Aedis had the privilege of hosting a dynamic group of women from the AIA Women in Leadership Summit for a tour of our office this week. The conference, happening just 10 minutes from our San Jose office, has focused on how women can leave a #PositiveLastingImpact through architecture, leadership, and culturally inclusive design and management. Aedis’ attendees, including Afsha Ali, AIA, Brittany Sicat, and Srivarshini Balaji have been inspired, motivated, and enriched with four days of programs, tours, and round table discussions. It was heartwarming to see that the Silicon Valley Chapter’s poster, honoring Leading Women in Architecture, showcased nearly 20% Aediseans, current and former.
This week, John Diffenderfer, Afsha Ali, AIA, Srivarshini Balaji, Eve-Marie Olimpo, Sanjana Kulkarni, Liam Hanlon, Assoc. AIA, Andrew McClellan, Hamdam Mozaffar, and Chania Bhatia attended the AIA SCV AI’22 Symposium. They heard from fellow professionals on many subjects like Net Zero design, building reuse, housing policy, and design visualizations. They return to their teams inspired and energized, ready to tackle challenges in new ways. Their commitment to learning and the built environment drives their design passion and ultimately creates higher quality spaces for our clients.
“During Cheryl Durst’s moving keynote, I learned how a sense of belonging in the spaces we create can promote optimism, equity, and hope. She left the audience with a profound mission and challenge, that we all need to be great ancestors for the generations to come.” – Afsha Ali
“The Symposium offered presentations filled with inspiration and innovation. The sessions expand the way I look at our profession, taking it to a higher level and allowing me to reflect on the importance of what we do.” – Eve-Marie Olimpo
“While the content of the entire symposium was rich with thoughtful and inspiring information, I was deeply moved by Cheryl Durst’s opening keynote.” – Sri Balaji
“I truly enjoyed the thought-provoking sessions from architectural leaders who are pushing the industry forward with innovation and passion.” – Liam Hanlon
Aedis Architects lost a great leader with the passing of Thang Do, FAIA this weekend. As managing principal since the early 90s, Thang navigated the firm successfully through three decades of change. He recognized that through his beloved profession, he had the ability and obligation to make a #PositiveLastingImpact on his adoptive home, San Jose, and he made it his mission to do so.
Professionally, he will be remembered as generous of spirit, innovative, informed, and supportive. We believe that his crowning achievement will prove to be the inspiration he provided to generations of young architects, to look beyond their role as designers, and to be active and responsible citizens bringing value to their communities.
On Monday, we celebrated where we’ve been and how we got here. Having so many current and former Aediseans together was a heartfelt reminder of just how many lives Aedis touched over the decades. We also kicked off the next chapter in the story of Aedis Architects. Although our story has followed sixty-seven years of twists and turns, it has always maintained a consistent narrative about care for the environment, positive transformation of communities, and the pursuit of innovation. It’s a story that never ends.
The #StudentUnion #Renovation and #Expansion Project at Andrew P. Hill High School is well on its way to completion and will include a new learning center, servery, and re-envisioned gathering spaces, with easy access to student resources; expanding the building to nearly double in size. Once the old cafeteria’s transformation is complete, the modern space will feel, as ESUHSD Senior Bond Manager Julio Lucas describes, “more collegiate – and create novel qualitative combinations of sensation and feeling. Each programmed space is a separate melodic line in constant interplay with one another and are equally, and essentially, creative and practical.” This #DesignBuildProject has been rewarding and successful, thanks to our amazing partners, XL Construction and the East Side Union High School District. We are honored to be leaving a #PositiveLastingImpact on the AHHS community!
Happy 4th of July!
Steve Delay was recognized for his commitment to the San Benito High School District, the community, and the students in a dedication and naming ceremony of their #CTE Building, designed by Aedis, as the Steve Delay CTE Building. It has been an honor to work with Steve for nearly 30 years, as we transformed San Benito High School into the pride of the community. He has been a dedicated advocate, a valuable collaborator, and a passionate leader in the school’s renewal process. Congratulations, Steve, this was well deserved! #PositiveLastingImpact
The modernization of Building 300 at the Solano Community College Fairfield Campus is so much more than the sum of its parts. While the 25,000 sf building will indeed receive upgrades to its HVAC systems, roof, restrooms, and finishes, the true excitement is how this project will impact the surrounding high school communities. This gem of a building, built over 70 years ago, has recently been repurposed to house the College’s “Early College High School” (ECHS) program. This unique program offers high school students the opportunity to earn a high school diploma and transferable college units while it supports, motivates, and builds students up, preparing them for life in college and beyond. Once complete, the program will have an updated facility that it can truly be proud of, enticing even more students to participate. Our team is honored to partner with Solano Community College on such a fundamentally important project, in its mission to leave a #PositiveLastingImpact on local high school students.
San Mateo-Foster City School District’s commitment to improving the air quality and temperature comfort for all their students has lead them to embark on a multi-phased upgrade and replacement project on 15 of their campuses. Once complete, students and teachers will enjoy the benefits of maximized outdoor air circulation and upgraded heating and AC systems, both resulting in improved overall comfort, health and safety. Construction on Phase 1 is nearing completion, while Design and Planning for Phase 2 is well underway. We are honored to be making a #PositiveLastingImpact on the San Mateo-Foster City School District and we are looking forward to the next phase of the project.
Gilroy Unified School District’s new South Valley Middle School campus reached an exciting milestone last week as Flint Builders, Inc. began the steel installation for the Administration Building. Phase 1 was completed in time for students to move into their classrooms at the beginning of the school year, while the phased construction continues on other parts of the campus as we work tirelessly to leave a #PositiveLastingImpact on the Gilroy Unified Community. The Administration Building, once complete, will include not only the school offices, but also a library, a large multi-use room with a stage and music classroom, and a cafeteria with a kitchen. The final phase of this campus transformation will include the Gymnasium and is slated for completion next year.