Happy Halloween from the team at Berliner Architects!
Culver City Art Walk 2017
Last Weekend Berliner Architects participated in the Culver City Art Walk, Displaying an exhibit made by the Berliner Team's Personal Work labeled "Berliner Makes!"
Located in the Culver City Arts District, our office is surrounded by a diverse array of artists, designers, and makers. The annual Culver City Art Walk is a chance to take in this incredible Art Scene and for the second year in a row, local artists, gallerias and other businesses across the neighborhood opened their doors and share their work with the community.
Several Berliner employees participated in the Berliner Makes Exhibit, sharing their talents in fiber arts, paper crafts, sculpture and painting. "Berliner Makes" included an Origami exhibit by Minah Yeo titled "We Are Not the Same", Knit characters by Kai Telless, Paintings by Rahel Zewdu, Figure Drawings from Ashley Johnson, Paintings from Ashwini Kokate, Paintings from Prithwish Gupta and Metal Sculptures from Prithwish's Daughter.
Grand Opening - Alliance Morgan McKinzie High School
Our Team was delighted to join faculty, parents, students, and more at the official ribbon cutting ceremony of Alliance Morgan McKinzie High School and Alliance College-ready Middle Academy 8. Designed on a tight urban lot, the focus of these schools was to impact the quality of life through invigorating and revitalizing a vital core in the East LA community as the site was originally home to the First Street Store, a department store that once played an important role on this street but has sat vacant for several years.
The ceremony celebrated the achievements of Alliance for College Ready Public Schools and the graduation of Alliance Morgan McKinzie High School's first senior class, with 98% of students moving on to college. Alliance prides itself in the idea that for its students its not if they go to college but when they go to college. Speakers included Alliance President & CEO Dan Katzir and the family of Morgan McKinzie in which the High School was Named.
Alliance College-Ready Middle School Academy 8 serves 450 students and opened in June 2013, after permitting by the County of Los Angeles. Alliance Morgan McKinzie High School, approved by DSA, serves 600 students and opened in September 2016.
Magnolia Science Academy Wins AIAOC Award
Each year, the Orange County chapter of the American Institute of Architects holds their own Design Awards, recognizing the best that the region's designers have to offer. This year, we are thrilled to announce that Berliner has been awarded for our work on Magnolia Santa Ana! We would like to thank the AIAOC for the honor of being nominated alongside some of the greatest new projects in the county, as well as our project team and Magnolia Public Schools for making this possible.
The AIA OC Jury admired how Berliner was able to do a lot with a whole set of constraints, including budget and program. The clever use of color to differentiate space was very sucessful and they noted how the double loadede corridor plan was used to an advantage, creating opportunities for relief along the length of the plan. The jury felt the elevating design for these kinds of projects is important to our profession, and to society as a whole.
Berliner Architects provided master planning and design services for Magnolia Public School’s Pacific Technology School in Santa Ana, California. The two-story, K-12 school now houses 750 students in 34 classrooms. The design incorporates standard classrooms, lab classrooms, administration areas, a multi-purpose room and gymnasium.
With separate entrances for the upper and lower schools, the design allows for the older and younger students to enjoy spaces independent of one another. Interior glass optimizes an open learning environment that builds a sense of community and connection.
Berliner Team Views the Eclipse
The Berliner Team got together today to view the 2017 North American Eclipse! Using pinhole projectors we built the previous week, our team members joined together to view this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
LACAN Justice and Wellness Center Opens!
We were excited to attend the opening of the Los Angeles Community Action Network's (LACAN) new Justice and Wellness Center in Downtown Los Angeles this past weekend! Since 1999, LACAN has worked tirelessly to fight for civil rights, civic participation, and economic development to protect the disadvantaged in Los Angeles, and particularly on Skid Row. Designed by Berliner Architects, their new Justice and Wellness Center will provide a number of amenities to the homeless in Downtown: meeting and connection spaces, health services, and an urban farming rooftop garden which will create a green oasis in what is otherwise a food desert, allowing locals to grow their own food.
We are honored to have had the opportunity to work on this project, and we wish LACAN and the people of Los Angeles they serve the best of luck with their new facility!
Temple Beth Sholom Wins IIDA Calibre Award!
Berliner is thrilled and honored to have won our very first Calibre Award for our work on the Temple Beth Sholom! Congratulations to all of our fellow team members, and special thanks to the Temple Beth Sholom!
Happy National Teachers' Day 2017!
Happy National Teacher Appreciation Day from the team at Berliner Architects! Today is the day to salute the men and women across the country who dedicate their lives to education. From preschool teachers to college professors, we thank you all for doing the work you do!
Temple Beth Sholom Nominated for IIDA Calibre Award!
Each year, the Southern California chapter of the International Interior Design Association holds the Calibre Awards, recognizing the best that the region's interior designers have to offer. This year, we are thrilled to announce that Berliner has been nominated for our work on Temple Beth Sholom! We would like to thank the IIDA for the honor of being nominated alongside some of the greatest firms in the state, as well as our project team and the people at Temple Beth Sholom for making this possible – and best of luck to all our fellow nominees!
See the full list of nominees here.
HOLA's Tony Brown Receives James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award!
We would like to congratulate Tony Brown and the Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) organization for receiving this year's James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award! The $200,000 grant, given to six non-profit organizations benefiting the people of California, will support HOLA's mission of providing art, music, athletic, and college preparatory programs to under-served youth in Los Angeles.
Berliner has had the privilege of working with HOLA for the past few years, helping them build additional facilities using shipping containers. We have also had the opportunity to experience some of the incredible work the organization is doing in Los Angeles, as the HOLA rock band First Aid performed outside of our office during the 2016 Culver City Art Walk.
Learn more about the award and HOLA's mission here!
Berliner Recognized in the LA Business Journal
In their January issue, the Los Angeles Business Journal released "The List" of the top 50 architecture firms operating in the LA area over the past year—a list which we are excited to announce included Berliner Architects! The list, which ranked firms based on their total LA County project billings in 2016, also spotlights our participation in the XQ SuperSchool Competition last September.
We would like to thank the LA Business Journal and everyone who made the successes of the past year possible!
2016 Year In Review
2016 was a milestone year for Berliner Architects, as we celebrated 20 years making Every Space Count! This week, we sent out our newsletter looking back at the experiences and accomplishments of the past year. Follow the link below to see the whole thing, and if you didn't receive the email in your inbox, sign up below to keep up-to-date with us as we move into the new year!
Happy Holidays from Berliner Architects!
From all of us at Berliner Architects, we would like to wish you a peaceful and joyous holiday season this year.
Our office will be closed for the holidays December 26 - January 2.
Berliner at Design Connections Education 2016
For the past three days, we have been fortunate to be a part of Design Connections Education 2016, a conference which brings together leaders, analysts, experts, architects, and designers in the educational industry for presentations and discussions about current trends and future innovations in the field. We thank Interiors & Sources and its partner nGage Events for putting together this great summit and providing all the attendees with the chance to connect and learn!
Magnolia Santa Ana - Professional Photography
We just got back photos of the recently completed Magnolia Public Schools - Santa Ana, a new 750-student charter school designed by Berliner Architects. This two-story, 55,000SF school serves grades K-12 for Magnolia Public Schools.
Photography by Tom Bonner
Berliner Named 2016 Best of Year Finalist by Interior Design
Interior Design magazine has named Berliner Architects as a finalist for the 2016 Best of Year Award! The Best of Year award has, for the past eleven years, highlighted the latest and greatest in architectural, interior, and product design in a variety of categories. This year, Berliner has been shortlisted for the Institutional Design category in recognition of our work on Temple Beth Sholom. We would like to sincerely thank Interior Design Magazine for considering us for this honor, as well as the entire team that worked with us on Temple Beth Sholom. We offer our sincerest congratulations to all the other talented designers and firms likewise nominated for a BoY Award!
Berliner Celebrates 20 Years!
Berliner Architects is proud to celebrate 20 years! Last night, we hosted an open house at our office, inviting colleagues, friends, and family to join us in commemorating this incredible milestone for our firm. We sincerely thank everyone who has made the past twenty years possible—and we hope to continue making Every Space Count for at least twenty more!
Ribbon Cut at Magnolia Santa Ana!
Our team was delighted to join faculty, parents, students, and more at the official ribbon cutting ceremony of Magnolia Public Schools' Santa Ana campus last Friday! Designed to cultivate learning in a safe, community-oriented space, this school is expected to serve up to 750 K-12 students at a time. We thank Magnolia Public Schools for this opportunity to help create an innovative learning environment, and we wish students and faculty the best of luck in their new campus!
Berliner at the 2016 Culver City Art Walk
Berliner Architects was proud to be a part of this year's Culver City Art Walk! Intended to introduce the public to Culver City's growing art scene, Art Walk is an annual event where visitors can take a free self-guided tour of the many design firms and art galleries located in the Arts District. Aside from perusing these galleries, visitors can also view a number of musical and dance performances, engage in interactive experiences, and enjoy special offerings at several local restaurants.
As one of the many creative offices in the Arts District, we were opened to the public as part of the Art Walk to exhibit works by local artists Juhn Kwon, Stanley Felderman, and Emma Berliner. Models of our past projects, including academic centers like Pierce College and institutional buildings like the Temple Beth Sholom, were also put on display for our guests. Meanwhile, our parking lot was briefly transformed into a concert venue!
Heart of Los Angeles is an organization dedicated to providing academic, arts, and athletics programs to the under-served children of our city. The rock group First Aid, supported by HOLA's music program, played a concert in front of our office as part of the Art Walk. We were delighted to host HOLA's musicians, as we are currently designing their Lafayette Park Facility, which will include ensemble rooms to house HOLA's Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles.
We were thrilled to see everyone who came out for the day's events, and look forward to next year's Art Walk!
Temple Beth Sholom wins 2016 AIA|OC Award!
We are super excited to announce that our recently completed project Temple Beth Sholom won an AIA|OC Merit Award. Richard Berliner, Minah Yeo and Kai Telless accepted the award for the team last week at the Marine Institute in Dana Point. It was a wonderful event and we'd like to thank our clients at Temple Beth Sholom and the entire team who helped us create an award winning space!
Photos by Benny Chan