Summer 2015 Newsletter

Happy summer from Feldman Architecture! This summer brings new projects, fresh faces, and a surprising amount of hot weather in San Francisco. Our new endeavors are a diverse group of projects ranging from residential projects in Santa Cruz, Tiburon, Los Altos Hills, and Menlo Park to a civic installation to a commercial kitchen.

The Summer issue of Luxe Interiors + Designcurrently on stands features our Spring Ranch project on the cover. The article focuses on the sustainable features such as rammed earth and thoughtful configurations that promote passive heating and cooling throughout the year. The ultimate goal of an environmentally conscious structure that marries into the landscape is part of what makes this house special and the orientation frames the sweeping views toward the owner’s 500-acre ranch.

This month, the IIDA Northern California Chapter is hosting a tour of our Presidio VC Offices to celebrate the project winning an Honor Award in their 2015 awards program. We continue to be overwhelmed by the response to our premier commercial endeavor. The tour will be led by the project architects and spaces are available through the IIDA website if you would like to attend.
In other news, spring was the optimal moment to capture two recently completed projects within the context of mature landscaping in Carmel and Portola Valley. The Portola Valley Ranch shoot is a new residence on our website and above is a sneak peek at the Carmel house.

On September 24th, Jonathan will be co-chairing the DIFFA Designs fundraising event, presented by Roche Bobois. DIFFA (Design Industry Foundation Fighting Aids) has granted more than $41 million to organizations nationwide that provide direct care for people living with HIV/AIDS and preventative education for those at risk. Jonathan is delighted to take part in an evening for such a good cause.

The Feldman crew is excited to announce that we are once again taking part in the LEAP Sandcastle Contest in October, teaming up with Peninsula Custom Homes, ZFA Structural Engineers, and Thuilot Associates. This year’s theme is “Sand Cinema” and our team is known as the Coastbusters!We love being able to utilize our experience in the field of architecture and collaborate with colleagues for such a great cause. We will be getting our hands dirty and supporting students from Jefferson Elementary School again this year in NorCal’s largest sandcastle building contest on October 10th at Ocean Beach. A big fundraising event is in the works for September so stay tuned! You can find out about more team fundraising activities as the details develop or donate by visiting our LEAP team page here.

In an effort to properly showcase the talented crew behind the firm we had an in-house photo shoot to have new staff photos taken and a group shot of the entire team! We were actually able to get one shot where nobody blinked including our mascot Briar Wu. We will be updating our staff pages as soon as Jonathan decides which version of his ‘blue steel’ he likes best.
We would like to give a big welcome to two new employees, Ahlam Reiley and Nick Polansky. Ahlam is a licensed, LEED architect with commercial and residential experience in the Bay Area and in the Middle East. Nick is an MIT graduate and designer with residential and restaurant experience who recently completed an artist-in-residence program at Autodesk Pier 9. Their range of talent is an exciting addition to the Feldman team.
We’d also like to officially acknowledge our summer intern, Evan McCurdy (above left). He joined us from UC Berkeley’s Bachelor of Architecture program. We gave Evan a well-rounded glimpse of the life of an architect. When asked about the highlights of his experience at Feldman, Evan said, “FA has put me on 13 different projects, taken me on numerous site visits and thrown me into several client meetings. I have learned a great deal here as the fly on the wall, but even more as a man on a horse. Thanks for the horseback ride FA.”

Have a wonderful rest of your summer, and we’ll see you in the fall!