FEATURE
2017 AIA ARCHITECTURE FIRM AWARD
AN INTERVIEW WITH LEDDY MAYTUM STACY ARCHITECTS (LMSA)
BY YU-NGOK LO
Over the course of three decades, San Francisco-based Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects (LMSA) has developed an impressive portfolio of highly influential work that advances issues of social consciousness and environmental responsibility. A small, nimble firm comprising 25 dedicated designers who believe deeply in the transformative power of architecture, the firm’s work demonstrates design with purpose as it develops model solutions to meet crucial challenges. Recent recipient of the 2017 AIA Architect Firm Award, LMSA clearly demonstrates that architects, both leaders and young designers, can help their communities adapt to a complex and rapidly changing world. The CONNECTION reached out to LMSA and spoke with the emerging professionals of the firm on some of the affordable housing projects.
Dominique Elie
has been with LMSA since 2013. She received her master of architecture at the University of California, Berkeley and her bachelor of arts, history, and literature at Harvard University.
Edward Kopelson, AIA, LEED AP
is an associate at LMSA and has been with the firm since 2014. A LEED accredited professional, he received his master of architecture from the University of Texas at Austin and his bachelor of arts, visual arts, from the University of California, San Diego.
Gwen Fuetes, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP BD+C
has been with LMSA since 2015. She is very active in the sustainable design community. She received her master of architecture and building science from the University of California, Berkeley and her bachelor of arts, architecture studies and music, from Brown University.
Yu-Ngok Lo (YL): One of your firm’s practice areas is affordable housing and housing for the homeless. Can you give me an overview of what clients and partners you work with to create affordable and homeless housing, and why this work is important? Edward Kopelson (EK): We believe our work on affordable housing and housing for the formerly homeless is important because of the high cost of local housing and because affordable housing is vital to a diverse city. We aim to help provide permanent housing for our community members that are most in need. Our clients for these projects are typically local nonprofit developers. While the government hasn’t produced public housing for the last 20-30 years, we are fortunate that the Bay Area has a strong group of developers that provide much-needed affordable housing. Our clients include Mercy Housing, Bridge Housing, Satellite Affordable Housing Associates, MidPen Housing, and Community Housing Partnership. Financing for these projects is often very complicated, and our clients pursue a range of funding sources, including federal and state funds and local contributions. Many of our projects are joint developments between a developer and a partner that provides on-site supportive services to tenants. In this sense, our client for any specific project is often a group of organizations and stakeholders working toward a common goal. YL: As an example, can you tell us about the Plaza project in San Francisco and the outcomes once the project was built? EK: In many ways, Plaza Apartments is a good example of what we believe affordable housing can do. It was our office’s first affordable housing project and the first LEED project the city of San Francisco produced. The project replaced a single-room occupancy (SRO) building that was in pretty bad shape with an affordable but safer and more livable housing for some of the city’s neediest and lowest income residents. Over time, the new mixed-use development has been a leader in the revitalization of the neighborhood. The Plaza Apartments was completed before many of us were part of the office, myself included, but it is the type of project that attracted many of us to LMSA: thoughtful contemporary design that provides dignified housing and enhances the neighborhood. YL: San Francisco is one of the least affordable cities in the country. What are some of the strategies your firm has used to design affordable housing in San Francisco? EK: We begin with an understanding that all people deserve dignity and community in their housing. We believe well-executed affordable housing projects help create communities within and become integral to their larger neighborhoods. To do so, we focus on how our affordable housing projects fit within the fabric of the city and how the architecture can best support the community. We often use outdoor spaces, shared spaces, and connections between the two to maximize the usefulness of each. We have received
OPPOSITE: RENE CAZENAVE APARTMENT Tim Griffith - Courtesy LMSA 12
CONNECTION
THE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN JOURNAL OF THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS FORUM