Sunnydale, a historically underserved San Francisco neighborhood, had an inadequate community center for most of its 80-plus-years. Associate Ian Ashcraft-Williams, who managed the Sunnydale Hub project for LMS^A, recently sat down with long-time Sunnydale resident Shelia Hill to find out what the new center means to her community.

Vanna Whitney on housing the unhoused, engaging with diverse user groups, and winning neighbors over through design.

Gregg Novicoff on designing with empathy, public process, and how labor unions shaped his progressive values.

How can we scale our impact to anticipate ambitious climate goals that are not yet mandated by codes or client requirements? What untapped low-carbon potential of our designs have we yet to discover? For many firms, resources like the 2030 Commitment can help.

Since the transfer of lower Fort Mason from the Army to the National Park Service and then to the non-profit organization in 1977, there has been an amazing transformation of the Pier 2 Shed from a place serving the war effort to a vibrant cultural center.

Sixth Street in San Francisco is the “Main Street” and focal point within the South of Market Redevelopment Plan’s boundaries following the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake.

Celebrating Earth Day from molecular to global scales.

Marsha Maytum started 2019 as the new Chair of the AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE). In February she traveled to Washington, DC to participate in Congressional meetings with House and Senate leaders.

Higher learning institutions play a vital role in our communities because they are responsible for educating tomorrow’s innovative thinkers and global leaders. In San Francisco, the role of these institutions is being threatened by the lack of affordable housing to support their students. Of the city’s 30 higher learning institutions, only nine provide housing for students. This leaves an estimated 60,000 students to find housing in one of the most expensive markets in the United States.

In February I had the opportunity to meet with Congressional staff members on Capitol Hill to deliver two petitions signed by over a thousand AIA members across the country stating their concerns about climate change.

What is the impact of our work as designers, from the global scale to the cellular scale? Using energy as a proxy, can we measure our reach beyond the property line and within it?

In W.G. Clark’s essay Replacement, he states that architecture "is the reconciliation of ourselves with the natural land." At LMS^A, one aspect of this reconciliation involves sustainable design strategies. Some of these strategies can be simple and straightforward. Other sustainable design strategies are unique to a particular project, growing out of our design process: the careful exploration of the possibilities and constraints of a site and our close collaboration with the stakeholders of a project.