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For anyone who’s ever been curious about the creative process that goes into the design and construction of some of those eye-catching homes and buildings that line the streetscapes of Palo Alto, here’s your chance.
Some of the area’s top creative experts will lead talks and tours of creative businesses and architecturally notable homes in the city during Design Palo Alto on Oct. 25-27.
The inaugural, three-day event, launched by the organizers of the annual San Francisco Design Week, looks at how the region’s innovative culture has influenced architecture and the broader design landscape.
From Steve Jobs taking inspiration from the midcentury modern curves of his childhood home for the design of his Apple computers to local design firm IDEO creating the first manufacturable mouse for Apple that featured a user-friendly design, the city has been at the forefront of world-changing ideas.
Palo Alto Design
The area’s top creative experts will explore how Palo Alto’s tech culture has influenced the greater design world during the inaugural Design Palo Alto on Oct. 25-27, which features tours, lectures and hands-on activities. Here’s a schedule of events:
Adaptive by Design with Moon Creative Lab
660 High St., Palo Alto
11 a.m. – noon, Friday, Oct. 25
Moon Creative Lab is an incubation studio that promotes the creativity and growth of ideas into real ventures. Learn how the lab is focused on solving big and evolving challenges in various parts of the world using a “human-centered” approach. Tickets are $10. Event information.
Stanford d.school literary festival
Stanford Bookstore, 519 Lasuen Mall, Stanford
Noon – 5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 25
This festival will showcase recent publications and design products from around the world and includes interactive activities inspired by book content with authors and design experts from the Stanford d.school. Participants can explore prints, games and all things design, as well as get their hands dirty making things. Free. Event information.
Dynamic Minds, Leading Architects
Locations will be shared with ticket holders
1- 5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 25
Field Architecture and Fergus Garber Architects are opening the doors of their studios for private tours and presentations about their work.
Principal Jess Field of Palo Alto’s award-winning Field Architecture will lead a discussion about his approach to design. Field Architecture is known for its sustainable designs that consider the land and its natural setting. David LeRoy, partner in Ground Works, will speak about landscape and garden design collaboration.
Fergus Garber partners Gina Dixon and Kristen Lomax will talk about the firm’s unique approach to designing timeless residences and renovating historic homes, how the firm is using new tech and how architectural styles are evolving. NorthWall Builders will also join the conversion. Tickets are $55. Event information.
Opening night at Arhaus: ‘The Art of storytelling through design’
660 Stanford Shopping Center
5-7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 25
Interior designer Sabra Ballon will showcase how design can tell a story, whether through cultural elements, personal narratives or artistic expression, making each space unique and full of character. Free. Event information.
Eichler home tour & talk
Location will be shared with ticket holders
3 – 4:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 26
Joseph Eichler expert Monique Anton and Tiffany Truong of design-build firm Keycon will lead a private tour of a rare, two-story home designed in the 1970s by architect Claude Oakland for real estate developer Joseph Eichler. Anton and Truong will delve into the history, architectural significance and social impact of Eichler homes. Tickets are $50. Event information.
Komorebi: Japanese culture’s imprint on modernist architecture
Design Within Reach, 355 University Ave.
3-4:30 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 27
Renowned architect Takashi Yanai, principal at Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects, and design critic Zahid Sardar delve into the evocative Japanese concept of “Komorebi,” the artful interplay of light filtering through leaves, a motif that captures the serene essence of Japanese Modernism. This presentation will spotlight Yanai’s award-winning work on a private residence in Palo Alto’s Crescent Park neighborhood that features a seamless 30-foot-tall, by 10-foot-wide pane of glass.
Tickets are $20. Event information.
“Design firms like IDEO and Frog Design, born in Palo Alto, have revolutionized the way we think about industrial design, blending technology with ‘human-centered’ creativity. The impact of this rich design heritage continues to resonate, influencing everything from architecture to the way we engage with the world,” according to an event press release.
The event will showcase examples of how tech and creativity have converged in Palo Alto and explore the impact of this phenomenon on the design world.
Among the highlights of the event is a tour of a rare, semi-custom two-story Eichler home. Designed by Claude Oakland, the midcentury modern home is the very last one built by Joseph Eichler before his death in 1974 and is believed to feature the only floor plan of its kind (called the PA-3).
Eichler, the Palo Alto real estate developer who became known as a California housing legend for building the California modern post-and-beam homes known as “Eichlers,” was not an architect and never swung a hammer, yet he changed the housing world with his signature homes and his fair housing policies. He was one of the first major builders to sell homes to anyone who could afford them, regardless of race, ethnicity or religion.
Eichler expert Monique Anton and Tiffany Truong of design-build firm Keycon will delve into the history of the Eichler home and community, the architectural significance and social impact of these homes, and how these homes can be updated while preserving their key features.
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Another home that will be showcased during the event is an award-winning house in Palo Alto’s Crescent Park neighborhood made of glass. The home features a seamless 30-foot-tall, by 10-foot-wide pane of glass that connects the three-story stairwell to the outdoors. Given its size, the architects turned to the manufacturers that designed and engineered the large glass curtain walls specifically for the front of Apple stores, according to EYRC Architects. Takashi Yanai, principal at the firm, and design critic Zahid Sardar will delve into the home’s Japanese Modernism design elements, which showcase the interplay of light filtering through leaves.
In addition to talks and tours of homes and architectural studios, there also will be a literary festival at Stanford d.school that includes interactive activities inspired by book content with authors and design experts from the Stanford d.school. Participants can explore prints, games and all things design, as well as get their hands dirty making things.
Tickets are sold separately for each individual event. More information here.
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