Give Me Shelter
Pallet City in Chula Vista will provide temporary homes for more than 130 formerly unsheltered people Community architecture is our jam, and that means architecture for everyone. We’re so pleased to work on a project that will provide individuals, couples and families – all of whom currently live without shelter – with temporary homes at […]
PWA’s Architecture Now Includes Restaurants!
“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
Designing a Better Way for Behavioral Health Services
By Sandra Gramley, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C The County of San Diego provides crisis stabilization units to deliver services in community-based or hospital settings for people experiencing a mental health or substance-use crisis. For people in the midst of a crisis, being taken to a jail or hospital may not constitute an appropriate level […]
Increasing Water Independence for the City of Camarillo
Most people don’t think much about water supply beyond turning on their tap or garden hose and expecting water to come out. Behind-the-scenes, however, is far more complicated. Fortunately for many Southern Californians, we have people on staff who think about water supply a lot. Most recently, our firm principal Naveen Waney and associate Thomas […
The Creation & Restoration of Balboa Park
Balboa Park’s origin story Just outside downtown San Diego are 1,200 acres of land dedicated as park space by the City of San Diego. Known as Balboa Park, the space includes many natural and planted areas as well as buildings that represent some of San Diego’s most iconic architecture. Central Park in New York City […]
Aspects of Creativity in the Architectural Design Process
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 […]
Hello, Sunshine! Platt/Whitelaw Architects Helps SDUSD Schools Go Solar
By Sandra Gramley, AIA, LEED ap BD+C At Platt/Whitelaw, we’re helping empower schools in more ways than one. While school design and modernization have long been part of our work product, some recent San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) directives have us literally powering schools. As of September 2020, 7,332 K-12 schools throughout the nation [&hell
Rick Strickland Promoted to CFO of Platt/Whitelaw Architects, Inc.
Congratulations to Rick Strickland, who has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer of Platt/Whitelaw Architects. His duties include management of all financial and human resources activities. He previously served as our Chief Financial Manager. Rick joined Platt/Whitelaw over six years ago after working as Controller for another San Diego-based architectur
Unique Design Considerations for Temporary Homeless Shelters
By Sandra Gramley, AIA, LEED ap BD+C & Keiko Newton Our moderate climate and high cost of housing result in San Diego grappling with a large homelessness problem. A 2020 count found nearly 5,000 people experiencing homelessness in the City of San Diego. Platt/Whitelaw has been helping both the City of San Diego and the […]
Decarbonization Succeeds Net-Zero-Energy as Sustainability Goal
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, […]
Integrating Art into Public Spaces to Engage, Enhance and Inspire
By Naveen Waney and Sandra Gramley, Principals at Platt/Whitelaw Architects A percentage of estimated construction costs for new buildings are required by many public agencies to be set aside to integrate public art. This can be at the federal level, like the General Services Administration, or the local level, like the City of San Diego […]
Pandemic Brings Changes to Everything from Offices to Apartments
San Diego Business Journal, June 22, 2020, By Ray Huard: Sandra Gramley, co-principal of Platt/Whitelaw Architects in North Park, said now “is a time to reflect because we don’t have the answers.” “As we go forward, I think mostly about flexibility,” Gramley said. https://www.sdbj.com/news/2020/jun/22/pandemic-brings-changes-everything-