Noll & Tam Architects

Noll & Tam is working with LEVER Architecture and Multnomah County Library to expand the North Portland and Albina branch libraries. Read more about the projects here: https://bit.ly/3uktej7

Let’s learn something new this #FirmFriday, at Capitola Library by Noll & Tam Architects! A finalist in our #aiaebdesignawards, Capitola Library is a building ...of and for its community Giving a gentle nod to the area’s historical wharf operations, the curved wooden walls of the adult reading room are reminiscent of the hull of a boat. High ceilings create a feeling of openness and floor-to-ceiling windows flood the building with natural daylight. A deck extends from the children’s area, offering a space to read, play, and explore the path to a nearby creek. The biophilic design continues inside, where unobstructed sightlines and elevation of the main spaces above street level give patrons a feeling of being nestled in the trees. The leaf pattern art installation whimsically mimics the dappled sunlight streaming through nearby oak trees. A variety of meeting spaces and furniture groupings offer visitors both quiet spaces and opportunities to engage with others, organically cultivating social cohesion. See more

Noll & Tam is honored to help Urban Tilth develop their North Richmond Farm into its main base of operations. Now, you can help, too! Consider donating to help transform the Farm into a permanent, community-owned asset that can nourish local neighbors for generations to come. https://bit.ly/3302AAP

Everybody you talk to has a library story. Everybody has this emotional connection to a library in their life, especially when they’re younger. Chris Noll Have a listen to Agati's new podcast episode to hear Chris talk about the value of libraries and why listening leads to great ideas. https://www.agati.com/blog/chrisnoll/... #librarydesign #communityengagement #valueoflibraries

Throughout the fall, LEVER and Noll & Tam Architects joined Multnomah County Library for multiple community events for the Portland neighborhoods that are serve...d by the soon-to-be expanded Albina and North Portland libraries. We have also had the opportunity to work with a committed group of local teens, ages 13-18, as part of our paid youth design program, Youth Opportunity Design Approach (YODA), which just wrapped up for fall term. Participants joined our team for several site trips, workshops and meetings with Multnomah County Library, getting a close-up look at the early, inner workings of the design process, gathering information and developing their own ideas about what these libraries could become. Having young people participate in the design of their spaces was important to our client and has been incredibly valuable to our design team. With the participation and leadership of our youth designers, we will be better able to deliver on a design that brings their ideas to life in a meaningful way. Bring on winter term!

Talented dancers from the Berkeley Ballet Theater show off their moves and those of the new Downtown Library Teen Space at the Berkeley Public Library in this stunning video captured as part of this year’s Libraries are Central event. The dancers show off the flexible, movable library space made just for them. Watch the video here: https://lnkd.in/d6V4YpmD

The Capitola Library has set a Grand Opening of June 12th! The Library will be holding a combination of virtual and in-person events to celebrate the completion of this 12,000 branch library. The incredible library staff is working hard to determine what services they can offer in-person after this date, as the reopening plan continues to look optimistic. We’re delighted to celebrate this moment with the community of Capitola and greater Santa Cruz County.

Happy Earth Day! At Noll & Tam, we believe that our work, and sustainable work more broadly, should not simply reduce the negative impacts of the built environment on our natural environment, but aim to qualitatively improve people’s lived experience of the sites and buildings we design. We are committed to reaching tangible sustainability goals in our process and practice. In the past few years, we have: opened two Zero Net Energy Public Libraries, signed on to the AIA 2030 Commitment, and established an Ecology Committee to keep us on track and honest. It is only with continued work and accountability that we can make a difference.

We are excited to announce that last month, we made a strong commitment to our continued work with the City and the community of Oakland by opening an office in downtown. Our Berkeley location will continue to be our primary base of operations after we return to the office, but this will be our new center for Oakland-based work. See you at the Howden Building!

As part of our firm’s ongoing training in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, we held a Design Committee meeting that focuses its discussion on how architectural projects can play a role in building equity and inclusion. Several staff members chose subjects of interest and presented to the firm. We focused on: - The Tiny House Empowerment Village in Oakland, founded by Youth Spirit Artworks, which is a transitional housing center for unhoused youth - The push to remove historic... monuments and rename civic spaces, throughout the US and also in the Bay Area. - And then, a look abroad at Brazil’s SESC programs, especially the Pompeia project - a cultural center in the east zone of São Paulo. Thanks to the great presentation by our staff!

The College of Alameda New Center for Liberal Arts is looking stunning and ready for students to return! This central stair will be a gathering space between classes, space for events, and we may even seen fashion shows across the bridge (or catwalk?!). We were able to make these photos look populated due to the talents of photographer Ethan Kaplan it may look like there’s no social distancing here, but it’s all just mad photography skills!

One of the highlights of last year was seeing our coworkers (at a distance) at our College of Alameda New Center for Liberal Arts. We look forward to when students can fill the classrooms with their art and creativity!

There’s no denying that 2020 was a lot. Thank you to all our Noll & Tam family, friends, and partners who helped us through it. Here’s to a Happy New Year, and brighter tomorrows!

Happy Holidays from all of us at Noll & Tam. We hope that you have a warm, safe, and happy holiday season.

Noll & Tam is working to design the new Horticulture Complex at Merritt College which will replace the existing horticulture facility. With increasing enrollment and a broad variety of programs, the 30+ year old facilities have exceeded their life expectancy and need extensive changes to meet modern codes and instructional expectations. The project will provide more comfortable space for staff and faculty, providing a home base for the programs and welcoming the broader community.

We are proud to announce that the Half Moon Bay Library won the award for of Design Excellence in Energy and Economy at the 2020 AIA East Bay Awards. This is a wonderful recognition by our local AIA chapter, and we share this award with Half Moon Bay Library San Mateo County Libraries and the City of Half Moon Bay. From the judges: Crisp detailing and an exposed playful structure in the large, well-sited reading room avoid cliché and create welcoming expansive public rooms.... There is a clarity and rigor to the layout and structure of the building, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously. There are warm materials that provide a human scale and touch, and playful gestures in signage and window placements. The openness and light quality are quite nice, and it achieves all of this while achieving the highest level of sustainable design and energy efficiency. Simply an excellent civic project, we need more like this.

The modernization of SFUSD’s Lafayette Elementary School is almost complete! The fun and bright colors make for incredible spaces for children to learn, grown, and play! We look forward to SFSUD welcoming students through these doors.

The work continues with the North Berkeley Senior Center renovation! The plaza concrete is going in and the x-braces are being installed. We’re delighted to work on another corner of our hometown.

Last Sunday was a great day for biking on the Bay Trail from the Noll & Tam office in Berkeley to the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond! Thanks to @ursula_currie for organizing and keeping us fit and connected!

Let’s get a closer look at the College of Alameda New Center for Liberal Arts. Deft touches and beautiful details all come together to make this building a wonderful environment for teaching and learning.

Los Altos Community Center is looking great, thanks to the tireless work of our project team! We can’t wait to deliver a community center that welcomes in all of Los Altos.

We’re so proud of Jessica Jobe Sea, a member of Pathways to Equity, a group that has been working with the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project (WOEIP) to create a community benefits agreement in response to the development of the new Stadium for the Oakland A’s in the West Oakland community. On Saturday, they were a recipient of the 2020 NOMA NAACP SEED Award for Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Design. Jessica is an incredible young architect at Noll & Tam who has committed herself to issues of social and environmental justice in and outside of work. Congrats, Jessica!

NOMA20 starts today! We're ready to show up and listen! See you there.

Noll & Tam is proud to be a signatory to the AIA 2030 Commitment, and we are committed to continually reducing our impact on the environment and designing healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings. We hope to have even better data to report next year and to see the list of firms grow!

You may not be able to walk through the doors of the Half Moon Bay Library, but there’s still curbside pickup! You didn’t think a pandemic could stop librarians, did you?

Commotion West Berkeley's second project, but the first fully complete, the Teach Youth The Truth mural has been painted on the south wall of Metro Lighting, and looks amazing! Thank you muralists Irene Takahashi-Coker, Pancho Pescador, Cristian Munoz, and organizer Shawn Gibson! Noll & Tam is proud to be a supporter of the Commotion, which is bringing this powerful art to Berkeley.

We mourn the passing of a fearless champion of equality and justice. As a women-owned company, we owe so much to those who fought for women to have a seat at the leadership table. Rest in Peace, Justice Ginsburg, and now is the time for us to pick up the baton.

This week, we were able to virtually attend the The Association of Zoos and Aquariums Virtual Annual Conference and it was full of dynamic speakers discussing issues of conservation, equity, and access in the zoo and aquarium community. It’s easy to be excited about our animal projects, but this conference has reinvigorated our commitment to being a thoughtful design partner for animals and humans alike.

Going back to school this fall has been different and difficult, but we appreciate all the parents, educators, and students doing their best to make it happen! Some things we’ve learned so far: PE doesn’t slack, even on Zoom; bring your favorite furry companion to class; and there’s no excuse not to look good for your first day!