When Reinvention 2007’s original (and much anticipated) keynote speaker, Peter Q. Bohlin, FAIA, was detained in Italy on a passport snafu, his colleague Ray Calabro, AIA, saved the day. On short notice Ray flew to Charleston, S.C. from Seattle to stand in as the keynoter, with just a few hours to study Peter’s planned presentation and make it his own.
But the hundreds of architects in attendance had nothing to fear. Calabro gave a thoughtful talk that took us inside Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. He told us the firm has made a strong commitment to keeping houses in the mix of its many project types. That way, he said, “we’re able to infuse our larger buildings with some of [the houses’] qualities.”
Calabro showed a series of photos and hand drawings of BCJ’s work to illustrate different philosophical points. The firm’s own San Francisco office space–one of five around the country–demonstrates its ability to deliver powerful spaces using modest materials. Images of a visitor’s center at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming showcase its skill at mixing rustic elements with a modern design. The house BCJ did for Bill Gates (in collaboration with Jim Cutler, FAIA) provided an entree for Calabro to talk about sustainability, noting the home’s rainwater-harvesting system, its recycled woods, its senstitive siting, even its rebuilt salmon estuary. “It’s worth going the extra mile to push for something you believe in,” he says. “Often [the client] will thank you for it.”
Other homes featured in Calabro’s presentation illustrated the firm’s passion for designing door handles, hardware, and other residential accoutrements; for celebrating the found conditions on the site and often working them into the design; and for obsessing over the technical rigor of its buildings. His final slide showed a photo of Bohlin and two other BCJ employees–getting across the idea that each project is a group effort. “We believe that collaboration is really at the heart of what we do,” Calabro says. “We are much better together than any of us could be alone.”