A.B. Architecture '55

As Senior Design Principal and now CEO, Chuck Davis has been a key contributor to EHDD Architecture’s body of work as well as an important developer of the firm’s architectural philosophy. Hired as a designer and draftsman by Joseph Esherick in 1962, Chuck has applied Esherick’s philosophical foundations to the design of major academic, institutional and private projects and has expanded the scope and scale of the firm’s work. Today recognized as an expert in the design of aquariums and libraries, his diverse portfolio includes historic renovation projects, museums, laboratories, residences, and university projects of every description.

Chuck’s approach is quintessentially Californian—inclusive rather than exclusive; inventive and spontaneous, rather than formal and pedantic. His designs are derived from the needs of context, program, and the desires of the client, free from the baggage of an established vocabulary. Each of his projects is unique, an invention born out of a search for the nature of the particular problem. His first aquarium project was the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which resulted in a new methodology in aquarium design based upon a harmonious union of marine science, materials research, visitor experience, aquarium exhibit design, and a deep understanding of aquatic habitats. He is known for academic buildings that are enormously empathetic to their environments, including the Science Library for UC Santa Cruz within a spectacular grove of redwoods and the Doe Library at UC Berkeley, a major addition to the historic main campus library adjacent to the Berkeley Memorial Glade, an important open space in the center of the campus. Other projects include the new campus for City College of San Francisco, Bay Tree Bookstore & Graduate Student Commons at UC Santa Cruz, and the restoration of South Hall and CED’s Wurster Hall at UC Berkeley.

Chuck is an active participant in the AIA’s Regional/Urban Design Assistance Teams process and regularly serves on design award juries. He has published numerous papers, has lectured on a wide variety of subjects, and has taught frequently at UC Berkeley and other universities. He is a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects and in 2003, he received the AIA California Council Maybeck Lifetime Achievement Award. It is an honor to recognize Chuck this year as a 2006 Distinguished Alumnus of the College of Environmental Design.