>Chief Justice appoints Steve Castellanos to Court Facilities Working Group
July 2011
Steve Castellanos was named to the new Court Facilities Working Group, which will provide ongoing oversight of the statewide program that maintains, renovates, and rebuilds courthouses. The group will oversee the work of the Administrative Office of the Courts in its management of 20 million square feet of court facilities throughout the State of California. The 25-member committee consists of active and retired justices and judges, court executive officers, members of the State Bar, local government leaders, and industry leaders.
Click here to read the full version of the press release.
>DCA featured in Architecture Leaders Today magazine
December 2010
Click here to read an interview with Linda Derivi in the Winter 2010 issue of Architecture Leaders Today. In the interview, Linda discusses the history of DCA, the firm's commitment to community, and the variety of recent projects with which the firm has been involved.
To access the full version of this magazine online click here.
>Lauren McColl invited to participate in Design Panel for National Conference
October 21, 2010
Stockton - Lauren McColl, Associate AIA, LEED AP was recently invited to participate in a Design Panel discussion with five other participants from design firms across the U.S. at a National Annual Conference held by American Olean in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The discussion, moderated by American Olean's Vice-President, focused on current and future design trends related to the tile industry. The event also included a tour of one of their most state-of-the-art porcelain tile plants in the country, responsible for manufacturing over 13 acres (566,280 sq.ft.) of tile every day.
American Olean manufactures, distributes and markets high-quality ceramic tile and natural stone products, and is owned and operated by Dal-Tile Corporation, a subsidiary of Mohawk Industries. Dal-Tile is the largest ceramic tile manufacturer in the U.S. and one of the largest tile manufacturers worldwide, employing over 10,000 associates.
>Steve Castellanos joins CHPS Board of Directors
June 3, 2010
San Francisco - Steve Castellanos, FAIA, joins Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) Board of Directors. CHPS is leading a national movement to improve student performance and the entire educational experience by building the best possible schools. For more information regarding CHPS click here.
>De Young Memorial Chapel awarded the Glenn Allen Award
June 2, 2010
Stockton - The Stockton Cultural Heritage Board has bestowed it's 2010 Glenn Allen Award to the renovation work of DCA for this 1937 landmark. The award recognizes "extrodinary work in the field of historic preservation" and "commitment to our community's heritage". To learn more about this project and the history of the De Young Chapel click here.
>New School Garden to Teach Young Students about Urban Agriculture
The Stockton Record - May 15, 2010
Stockton - Members of Delta Rotary of Stockton posing with architect Linda Derivi and staff at the unveiling of Pittman Elementary School's new garden. The project included construction of about a dozen raised beds outfitted with drip systems and picnic tables for student gardeners. Delta Rotarians provided the funding while DCA donated its' design services. The garden will encourage hands-on, applied learning for the school's K-8 students.
>DCA featured project in Big Ass Fans
May 2010
Small ceiling fans were previously used by the client to circulate air in the group fitness, free weights and cardio exercise activity area. DCA suggested to In-Shape to use three 10 ft. diameter Isis® by Big Ass Fans in place of the twenty ceiling fans originally specified for solving their air circulation issues. Isis saved both installation time and money for In-Shape, is more effective at moving air, and enhances the building’s design
>DCA designs adaptive re-use Health Club in former bank building, in the heart of Downtown Stockton
The Stockton Record - January 16, 2010
Stockton - DCA provided design services to this new In-Shape Health Club, located in the Downtown Stockton core. The club is located on the first two floors and basement of an existing seven-story bank building. The top 6th and 7th floors (also designed by DCA) are now the new corporate office for In-Shape Health Clubs. DCA took full advantage of the existing amenities of this building, using the large glass expanses, tall ceilings and bank vault to create a unique workout environment. Click here for the full article.
>Linda Derivi appointed new Commissioner of Development Oversight Commission
September 29, 2009
Stockton - Linda Derivi was recently appointed as a member of the Development Oversight Commission by the Stockton City Council. Responsibilities include making recommendations to the development services department with the goal of streamlining process time, improving quaility of service and increasing efficiencies related to development. The function of the Commission is to provide a forum that enables the public and City staff to introduce, discuss and provide comments regarding City development, building and processing fee programs, and development services functions.
>Save Old Stockton receives Captain Charles M. Weber Award for Historic Preservation Efforts
November 4, 2009
Stockton - On November 4, 2009 the Stockton Cultural Heritage Board honored Save Old Stockton with the 2009 Captain Charles M. Weber Award for their work in preserving the Hotel Terry, Hotel St. Leo, Hotel Main and the Commercial Hotel. The Captain Charles M. Weber Award is named in honor of Stockton’s founder. This award recognizes those who have done extraordinary work in celebrating our community’s past and furthered the understanding of our collective cultural heritage.
Derivi Construction & Architecture is one of the founding members of this community organization, whose goals include the preservation of the historic buildings of Downtown Stockton. DCA is also a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
>Shanon Baker accredited as LEED certified professional
The Stockton Record - August 10, 2009
Stockton - Shanon Baker of Stockton has been honored as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design accredited professional by the United States Green Building Council. Baker has worked for DCA since 2005. She received a bachelor's degree from Abilene Christian University in 1999, majoring in architectural graphics.
>Lauren McColl accredited as LEED certified professional
The Stockton Record - April 13, 2009
Stockton - Derivi Construction & Architecture, Inc., has announced the certification of a staff member as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional by the United States Green Building Council.
Lauren McColl is an intern architect in the process of pursuing her architectural license. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Toronto, Canada, in 2002, with a double major in Architecture and Environmental Studies. After graduating, McColl studied passive solar design with architect Paolo Soleri in Arcosanti, Ariz., then moved to California in 2004 to join DCA.
>Save Old Stockton by William Menking
The Architect's Newspaper - March 26, 2008
www.archpaper.com
The city of Stockton, CA, was founded at the eastern terminus of the San Joaquin River and the southern entrance to the Siskiyou Trail in 1849. Here, a German gold miner, Charles Weber, purchased 49,000 acres of a surrounding Spanish land grant and built a camp to serve other gold miners and the first permanent residence in the San Joaquin valley. The city eventually became the distribution center for the enormously rich farmlands of the valley, and even built one of the largest inland deep-water ports in the country to service its farm economy.
The land immediately adjacent to Captain Weber’s settlement and the port developed as Stockton’s commercial and civic downtown. The agricultural wealth of the region provided the economic base to support some splendid downtown commercial and government buildings in the 19th and early 20th centuries: the grand mission-style Stockton Hotel of 1910, the 1930 Fox Theater (now the Bob Hope Theater), and several beaux arts office towers. The areas around this center developed modest residential neighborhoods with towering shade trees that would be the envy of any new urbanist to protect the houses during the valley’s scorching summer sun.
In the post-World War II period, Stockton suffered, like most American towns, from the rapid relocation of its downtown retail and commercial core to new suburban shopping malls, office parks, and car-dependent residential neighborhoods. It did, however, retain its county court and administrative buildings, providing the downtown with a daily influx of workers.
In the 1960s, the city’s redevelopment agency decided to stop the outflow of businesses from downtown by knocking down many blocks of 19th century commercial structures (several with wooden sidewalks) and the towering 1910 stone county courthouse, replacing them with car-friendly shopping centers. If this “urban renewal” scheme did not totally destroy the entire downtown, an elevated “crosstown” highway was eventually rammed right through the area, effectively cutting the city in half. But despite these nearly calamitous projects, Stockton’s downtown still has enough buildings to give it the feeling of a central urban downtown core.
Now the Stockton Redevelopment Agency wants to knock down seven more hotels in the downtown that serve as a handsome urban fabric and streetscape, weaving together the disparate structures that still remain in the area. The agency hopes to replace them with something the downtown already has in abundance—more parking lots—turning it into a hodge-podge of half-empty blocks that wants to be suburban but is neither that nor a functioning urban quarter.
Fortunately, there is a dedicated local group, Save Old Stockton, led by city planner Joy Neas and architect Linda Derivi, fighting the agency and trying to keep these buildings, restore them (perhaps as affordable housing), and bring people back to the area. It’s a historic first step at an important preservation movement for the city. And though the group has run into well-organized opposition from local property owners and city officials, it is now preparing a lawsuit to have the buildings and downtown saved.
There will be a series of court cases in the coming months that will determine the fate of the buildings and what remains of the downtown’s unique fabric. This is the perfect moment for architects, preservationists, and planners to weigh in on the importance of preserving dignified usable structures and to reverse the trend of reconfiguring California’s downtowns around the requirements of the automobile. If you want to write a letter to protest this needless demolition, write the Stockton Record (www.recordnet.com) or the city council (www.stocktongov.com/citycouncil/index.cfm) and the leaders of Save Old Stockton, 924 North Yosemite Street, Stockton, CA 95203.
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