Monday evenings, September 27- November 1
Reception 5:00 pm | Lecture 6:00-8:00 pm
AIA San Francisco, 130 Sutter Street, Suite 600
$20 AIA SF Members | $25 Nonmembers
Six-class Series Package:  $100 AIA SF Members | $125 nonmembers

Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to explore San Francisco’s rich architectural history with experts in the field. From the Beaux Arts movement to California modernism, leading scholars and practitioners will explore the individuals and movements that have given shape to San Francisco’s iconic built form.

This informal, discussion-based course is designed for adults with busy schedules and inquiring minds. Join us as we uncover the past and rediscover our city.  

SCHEDULE

Forming the Modern City: Gold Rush, Beaux Arts, and the Panama Pacific Exposition
Sept. 27, 2010
 

San Francisco is often described as an instant city because of its abrupt birth with the Gold Rush. But like other U.S. cities, its architecture and layout have reflected to international fashions over time. Geographer Gray Brechin will examine how it did so, what keeps it unique among world cities, and how the Panama-Pacific International Exposition served as the apotheosis of its leaders' dreams of dominating the Pacific Basin and surpassing New York City in the process.  

Speaker: Dr. Gray Brechin

Bernard Maybeck, Julia Morgan, Willis Polk and The First Bay Area Tradition (1880s-1920s)
October 4, 2010
 

Speaker: Elizabeth Milnarik
Elizabeth Milnarik is Associate Architect for the Stewardship of Historic Sites Department for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Elizabeth is also an architectural historian specializing in New Deal public housing who has lectured at the National Trust and at the Society of Architectural Historians conference. She has a doctorate in architectural history from the University of Virginia, and she began her career as an architect at Page & Turnbull in San Francisco.

Sponsored by Page & Turnbull

Skyscrapers, Theatres, Public Works and Bridges: The Evolution of Art Deco in San Francisco
October 11, 2010

 

San Francisco is replete with examples of schools, post offices and other public buildings in the more austere style of the 30s, enhanced with the work of local and internationally known artists. Join author and journalist Therese Poletti for an informative discussion of the development of Art Deco in San Francisco. Learning how Art Deco first emerged during the building boom of the 1920s in the city's first skyscrapers, lavish apartment buildings and theatres, attendees will follow its evolution into the sleeker forms of the Streamlined Moderne and WPA Moderne. Local works by architects George Kelham, Arthur Brown Jr., Timothy Pflueger, Gilbert Stanley Underwood, Richard R. Irvine, G. Albert Lansburgh, Albert Larsen and William Mooser Jr., and builder/architect Herman C. Baumann will be discussed. The talk will also touch on both the Golden Gate and the Bay Bridge, the different approaches by each team toward each bridge, and culminate with the 1939-1940 World's Fair on Treasure Island, the fair that celebrated the opening of the two bridges, on a man-made island mostly built by the WPA.

Speaker: Therese Poletti 

Northern California Modernism
October 18, 2010

California Modernism is a vast post-war project largely credited to the architects based in Southern California.  However, to this day, too many people fail to acknowledge that Northern California played a critical role in the mythology of Modern Architecture on the West Coast. This vast inventory of landmarks is, as a result, a built heritage in risk of extinction. Through the reading of a number of under the radar built designs, the lecture will focus on the legacy of Northern California Modernism. Join us as we learn why this period is still so relevant today and why it is worthwhile to study and preserve it.

Speaker: Pierluigi Serraino

Planning the City: From Urban Renewal to the Downtown Plan
October 25, 2010

Great plans have been a trademark of San Francisco’s urban growth over the last few decades – from the dramatic re-shaping of San Francisco neighborhoods by the Redevelopment Agency in the 60’s to the evolution of the Downtown Plan in the 80’s. What are the lessons learned from these planning efforts and how might the lessons of other efforts around the world, inform new urban plans and ideas for a 21st century City.

Moderated by San Francisco Chronicle Urban Design Writer John King, panelists include; Amy Neches, SF Redevelopment Agency; John Kriken, FAIA, SOM and Dean Macris, former Director of City Planning for San Francisco

Intersection of Sustainability and High Performance Design: the Regeneration of San Francisco
November 1, 2010

Far from promulgating uniformity and quashing innovation, advancements in technology are allowing professionals to investigate new levels of complexity, performance and environmental responsiveness.

The intersection of advanced technology and a renewed passion for the environment is resulting in a range building expression as diverse as the clients, sites, microclimates and design teams who create them.  Design and analysis tools are reaching the level of refinement and computing power necessary to produce high performance buildings that both mimic nature and contribute to their preservation.  These principles will allow San Francisco to move beyond sustainability toward regeneration of its resources.

Speakers: Carrie Byles, AIA and Mark Sarkisian, PE, SE