ELS Architecture and Urban Design

19/06/2026

Juneteenth commemorates the moment when the last remaining enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas, were freed on June 19, 1865 – 2.5 years after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863.
While Juneteenth is a celebration of the abolition of slavery, it also marks the beginning of a long, arduous journey. For generations, Black Americans have fought—and continue to fight—for equity, systemic justice, and civil rights.
Recognizing the significance of Juneteenth through reflection, education, and community is a small yet vital step in supporting equality for Black Americans.

12/06/2026

11/06/2026

Huge thanks to Suzie Yang and Diana Fierro for launching ELS's new Event Planning Committee and hosting our very first event in May. The sunshine on Berkeley’s Crescent Lawn and all the great conversations made for a lovely spring reset. And the highlight of the afternoon was coming together to celebrate everyone’s wins—big and small—with the tiny flags provided by Suzie that each attendee added to the delicious icebox cake made by Diana F. to mark birthdays, wins, and celebrations.

Thank you to everyone who joined and helped make our first event such a bright spot in the week. We’re looking forward to the June gathering hosted by Max and Tracy.

11/06/2026

The AIA San Diego Young Emerging Professionals (YEP) Committee, in partnership with AIAS San Diego, recently hosted Perspectives from Practice at the NewSchool of Architecture & Design in San Diego.
Organized by Kenneth Hasegawa, Principal and Chief Design Officer at ELS, the event brought together professionals from Ferguson Pape Baldwin Architects, Studio E Architects, Stantec, and ELS to share insights on their career paths, experiences in practice, and the transition from academia to the profession.
Special thanks to panelists Ivan Hu, Maxine Ward, and Francisco Waltersdorfer for contributing their time and perspectives, and to the students for creating a lively and engaging discussion!

09/06/2026

David Masenten, Principal and Chief Sustainability Officer at ELS, and Ken Loretto, Design Director at ELS, were honored to join the City of Berkeley in accepting a 2025 California Park & Recreation Society Award of Excellence for the Willard Park Clubhouse Project in the Facility Design category.

This project reflects a strong partnership between the City, design team, contractor, and community to create welcoming public spaces that support recreation, youth programs, arts, and neighborhood connection. Certified LEED Gold, this welcoming community clubhouse is also a new all-electric milestone for Berkeley’s portfolio of sustainably designed municipal buildings.

ELS celebrated alongside Evelyn Chan and Stacey Rutherford with the Parks, Recreation & Waterfront project team, Mayor Adena Ishii - City of Berkeley, and Councilmember Mark Humbert. We appreciate the opportunity to contribute to projects that strengthen community spaces, especially in our hometown!

04/06/2026

Congratulations to the City of Piedmont on the fully operational, all‑electric, zero‑emissions aquatic center. Both the competition and recreation pools are running beautifully, creating an exceptional experience for users of all ages.

The seamless connection to the Corey Reich Tennis Center via the Ellis Pavilion strengthens the civic core and reinforces Piedmont’s commitment to a walkable, sustainable community. The Smegal Family Poolside Room is serving the city in meaningful ways, and the Settlemier Competition Pool has begun hosting Piedmont High School aquatics events.

This project reflects a truly collaborative effort with the Piedmont community, City Council, the City of Piedmont, PRF (formerly the Piedmont Recreational Facilities Organization), and the Piedmont Beautification Foundation. It has been an honor to contribute to such a thoughtful, community‑centered effort.

Special thanks to the ELS design team, consultants (SWA Group, Forell Elsesser, BKF Engineers, Guttmann & Blaevoet, Aquatic Design Group, Brightworks, mack5, and Steve Winkel), city project manager Griffin Structures, and general contractor Wickman Development.

Photos by Bruce Damonte

03/06/2026

David Masenten, Principal and Chief Sustainability Officer at ELS, will be speaking at the MECHTalk lineup June 11th as part of an impressive group of leaders working at the forefront of decarbonization and the built environment.

With Matthew Dehghani, PE (Alter Engineers), David will discuss the retrofit of San Francisco’s 116-year old Regency Ballroom. We’re looking forward to sharing lessons and learning from the conversation. Please join us!

Register here: https://mechtalk.com/6-11-26/

📅 June 11, 2026 | 8:30AM – 12:30PM
📍 Exploratorium, Pier 15 | San Francisco
🎓 Earns 3hr ZNCD MCE

22/05/2026

Cañada College Kinesiology and Wellness Center has been honored at the 2026 AIA San Francisco Awards Gala with a Design Award. This recognition marks the second design honor for the project this year, following the award from AIA California; it has been a rewarding year! Congratulations to our client San Mateo County CCD, the leadership at Cañada College, project/construction manager Swinerton, our design-build partner Blach Construction Company and subcontractor partners, the ELS team, our design subconsultants (including SWA, Forell Elsesser, BKF Engineers, Introba, Water Technology, Inc., The Shalleck Collaborative, Steve Winkel, and CambridgeSeven), and photographers Bruce Damonte and Lawrence Anderson Studio for their collaboration and shared commitment throughout the process.

Jury Comments: The jury recognized how genuinely difficult it is to bring design excellence to athletic and wellness facilities, a building type that too often defaults to the utilitarian. This project stood out as one of the strongest submissions in its category, demonstrating that the typology can be approached with care, intention, and architectural ambition. The jury described it as a strong gateway project with a sense of spirit and character that elevates it well beyond the expected. There was appreciation for how much the project accomplished within its constraints — the design reads as thoughtful and resolved without feeling overworked, and the jury noted that it maintains a distinct identity even where resources were limited.

The project's sustainability performance was also highlighted as a meaningful strength, receiving strong marks from the technical review committee. The jury saw this not just as a technical achievement, but as evidence of an integrated design approach where performance and architecture reinforce each other. The complexity of the program was viewed as an asset rather than a challenge, and the jury felt the design team navigated it with clarity. Ultimately, the project was held up as an example of what becomes possible when architects and clients commit to pushing the potential of a building type, and the jury expressed genuine enthusiasm for the result.

Architectural photo by Bruce Damonte
Step-and-repeat photo by Dirk Wyse

26/03/2026

Our City of Berkeley Willard Park Clubhouse has been honored by APWA Northern California Chapter with a 2026 Project Award in the Structures category ($5M–$25M). Congratulations to the City of Berkeley Parks and Recreation team, Buhler Construction, and the ELS team and consultants. The American Public Works Association Northern California Chapter's award highlights the strong collaboration between the managing agency, design team, and the contractor in delivering an exemplary public works project.

Certified LEED Gold, the new clubhouse is a welcoming, all‑electric community hub and a major milestone in Berkeley’s growing portfolio of sustainably designed municipal buildings. With on‑site solar power and battery storage, the project supports the city’s ambitious climate action goals and demonstrates what forward‑looking public infrastructure can achieve.

25/03/2026

We’re excited to share that the California Park & Recreation Society has honored the City of Mountain View’s Rengstorff Park Aquatics Center with an Award of Excellence for Facility Design! As California’s first large-scale aquatic center to achieve all-electric operations, it marks a new wave of emissions-free facilities nationwide. We’re proud to be leading the vanguard of this work – the Mountain View project is the first of our many all-electric facilities coming online very soon.

Congratulations and thanks to our client City of Mountain View, Griffin Structures, Bobo Construction, Inc, our consultant team (including SWA Group, BKF Engineers, Forell/Elsesser Structural Engineers, Guttmann & Blaevoet, Brightworks, Aquatic Design Group, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, Steve Winkel, and mack5), and the ELS team.