By Kenneth Caldwell When the Sonoma and Napa fires of 2017 tore through the Bay Area design community, several thousand structures were destroyed, and as many as 15,000 people were left without homes. Architects whose families and clients lost homes made
Archispeak is a casual conversation about all things architecture, and we invite you to listen in as we talk about everything in the profession, both the good and the bad. Think you already know what architecture is really about? Tune in to
By Shannon Calder The Memory Palace–a mnemonic device many memorization champions utilize to win world competitions, may be an ideal mechanism to compartmentalize the thoughts, talks, phrases, images, inspirations, conversations brought forth by this year’s Monterey Design Conference, if one is looking
If ambitious firms covet tower commissions, the progressive work of 2015 Emerging Talent speaker Doris Sung [http://dosu-arch.com/] provides promise that ultra-high, glass-skinned structures can be more sustainable. Specifically, through the intervention of thermobimetals which Sung crafts as smart skins. These temperature-sensitive, dual-layer
By Tibby Rothman The portfolio of Rand Elliott, FAIA, Elliott + Associates Architects, exhibits breathtaking width of building type and client. Route 66 Museum, Chesapeake Boathouse, Ballet Oklahoma, Marfa Contemporary Gallery, Heritage Hall Athletic Facility. Concurrently, no matter the complication of site,
Among other international projects, MDC2015 Emerging Talent speaker Alvin Huang, AIA, has been busy with a series of commercial commissions in Thailand. Sitting down with him, we were particularly curious about these buildings. What were the particulars of constructing work in that
The project that garnered 2012 Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Museum National Design Award winner Clive Wilkinson, a great deal of mainstream press last year centered on a single piece of furniture. A desk—known as Superdesk, actually—that ribbons throughout The Barbarian Group’s New York headquarters,
Frank Barkow grew up Montana. But in 1993, when it came time to launch an office, he and partner Regine Leibinger set up their studio in the latter’s home country–Germany, home to the Bauhaus. There, the duo grew to prominence with a

It is no coincidence that the Monterey Design Conference, with its legacy as an open forum for ideas and critical thinking from people that shape our built environment, is held at the Asilomar Conference Center. Designed between 1913 and 1928 as a
Have you heard about the Monterey Design Conference from friends and colleagues, but never really understood the allure? While the presentations are tremendous and the faculty top notch – there’s much more to attending MDC than just the program. It is the