Insights

Biophilia Gains Focus at CBE

by | November 5, 2019 0 Ideas

We recently had the fortune of attending the Center for the Built Environment’s Industry Advisory Board Meeting, joining in conversations we’re simultaneously having at SERA about biophilic design. CBE researches how innovations in energy and indoor environment will transform the building industry, and is based at the University of California, Berkeley. Along with an exciting […]

BusinessWire: SERA Architects Hires Veronica Hinkley Reck to Lead Expansion of California Housing Practice

by | November 4, 2019 0 News + Announcements

OAKLAND, Calif. — SERA Architects, a multi-disciplinary architecture and design firm committed to sustainable placemaking, today announced that it has hired Veronica Hinkley Reck as the Director of Housing, California. In this role, Hinkley Reck will lead the ongoing growth of the firm’s Oakland-based Housing Studio through innovative, high-quality designs that address the state’s crucial […]

Beats, Rhymes and Design: How Hip Hop Architecture Seeks to Diversify the Industry

by | October 15, 2019 0 Ideas

This year, a few SERA employees volunteered for Portland’s Hip Hop Architecture Camp – a weeklong, intensive experience designed by Michael Ford to introduce underrepresented youth to architecture, urban planning, creative place making and economic development through the lens of hip hop culture. The camp happens around the country, and this year we were fortunate […]

Housing Projections from the 2019 MFE Conference

by | October 11, 2019 0 Architecture, Ideas

Last week, I attended the Multifamily Executive Conference with Veronica Hinkley Reck, SERA’s new Director of Housing in California. We heard from many of the multi-family housing industry’s leaders – from bankers, fund managers, property developers and operators, and architects. There was both good and concerning news, but the bottom line is that housing is […]

Find Us This October!

by | September 30, 2019 0 News + Announcements

The days may be getting shorter, but that’s not stopping our staff from making the rounds! Catch us at these great events in Oregon and California throughout the month. We hope to see you out! Oct. 10 | Oakland SERA’s Margo Rettig is presenting at New Building Institute’s Getting to Zero Forum on “Strategies and Synergies: […]

Climate Restoration and Our Obligation to Act

by | September 24, 2019 2 Ideas, Sustainability

Last week I had the pleasure of joining climate researchers and advocates across the country at the UN’s Global Climate Restoration Forum in New York City, where the question was asked, “What is our plan to ensure a vibrant future for future generations?” First, what exactly is “climate restoration?” Climate Restoration means removing a trillion tons […]

Joint Forces HQ Wins National Design-Build Award

by | August 9, 2019 0 News + Announcements

The Major General George White Headquarters in Salem, Oregon, demonstrates that a joint forces building can be seismically safe, secure, sustainable – and award-winning. This month, the Design Build Institute of America (DBIA) awarded the project a National Design-Build Merit Award, also making it eligible for a National Award of Excellence! SERA partnered with Fortis […]

Highlights from the 2019 unConference

by | June 6, 2019 0 Ideas, Sustainability

The Living Future’s unConference was held this year in Seattle, a beautiful, amazing place – thriving and struggling. It is the convergence of a gorgeous natural environment, urban topography, of tech giants and homelessness, food, culture, coffee and so much more. In many ways it was the perfect setting to explore the topics of the […]

Moving Forward with Nature at Living Future

by | June 4, 2019 1 Ideas, Sustainability

For the past several years, SERA has undertaken a firm-wide initiative exploring what it means to create places that connect people with nature, known in our field as Biophilic Design. This year I had the opportunity to head up to Seattle for the Biophilic Design Summit, held by the International Living Future Institute. It was […]