Rooted in Nature: Biophilic Design Advances Health, Wellbeing
By Sandra Gramley, principal at Platt/Whitelaw Architects, Inc. The built environment plays a critical role in people’s health and wellbeing. We are just beginning to find that when lacking natural elements, the spaces in which we live, work and play can foster fatigue, impair performance and spark symptoms of disease. However, by simply introducing natu
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 […]
What Does a Return to Work Look Like – One Year Later?
By Sandra Gramley, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C, and Naveen Waney, AIA The one-year anniversary of California’s initial lockdown has come and gone. With its passage, we at Platt/Whitelaw Architects are reflecting on the impacts the past year has brought to public workplaces and what a return to work could look like for those working […]
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
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-
Congratulations to our own Sandra Gramley!
Sandra Gramley, AIA, NCARB, LEEDap BD+C, was recently named as one of Seven Women chosen as San Diego Business Journal’s Top Women in Construction and Design. Ms. Gramley co-owns one of San Diego’s oldest architecture firms, Platt/Whitelaw Architects (PWA), and as one of the firm’s lead project architects, she plays an important part in developing [&he
Meet the New AIA San Diego President
AIA San Diego’s new president is none other than the co-principal of our firm Sandra Gramley, AIA, NCARB, LEEDap BD+C. We’re proud of Sandy for stepping into this leadership role and for her inspiring leadership platform of increasing diversity and inclusion within the architectural profession and drawing more young people into architecture. Sandy contin
Platt/Whitelaw Principal’s Work Featured at Krannert Art Museum
University of Illinois’ School of Architecture recently held a symposium to bring further visibility to challenges women in architecture often experience. As part of that event, they featured the work of the school’s alumnae at its Krannert Art Museum, including work by our own award-winning architect and firm principal Sandra Gramley! At the Illinois Ar
Leadership Change
We’re excited for a year of leadership transition in 2019 at Platt/Whitelaw. Longtime Platt/Whitelaw architects Naveen Waney and Sandra Gramley move into ownership and management of our firm while Alison Whitelaw will continue working and providing support to Sandy and Naveen throughout the year. As always, we are grateful to all our clients, friends and [