Question 1

Q: Your profile emphasizes creating socially valuable urban spaces with a strong sense of purpose. Can you share a project where you seamlessly integrated architectural design with a deeper social narrative, resulting in a space that resonates with its users on multiple levels?

A: A few California examples include Center Street Promenade in downtown Anaheim, Third Street Plaza in Morgan Hill, and currently in the works, Park-Lorton Plaza in downtown Burlingame. It is important to note that these are all collaborative designs involving many people in their creation over time. Looking a little more closely at Anaheim, the design and development of the Center Street Promenade took many years, revisions and additions to establish what is there today. In 1988 when I began the urban design effort, the street was in a different location surrounded by bare earth as a result of urban renewal. Today, a new placement, successive developments along it, and planned events within it all contribute to the street’s vitality. A museum square, indoor skating rinks, retail shops, public and private offices, a post office, residential dwellings and street markets contribute to a new main street for downtown Anaheim.