X:a/A

Schumacher Architecture

xaa — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:40:18 +0000

Schumacher Architecture is a San Francisco based architecture practice specializing in an interpretive and inclusive process resulting in one-of-a-kind designs generated from your unique needs. Client collaboration, innovative use of materials, and a refined aesthetic sensibility of all trademarks of Schumacher Architecture With over twenty years of experience in residential and commercial projects, Schumacher Architecture provides the perfect setting for you to craft your project as participant. Principal Donna Schumacher will personally help you to make your vision a reality. What story does your building want to tell?

Every building tells a story…..

Architecture is inherently a reflection of change: an office relocates, a baby is born, a culture has shifted, deterioration creates disrepair, innovation leads to expansion. Schumacher Architecture believes in the active use of these stories as the starting point of design. From the smallest detail to the broadest organizational strategy, your built environment works best when it is a reflection of you: your lives, choices and decisions. Architecture is the narrative you inhabit.

San Francisco Camerawork

xaa — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 05:36:54 +0000

This suite of Protean galleries for SF Camerawork changes shape with each new exhibition via a system of removable walls and varied height ceilings. “Every time I walk in, it just feels wonderful,” says R.F. Muna, an accomplished photographer and SF Board President during the time of the remodel. “The space has a very luxurious quality and dynamic nature that can morph into something new to keep the gallery exciting.”

A translucent donor wall greets visitors as the architectural emblem for the space, visible from the elevator, drawing the viewer around the corner and into the gallery experience. A series of randomly placed horizontal tubes illuminate the donor wall panel to create the impression of movement metaphorically referring to the importance of light, an essential element of photography. Beams of light delineate the edges of a lowered ceiling which creates the central gallery, echoing the signature of light as the element to express the gallery mission. The monochromatic palette of black and white never overshadows the primary focus of the gallery which is the work itself and echoes the black and white photography which is often exhibited here.

photographs by Rebecca Bausher

Stearns Consulting Center City

xaa — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 18:59:43 +0000

For this poilitical consulting company, X:a/A created an open bullpen design to reflect the spirited dialogue encouraged between workers. When privacy is needed, separate offices are available or translucent partitions can slide into place for a more spontaneous adjustment. A glass coffee table with district map underlay is the focus of the casual meeting area by the entry. Sound insulation for the conference room is provided by wall to wall laser cut felt derivaitve of the Bay Area watershed echoing SCI interest in environmental issues. Green materials were used through out the design: 3 Form resin panels, stranded bamboo flooring, Richlite table tops.

photographs by Sven Weiderholt

Re-Tale: stories of retail workers from Union Square

xaa — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 06:51:58 +0000

“Retale: The Lives and Experiences of Union Square Retail Workers”, was a temporary art installation which attracted the public with its promise of a high backed chair for relaxing. Fabricated in brushed stainless steel, the piece echoed the type of park benches typical of the square, and yet remained distinctive enough to arouse curiosity. Once approached, the proximity activated sound sculpture relayed (via hidden speaker) a twenty minute sound piece incorporating nine interviews with local retail workers that had jobs within the famous retail square of San Francisco.

Photographs by Donna Schumacher, Palle Henkle.

San Francisco Victorian Remodel

xaa — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 19:20:03 +0000

This San Francisco remodel accommodates a modern lifestyle while preserving the comfortable details of a historic Victorian home. The slanted planes of the attic roof have been exposed to create a dramatic spacious master bedroom suite. Interior walls are swept away to open the first floor living space to air and light. The only modification to the exterior was the addition of a new gable facing the garden and two towers: one tower for the stair to the upper floor, lined with books for a library and the other a master bathroom for the mistress of the house. A longitudinal glass block window brings light into the kitchen and keeps wall space for cabinets above.

City Center Flat

xaa — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 06:57:22 +0000

History has been incorporated into the design of this Edwardian flat by materials taken from the home during construction. Redwood 2×4′s from partition walls become trim for windows and doors. The original Douglas Fir sub-floor is re-used as nosing for stair treads. Original wainscoting follows the entry stair up into the Great Room.

Memories are physically embodied into this contemporary home. The chandelier from the family home has been relocated to the entry hall. Bronze clovers are cast into the cement counter top to reflect a specific memory.

The central spine of the house is the stairway moving up from street to public space, from public space to private space and then out to the deck.

photographs by Sven Weiderholt

Garden House in the City

xaa — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 01:38:28 +0000

photograph by Rebecca Bausher

Salvaged doors and windows add traditional charm and character to this simple unassuming house. A triangular shaped music studio is the vestige of a former train track now replaced with a lush garden overflowing with flowers. The arched windows of the top floor warehouse boldly connect the studio to the outside greenery. A vintage marble sink from a junk yard becomes the centerpiece of the guest bath. Salvaged doors and building fragments taken from discarded structures are incorporated to add the sense of time.

photo by Rebecca Bausher

REDUX: Designs that Reuse, Recycle and Reveal. Written by Jennifer Roberts, and published by Gibbs Smith Publishers, this coffee table book focuses on architectural projects that use recycled materials as a focal point of their design. The attached residential project was chosen due to its creative use of found building parts: windows, sinks, light fixtures, and accent doors were all found at the local salvage yard,

photograph by Rebecca Bausher

WORKS/ San Jose

xaa — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 06:52:51 +0000

The open warehouse of historic Sperry Flour Mill Building is divided into a complex mix of functions for alternative gallery, Works/San Jose. Assembly spaces for the occasional performance, gallery spaces for exhibition, a series of small separate studios and the support spaces for everyone were all to be housed under the trussed roof of this undivided building. The additional income from affiliated studios helped offset expenses for renovation while creating a heightened sense of community. The historic feel of the grand industrial space was left intact by floating the egress corridor as a three sided box far below the shared skylights above. This understated approach allowed the art to stand unchallenged as spectacle. The raw character of the original historic space persisted.

About Donna Schumacher

xaa — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 04:58:51 +0000

Donna Schumacher, AIA, LEED AP, founded X: architecture/ Art in 1992, specializing in an interpretive and inclusive approach to design. Her projects include San Francisco Camerawork, WORKS/San Jose, San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery in addition to numerous residential and commercial spaces throughout the Bay Area as well as in New York and Boston.

Donna earned both her Masters of Architecture and her Bachelors of Arts in Architecture and Environmental Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. She earned her Masters of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the California College of the Arts and has exhibited at Southern Exposure, San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, the LAB as well as nationally and internationally with RIBA in London, England and The Physics Room in Christchurch in New Zealand. She is presently an active member of the American Institute of Architects, United States Green Building Council and Commercial Real Estate Women, San Francisco. She contributes regularly to Sculpture Magazine, and was regional editor of Art Papers for five years. She has taught with California College of Art, Academy of Art University and University of California, Berkeley and has created several public art works in San Jose, and San Francisco.

San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery

xaa — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 02:32:42 +0000

Within the shell of the Beaux Arts style War Memorial Building lies the innovative contemporary arts center, the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery. Stripping the space down to its raw elements- exposed concrete columns, plumbing pipes and patchwork marble floors- the story of changes in the building use have been revealed. An installation space is separated from the main gallery with a heavy fabric curtain- softening the severity of the simple interior.

photograph by Sharon Risedorf

photograph by Sharon Risedorf