San Francisco Design Week is only a few months away and we are already getting in the spirit. Spanning over two weeks in the month of June, some of the best minds in the industry will be coming together in the Bay area from Silicon Valley to San Francisco. It’s a time of collaboration and recognition for which we can’t wait.
In addition to the incredible calendar of events being planned, one of the most appealing parts of attending SF Design Week is the opportunity to visit the many design studios in the area. We all get excited to hear from the big names in design but the value in seeing the work coming out of small firms is not to be missed. The open studio tours make it possible to get a close-up view of these spaces. You’ll have the chance to visit over 60 studios putting out amazing work in all types of design disciplines.
But in case you can’t make it to Design Week this year or if you don’t have the patience to wait until June, the American Institute of Architects in San Francisco has you covered. AIA is dedicated to promoting these types of studios and is doing so right now through their current exhibit Small Firms, Great Projects. These small firms, comprised of 19 people or less, are responsible for incredible architecture peppering cities in the Bay Area such as San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and Palo Alto.
The AIA exhibit showcases these fantastic projects. From building renovations and private residences to corporate infrastructure and museums, this exhibit creates a holistic perspective on the small firm architectural work that’s threaded throughout the cityscape of the Bay Area. Without a doubt, this is definitely a perfect precursor to SF Design Week.
Small Firms, Great Projects can be viewed at the AIA SF gallery at 130 Sutter Street, Suite 600, San Francisco through April 30, 2015. You can RSVP to attend the exhibit’s closing reception on April 9 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm here. For those of you unlucky enough to miss it, you can view all of the 2014 Firm Profiles here.
If you’re an architecture or design firm that wants to be included in the studio tours, please contact info@sfdesignweek.org.