Anderson Brulé Architects

In recognition of his remarkable efforts with construction administration for our projects and his ability to support our staff with deep technical expertise, we're pleased to celebrate Christopher Gombatz as our Employee of the Quarter!

It's thrilling to see the Aptos Branch Library featured in Library Journal's Design Trend: Confident Color | Year in Architecture. We agree, the interior's bold colors are fun and inviting - and they also support our biophilic design concept. https://lnkd.in/gV7nfWPn #architecture #interiordesign #library #publiclibrary #biophilia #color #design

Yesterday, we shared the question at the heart of our pre-design/programming work that’s setting the stage for a transformative expansion of Monterey Peninsula College’s Marina Education Center (MEC). Here are a few of the keys the expansion should accomplish according to College leadership: -?Meet community needs and mirror the community. - Enhance access to services, study access. - Increase student retention. - Make MEC a great place to go to. Ultimately, the overarching theme was to make college education more accessible to a wider range of students: - How can the MEC expansion best fulfill the College’s educational objectives? -?How can the expansion best accommodate enrollment growth and changes? -?What are the parameters for optimizing facility functionality and efficiency? Our predesign programming efforts looked to answering these and related questions by studying optimal options for providing learning environments, research facilities, and educational spaces that have the flexibility and resilience to respond to fluctuations in enrollment and educational demands as well as community and business needs. The outcome is setting the stage for the future of MEC, and we are very proud of the rapport we have built with stakeholders through the productive, inclusive, and fun programming process that ABA is known for. Crucially, our work at MPC is a reflection of ABA’s overall commitment to community colleges as they strive to address very serious challenges spanning enrollment trends and student wellbeing to social equity and environmental stewardship. Are you attending COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACILITY COALITION's annual conference in Rancho Mirage this November 6th through 8th? If so, be sure to say hi to ABA’s Managing Principal and Educational Practice Leader Lee Salin, FAIA and Design Principal Mark Schoeman, AIA, DBIA. They’d love to talk with you about the specific challenges your college is facing – and potential solutions.

As the COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACILITY COALITION conference?is coming up this week, it seems like a good time to highlight some of our work with community colleges. We posted recently about the completion and opening of the new Behavioral & Social Sciences Building at El Camino College. But other exciting projects are happening – for example, with Monterey Peninsula College. One is the Welcome Center on the main campus, a new 14,000-sf, two-story replacement building that brings together campus orientation programs with student services and spaces for diverse affinity groups (e.g. LGBTQUIA+, Hispanic, Veterans, etc.). It’s a dynamic project that celebrates the diversity of students attending the College and provides them with the resources they need to succeed in their academic journey. Over at MPC’s Marina Education Center, we guided pre-design programming efforts related to a major expansion intended to position the campus as a regional engine of educational, cultural and economic development with its own distinct identity yet also benefiting from a strengthened connection to the Monterey campus. Working with a core team that included?College District leadership as well as College Administrators, our task leveraged our ABA team’s stakeholder engagement strengths to guide the definition of a clear and inspiring vision for the campus expansion. In assessing current educational programs at MEC, identifying future program needs and opportunities to better serve the local communities, and analyzing projected enrollment figures, we asked stakeholders a vital question: “What key words would you use to describe success for the future of the Marina Education Center Campus?” Tune in tomorrow for what they told us! #architecture #planning #communitycollege #montereypeninsulacollege #marinaeducationcenter

ABA's 2024 summer interns, Fiona Smith-Calonico and Keiko Watanabe, share observations on design?drawn from their experiences studying abroad?in Japan as part of their Bachelor of Architecture studies at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g2qgaDSi

We're excited to share that two ABA projects were recipients of 2024 Structures Award from the Silicon Valley Business Journal, with our project teams attending the awards ceremony on September 26, 2024. A testament to the great partnership with our clients and contractors! Hillbrook School Arts & Athletics Center in the Rehab & Reuse category (an honor shared with SWENSON ). An adaptive re-use of San José's historic Armory building, originally built in 1934, the new Center retains its beautiful Spanish Revival architectural character while offering students modern spaces including classrooms, art studios, and a gymnasium. Along with the adaptive re-use of the history Moir Building, scheduled to be complete in Summer 2025, the Arts & Athletic Center will form part of a high school campus aligned with the school's “City as a Classroom” vision. West Valley College Learning Resource Center in the Education Project category (an honor ABA shares with partners Mark Cavagnero Associates, and Swinerton). Renovating and expanding a building originally built in 1972, the renewed LRC will enhance students’ learning experience with spaces that bring together creativity, curiosity, and intellect - a digital media center, TV/recording studio, makerspace, and gaming studios - while fostering a strong sense of campus community. https://lnkd.in/ggK3etPX #architecture #design #awards #education

Live at Library Journal! Insights into approaches to library renovations by Katherine Rivard, Amy Crawford, NCIDQ, LEED AP IDC and Mark Schoeman, AIA, DBIA. Read for their answer to ... "The perennial question is, how do we find opportunities to go beyond a mere “update” to evoking fresh experiences?" #architecture #library #renovation #design #interiordesign https://lnkd.in/gEvn4USh

We're very excited about the groundbreaking for the City of Sunnyvale's New Lakewood Library & Learning Center, and looking forward to its completion in late 2025 when it will welcome the community with an amazing variety of library and community programs. #library #architecture #design https://lnkd.in/gD7crdCQ

ABA's latest project: Hillbrook School's new high school campus opens in downtown San Jose! Featured in The Mercury News - our design transformed a former office building into a vibrant arts & athletics center featuring classrooms and a beautifully crafted gym. Proud to be part of a project that combines educational excellence with urban renewal. #UrbanEducation #DowntownSanJose #Architecture https://lnkd.in/gqQzB9kY

Following their participation in the Library Journal's May 2024 Design Institute event in Spokane, Washington, ABA's Amy Crawford, NCIDQ, LEED AP IDC, Project Interior Designer, and Katherine Rivard, Lead Programmer/Planner, shared their thoughts on library trends and design ideas for this insightful article. Read on for their thoughts on "investing where it matters" as libraries look to update existing buildings.