Santa Rosa, Calif., Aug. 11, 2021 – Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA), a leading planning and design firm serving Northern California’s education industry, is celebrating its 35th anniversary.
Headquartered in Santa Rosa and operating a second office in Oakland, the 68-person firm has made a commitment to reviewing and improving its social justice and equity policies and practices through participation in the International Living Future Institute’s (ILFI) JUST 2.0 Program.
Last year, QKA employees founded the firm's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Council to spearhead social justice initiatives within the firm, including submission for its JUST 2.0 label.
WHAT THE JUST LABEL MEANS TO QKA
ILFI’s JUST Program is a voluntary disclosure tool for all organizations seeking to become just and equitable. Different than a traditional verification or certification program, JUST provides a transparency platform where policy statements on a number of human resource and community stewardship practices are disclosed.
An organization’s resulting JUST “nutrition label” is outlined by 22 specific social and equity indicators that are housed within six general categories: diversity + inclusion, equity, employee health, employee benefit, stewardship and purchasing.
Throughout the JUST submission process, QKA’s DEI Council worked to revise and add many firm policies to ensure all are equitable and inclusive. In addition, the Council is currently developing a strategic plan for more inclusive hiring practices, working to set up community outreach to schools to expose underrepresented students to careers in architecture, and has focused on firmwide trainings on topics including diversity and allyship.
“Participating in ILFI’s JUST Program has allowed us to take a truthful and transparent look at how we can best support our employees, clients and community and also do our part to create social change in the industry,” said QKA Principal Aaron Jobson, AIA, ALEP. “We certainly recognize there are areas in which we can greatly improve, as well as those we have already made significant strides in, and we have made a commitment to dedicating time and resources in pursuit of social justice and equity in all facets of our operation. As we celebrate 35 years, we know that success in this endeavor is synonymous to the future success of QKA.”
PASSION FOR DESIGNING EDUCATION FACILITIES
QKA’s 35-year history has been marked by a passion for designing superior education spaces. The firm has continually been at the forefront of embracing innovations in design and sustainability, including modern learning environments that adapt to different styles of learning and teaching. Its robust portfolio of award-winning projects include the highly sustainable Americ
In 2015, QKA co-developed its own school building alternative, Folia. Folia’s pre-engineered buildings are durable, high-quality and flexible, while providing the cost and schedule efficiencies of modular construction. To date, 11 Folia-based buildings have been completed and seven more are currently in the design phase, ultimately saving several Bay Area school districts up to a year per project and millions of dollars.
“QKA has truly always been focused on people, collaboration, and innovation, and delivering great work,” said QKA Founding Principal Mark Quattrocchi, FAIA. “My partner Steve Kwok and I have long believed that investing in our staff and the culture here will result in partnerships and projects that we can be immensely proud of. This could not be truer today as we look to the future, continuing to grow, improve and learn. I am in awe of QKA’s next generation of leaders as they take us down this path, including the work to obtain and respond to our JUST 2.0 label.”
At the outset of 2020, the firm became majority employee-owned through the adoption of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).
Fremont High School, Oakland, Calif., is a recent example of Quattrocchi Kwok's K-12 portfolio. Photo: Tim Maloney
RECENT QKA WORK: FREMONT HIGH SCHOOL, OAKLAND
QKA and LCA Architects recently completed for Fremont High School in the Oakland Unified School District.
The project has reinvigorated a campus that serves 1,200 students, including a new parking lot and administration entrance; a new modular 12-classroom building; modernization of an existing classroom building providing specialty CTE classrooms for Digital Media (including Audio/Video Recording Studio) and Architecture and Engineering (drafting lab and maker space), as well as upgrades to general classrooms and science labs; a new gym, wellness center, and a stadium.
New construction totaled 45,000 sf; the modernization portion totaled 40,000 sf.
The Digital Media studio at Fremont HS provides career training. Photo: Tim Maloney
ABOUT QUATTROCCHI KWOK ARCHITECTS
QKA provides comprehensive master planning and design services for K-12 and higher education, historic renovation and community facilities in Northern California. With more than $2.5 billion in projects completed in its 35-year history, QKA’s award-winning portfolio reflects a commitment to design that emphasizes environmental sustainability and community impact. Building Design + Construction has recognized QKA as one of the nation’s top K-12 and BIM (building information modeling) architecture firms. Engineering News-Record has called it one of America’s top design firms. Majority employee-owned through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), QKA continually lands on the North Bay Business Journal’s “Best Places to Work” list. Visit qka.com to learn more.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
U.S. firm designing massive Taiwan project
MulvannyG2 Architecture is designing one of Taipei, Taiwan's largest urban redevelopment projects. The Bellevue, Wash., firm is working with developer The Global Team Group to create Aquapearl, a mixed-use complex that's part of the Taipei government's "Good Looking Taipei 2010" initiative to spur redevelopment of the city's Songjian District.
| Aug 11, 2010
Florida mixed-use complex includes retail, residential
The $325 million Atlantic Plaza II lifestyle center will be built on 8.5 acres in Delray Beach, Fla. Designed by Vander Ploeg & Associates, Boca Raton, the complex will include six buildings ranging from three to five stories and have 182,000 sf of restaurant and retail space. An additional 106,000 sf of Class A office space and a residential component including 197 apartments, townhouses, ...
| Aug 11, 2010
Restoration gives new life to New Formalism icon
The $30 million upgrade, restoration, and expansion of the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles was completed by the team of Rios Clementi Hale Studios (architect), Harley Ellis Devereaux (executive architect/MEP), KPFF (structural engineer), and Taisei Construction (GC). Work on the Welton Becket-designed 1967 complex included an overhaul of the auditorium, lighting, and acoustics.
| Aug 11, 2010
Best AEC Firms to Work For
2006 FreemanWhite Hnedak Bobo Group McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. Shawmut Design and Construction Walter P Moore 2007 Anshen+Allen Arup Bovis Lend Lease Cannon Design Jones Lang LaSalle Perkins+Will SmithGroup SSOE, Inc. Timothy Haahs & Associates, Inc. 2008 Gilbane Building Co. HDR KJWW Engineering Consultants Lord, Aeck & Sargent Mark G.
| Aug 11, 2010
High-Performance Workplaces
Building Teams around the world are finding that the workplace is changing radically, leading owners and tenants to reinvent corporate office buildings to compete more effectively on a global scale. The good news is that this means more renovation and reconstruction work at a time when new construction has stalled to a dribble.
| Aug 11, 2010
Great Solutions: Business Management
22. Commercial Properties Repositioned for University USE Tocci Building Companies is finding success in repositioning commercial properties for university use, and it expects the trend to continue. The firm's Capital Cove project in Providence, R.I., for instance, was originally designed by Elkus Manfredi (with design continued by HDS Architects) to be a mixed-use complex with private, market-...
| Aug 11, 2010
Nurturing the Community
The best seat in the house at the new Seahawks Stadium in Seattle isn't on the 50-yard line. It's in the southeast corner, at the very top of the upper bowl. "From there you have a corner-to-corner view of the field and an inspiring grasp of the surrounding city," says Kelly Kerns, project leader with architect/engineer Ellerbe Becket, Kansas City, Mo.
| Aug 11, 2010
AIA Course: Historic Masonry — Restoration and Renovation
Historic restoration and preservation efforts are accelerating throughout the U.S., thanks in part to available tax credits, awards programs, and green building trends. While these projects entail many different building components and systems, façade restoration—as the public face of these older structures—is a key focus. Earn 1.0 AIA learning unit by taking this free course from Building Design+Construction.
| Aug 11, 2010
BIM adoption tops 80% among the nation's largest AEC firms, according to BD+C's Giants 300 survey
The nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction companies are on the BIM bandwagon in a big way, according to Building Design+Construction's premier Top 50 BIM Adopters ranking, published as part of the 2009 Giants 300 survey. Of the 320 AEC firms that participated in Giants survey, 83% report having at least one BIM seat license in house, half have more than 30 seats, and near...
| Aug 11, 2010
World's tallest all-wood residential structure opens in London
At nine stories, the Stadthaus apartment complex in East London is the world’s tallest residential structure constructed entirely in timber and one of the tallest all-wood buildings on the planet. The tower’s structural system consists of cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels pieced together to form load-bearing walls and floors. Even the elevator and stair shafts are constructed of prefabricated CLT.
