ELS Architecture and Urban Design

Congratulations to Round1 on opening its newest location at Stonestown Galleria! This bowling and arcade center now occupies the vacant Nordstrom anchor building, which we renovated into a multi-tenant complex that also includes Target. Since 2013, our team has been working steadily with Stonestown's owner Brookfield Properties Retail on a range of improvements. We've transformed the former Macy's anchor into a new destination for shopping and entertainment and was part of Brookfield's consultant team on the overall masterplan, approved earlier this year.

We’ve reached a big milestone for our latest project for the City of Riverside, where our renovation of the César Chávez Community Center has just concluded an important series of community engagement workshops. Built in 1928, the Spanish Colonial Revival-style complex was originally a junior high school and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the facility’s classrooms are now used for instruction in music, dance, and the visual and performing arts, alongside space for non-profits and community meetings. Thanks to the remarkable community of stakeholders, we’re moving forward with concepts that will improve how the site is used, ranging from upgrading the various spaces to helping the city introduce exciting new programs.

Happy Halloween from ELS (and two dogs of ELS)!

Another project makes the shortlist: Austin Energy Headquarters is in the running for AIA East Bay’s 2024 Design Awards. This four-story office building (certified LEED Platinum and WELL Platinum) is located in the Austin suburb of Mueller, a LEED ND Gold community that was previously master-planned by ELS. Because the building spans a 400-foot “superblock,” the massing is broken into three volumes punctuated by varied glazing, a ground floor loggia, and other engaging, pedestrian-friendly elements. This is all united visually by a rooftop solar array that offsets the building’s carbon footprint, reduces heat gain, and demonstrates Austin Energy’s commitment to sustainability. This project was created in collaboration with Catellus Development Corporation, Page, and Austin Energy. https://lnkd.in/girEJ75Z PC: Peter Molick

We’re excited to announce that our New Miwok Center has been shortlisted for AIA East Bay’s 2024 Design Awards! Nestled into an idyllic hillside spot at College of Marin’s Novato campus, this landmark aquatics and recreation complex replaces a deteriorating pool building. Alongside its use by the campus community, the center also generates revenue for the District through public memberships. The project revitalizes the campus core and highlights the area’s beauty while hosting a vast range of users, from people studying wellness, kinesiology and physical education to nearby residents who now have a great place to work out. Winners will be announced at the Design Awards Gala on November 14th. https://lnkd.in/girEJ75Z PC: Lawrence Anderson

Earlier this month, we were in Fort Lauderdale, FL, to celebrate a big moment for Dana Vollmer-Grant – her induction into the International Swimming Hall of Fame! A five-time Olympic gold medalist for the USA team, Dana is one of the most decorated women in swimming, with a record of gold medal wins in Athens (in 2004) and then London (in 2012, setting two world records) and Rio de Janeiro (in 2016). As our firm’s Aquatics and Recreation Programming Specialist, Dana uses her remarkable background to help people articulate how they can get the most out of our recreational and aquatic projects. This means drawing on her community engagement training to understand the goals of future users and realizing those goals in collaboration with the design team. She also uses her WELL training to make sure we’re supporting user health wherever possible. Congratulations, Dana!

When was the last time you've been to the Berkeley Rose Garden? With views all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge, this spectacular spot has been a big draw since its creation in 1937 under the Civil Works Administration. Nestled into a hillside canyon, the amphitheater-style garden boasts 1,500+ rose bushes and a sweeping 220-foot redwood pergola overlooking the venue’s original terraced stonework. Working closely with the @cityofberkeley, ELS designed and oversaw the reconstruction of the redwood pergola and made major accessibility upgrades to the topographically challenging site to allow for more live acts and event rentals. We provided a new (and newly electrified) terrace for staging, catering, and performances, and introduced areas for picnics and small gatherings. PC: Peter Lyons

Major news for a major building: our Austin Energy Headquarters project has been certified WELL Platinum! The project was awarded 91 points in total, surpassing the 80 required for Platinum, the highest level of certification in the WELL Building Standard by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). WELL measures 7 areas of building performance that impact occupant health: air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort, and mind. The four-story, 275,000-sf building, which accommodates 900-1000 employees, was created in collaboration with Catellus Development Corporation, Page, Austin Energy, and a team of consultants including sustainability & WELL consultant Studio D Consulting + Design, LLC. The remarkable project is now triple certified, achieving WELL Platinum certification, LEED Platinum certification, and Austin Energy Green Building’s (AEGB) 5-Star rating. Congratulations to the team!

We're excited to announce that this envisioning of an upcoming Container Village in the central California city of Soledad has been honored by the American Society of Architectural Illustrators! Created by Robert Becker as supported by our design team, the image received a Rendering Award of Excellence and was included in Architecture In Perspective 38, ASAI's annual competition and conference.    Soledad's proposed container village will be located on Front Street, just off Highway 101. Expect a lively and diverse scene filled with food vendors, small retailers, and entertainment. This new centerpiece for Soledad will be a draw for Salinas Valley residents as well as travelers looking for a roadside oasis.    Our team, together with Crafted Destinations and PGAdesign Landscape Architects, is thrilled to be a part of the City of Soledad’s exciting downtown revival. We can't wait to watch it come to life, especially as part of our vision for the adjacent Front Street downtown corridor. A special thanks to Bryan Swanson for getting this project started!   Image credit: Robert Becker

Last week, we celebrated the achievements of four longtime leaders of ELS. It was a lively time, with multiple generations of current and former ELSers gathering to share stories and appreciate the career achievements of Anthony Grand, Jeffrey Zieba, GENO YUN, and Mark Schatz. We’ve been lucky to have you! In the past 35 years or so, if you’ve spent any time in a Bay Area theater, mall, library, school, recreation center, or pool building, there’s a good chance you’ve looked at their work and thought “wow, this is a nice space.” As an additional treat, the honorees got to wear real Olympic gold medals - courtesy of Olympian and ELSer Dana Vollmer-Grant.