Taking full advantage of the exceptional landscape surrounding our Mill Valley office, we field tripped to the Marin Headlands to check out the array of native plants flushing out for spring.   Being on the transition from winter into spring; it was a great time to field identify species and discuss their design merits as the plants boast their new foliage and blooms.  The native Sambuccus racemosa (Red Elderberry) was a showstopper, turning heads with garden worthy form and subtle cream white flowers.  After the walk we also made it down to Rodeo Beach to see the incredible progress of the meadow restoration project, which now handles stormwater from the surrounding hills prior to its reaching the beach and ocean. (April 2018)

It's been a busy 3 months here at rhaa. We hung out with our professional colleagues at UC Berkeley for a full weekend, being inspired by their planting design and conceptual approaches. We then hosted landscape architecture students from Japan’s Osaka Prefecture University in our office, followed by some screen printing for our 1st edition rhaa t-shirts. We further flexed more muscles finding time to do some park cleanup work. And we can't forget......March Madness is in full effect.

One of our studio teams visited Concreteworks in Alameda to figure out some design details for several of our projects. This was an opportunity to also see what else they are up to. It's exciting to see the progression of concrete fabrication these past 15 years, and the integration of technology and craft. (November 2017)

Summer is tour season and Turner Construction led a contingent of curious Roystonites in and around the Transbay Terminal under construction. The new building is impressive, and the immense scale of the structure cannot be fully appreciated from the exterior. Visiting construction sites is critical to our learning process in understanding how different systems are designed and constructed. (September 2017).

RHAA took a dive to the underground to check out the construction in progress. (July 2017)

RHAA Principals and staff meet bi-monthly to discuss serious questions of how can we better influence large scale planning projects with conservancy in mind, to how we maintain our core philosophies when projects turn difficult.  To more light hearted and sometimes funny questions of what career choices we would make if not for landscape architecture. These sessions have been inspiring, insightful, and sometimes amusing. (July 2017)

Summer is in full force, which means warm beautiful weather, BBQ, and Ping Pong tournaments on our patio. (June 2017)

RHAA visited one of our recently completed projects -- the Russell and Quimby at Bay Meadows in San Mateo. The multi-family housing project features two buildings that provide residential units a variety of amenities and garden spaces. The diverse amenities (pool, spa, outdoor BBQ area, fire features, garden rooms, and Petanque court) allowed our senior project managers to discuss the various design, detailing, and construction of the project in a hands on, visual way. During the site walk RHAA staff even took a minute to “test out” one of the fire feature seating areas. (April 2017)

RHAA visited the Autodesk Creative Workshops @ Pier 9 in San Francisco. There we experienced a personal tour of the facility which is home to a community of designers, engineers, artists, and product innovators. The labs here house state of the art production tools and machinery, as well as some very cool work environments. We learned about the latest in advanced and large scale 3D model production, artificial intelligence design, robotics, and the future that they call the augmented age. At the end of the tour RHAA was able to experience one of their virtual reality environments. For more information about this place you can click here: http://www.autodesk.com/pier-9

Afterwards it was time to party at Design Night! Autodesks bi-monthy Design Nights in the Autodesk Gallery explores how tech is transforming the industry. (February 2017)

RHAA spent a week collaborating with De Oliveria Castro Arquitectos on the Vitta Center project in Guatemala. We had some great charette sessions and even better discussions about planning and architecture in this country. Of course we managed to fit in some sightseeing and local eats. (November 2016)

RHAA travelled to Santiago, Chile, for a workshop with the developer of the Santa Elena mixed-use and residential development intended to house 60,000 people. Collaborating with local LA's, we developed park programming ideas, considered unique site features, and designed site plans to fit this majestic site surrounded by national parkland bluffs. (October 2016)

 

Fiercely competitive RHAA staff carve pumpkins in hopes to win Halloween prizes. Did you know it's possible to carve a teeny tiny pumpkin? Where there's a will (and skill), there's a way... (October 2016)

In response to a confidential design competition for a public memorial, RHAA staff visited our nations capitol to participate in a site review. Some work. Some play. And of course getting personal with Einstein. (April 2016)

RHAA was able to tour Arborica, the West Marin business of wood artisan Evan Shively. Near Tomales bay you'll find salvaged wood piled high in preparation to become beautiful wood furniture. (March 2016)