VISITS
Founded in 1946, EHDD’s experience in the architecture field is evident in their approach to design and their understanding of its role in culture and history. EHDD’s focus on transparency, openness, and honesty are displayed in their past and current projects, as well as in the design of their office. The open layout with a large central common space is home to the firm’s weekly “Lunch and Learn” and “Brown Bag” sessions. This drive toward sharing knowledge extends to EHDD’s community outreach and environmentally positive design practices. When beginning projects, the designers at EHDD ask what the community hopes to get out of the project, as well as how the project will impact the community over time. During the design process, one key idea is always present: beauty comes from smart design.
Anne Kirk understands the importance of traditional craft and making art by hand. Her work demonstrates a knowledge of patterns and composition, resulting in beautiful, eye-catching prints and fabrics. Kirk’s ability to run a textile company without compromising her own personal work with screenprinting is admirable and places her in a league of her own.
Through innovative and tech-savvy design methods, FutureForms has taken a deep dive into understanding how technology and design intersect, and what role this plays in the public realm. Their installations and projects push people to consider relevant questions regarding the future and the progression of technology, while also acting as awe-inspiring works of art.
Concreteworks takes a material commonly viewed as rough, inflexible, and oftentimes unpleasant to look at and turns it into a beautiful, lightweight material capable of fitting various forms and functions. This seemingly impossible task is executed flawlessly in the company’s Alameda warehouse, yielding products that appear to be anything but concrete. Concreteworks’ exploration of concrete as a material have given the company worldwide recognition as innovators and visual and tactile experts.
The Gensler names carries a weight both nationally and globally, but at Gensler Oakland they carry themselves a little lighter. Still thoroughly under the Gensler doctrine of ‘world domination’, Gensler Oakland works hard to create a people-friendly, people-first workplace, encouraging independent leadership and creating an abundance of opportunities for emerging leaders. Their 75+ team works hard to play hard, spending time designing across varying programs and scales in the Oakland community and building their own brand of community at Friday-afternoon happy hour. The office was started to meet the growing need of Oakland and has worked hard to reimagine the city and redefine the inspired and ever-changing workplace. The scale and complexities of their projects can sometimes seem overwhelming, but their team learns to take the small victories as their part in a greater mission of evolving and inspiring the new identity of Oakland.