Center for Architecture and Design

Architecture and the city festivalthe 20th annual Architecture + the city festival (a+c festival '23) is one of the nation's most anticipated Architecture events. In 2023, it began with the grand opening of the new Center for a+d and was included full day of activities and an evening reception. The newly renovated space served as the homebase for festival programs such as walking tours, volunteer training and aiasf home tours. This year we added new programs while offering some of our greatest hits over the years of behind-the-scenes programs, tours, lectures, film presentations, and more that provided an opportunity for all communities to experience Architecture and Design in a myriad of ways throughout the city. The festival home tours program, which is in collaboration with aiasf, showcased projects in bernal heights, golden gate heights, russian hill, mint hill and twin peaks. The festival highlighted key themes in san francisco's architectural and urban planning history, focusing on the use of glass in skyscrapers, the impact of historic art deco through architect timothy pflueger, and the city's adaptation to seismic challenges in preserving historic structures. It also explores the transformation of industrial waterfronts into accessible public spaces, comparing these developments with global waterfront designs. Additionally, the festival emphasizes equity in housing and community development, addressing the complexities of affordable housing, homelessness, and the role of architects in fostering inclusive, sustainable communities while preserving cultural heritage. More than 1500 people attended the festival.

2023 indigenous Architecture forum:the Center for Architecture + Design, in collaboration with aiasf, hosted its inaugural 2023 indigenous Architecture forum: finding pathways to regeneration. The forum centered around conversations about indigenous placemaking in the bay area, California, and north america: the urban indian experience: and the transformation of indigenous communities in the dynamic urban landscape. Attendees discuss where traditions and modernity seamlessly intertwine and the vital role of integrating indigenous Architecture and Design into contemporary practice and more. A separate program continued the conversations the following day and explored repatriation with all an all-day excursion. Beginning in pacifica at the raaytush ohlone village / sanchez adobe and ending on red dot ranch in pescadero, participants engaged in an educational walk, salmon blessing, and conversation through art. 67 people attended this program.

2023 community alliance awards program:since 2015, the Center for Architecture + Design and aia san francisco's community alliance awards have honored over 100 individuals, firms, and organizations for their leadership and contributions to shaping vibrant communities and the built environment. The 2023 awards celebrated several recipients, including mission economic development agency (meda) and young community developers for social impact, the mission cultural Center for latino arts for resilience, women in bim and opera parallele as changemakers, and into the streets sf for revitalization. Andre higginbotham and quinlin b. messenger were recognized for mentorship, while sameena sitabkhan received the sandra i. vivanco education award for promoting spatial justice. The community alliance award honored downtown san francisco / landing at leidesdorff for revitalizing public spaces, showcasing the transformative power of Design in enriching communities. 64 people took part in this event.

Grant funds to aia san francisco to help with the construction of the Center. To support a portion of the project construction costs to further the Center's charitable and educational purpose and mission to create positive change in san francisco bay area communities.