Architects play an important role in this transition to decarbonization and building electrification. As such, the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE) has been advocating for and promoting decarbonization strategies and policies.

I serve on this committee and work with other architectural leaders to encourage more public agencies to create “reach codes” that would encourage or require electrification. Reach codes are local requirements that exceed the state code.

Many cities have emerged as leaders. The City of Berkeley, California, which prohibited natural gas infrastructure in new construction last year, has led the charge on decarbonization and electrification measures. Other Northern California cities and some places in Massachusetts have taken steps too, as well as a smattering of cities in other states.

Closer to Platt/Whitelaw Architects’ home in San Diego, the City of Carlsbad is limiting the use of natural gas. Already a leader in the zero net energy movement, the County of San Diego is also one to watch.  

It is important for architects to educate their clients about how easy and affordable it is to electrify a new building that will have PV panels.  

Retrofitting existing buildings presents a greater challenge, but Berkeley is considering incentives for making this more financially feasible for owners. It remains to be seen how other cities will address this issue.

Another challenge is ensuring that essential facilities have emergency power that doesn’t rely on fossil fuel-powered generators. The game changer here likely will be high-capacity solar cell backup batteries, but the technology is still evolving.

According to an article on Nature.com, “Before the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, emissions of carbon dioxide were rising by about 1% per year over the previous decade, with no growth in 2019.”

The need to roll back greenhouse gas emissions is dire and immediate. Electrifying buildings can make a big impact in this effort. Help spread the word by sharing this article and talking to your friends, family and coworkers.