Norman Pfeiffer, the founder architect of Pfeiffer Partners in 2004 is a U.S. based design firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles working towards a motive of creating incredible smart planning solutions for their clientele. With a cross-disciplinary team of 50 professionals containing planners, architects and interior designers working at the same platform, sharing a common philosophy onboard. A bi-coastal practice serving across North America and abroad. Some of their key features of design expertise include active client participation as visualizers, understanding the community organization and designing human experiences that bring people together. Their design pallet includes – Arts, Learning spaces, Civic, education, planning, restoration and student life projects
Following are the 15 projects by Pfeiffer Partners –
1. California Institute of technology South houses rehabilitation | Pfeiffer
A contemporary approach to design to protect the historic nature of the building, the rehabilitation took place with the presence of many students, alumni and administrative stakeholders to preserve the institutional character and memory. It is modernized in a way to encourage more social interaction and collaboration between public and private spaces with added amenities.
2. Grand avenue development academy of motion pictures art and science film museum
Urban development of the grand avenue corridor in the downtown of Los Angeles aimed at a mixed-use development thus anchoring the east end of the avenue. Various issues of urban design were addressed to establish a connection to the emerging life of the city.
3. Washington state university Compton union building
The renovation and expansion of CUB at Washington posed a great design challenge on preserving the historic and cultural character cost-effectively with a mandate to completely modernize it. The project was funded by its students to express respect and a sense of stewardship which is deliberately reflected in the contemporary building exterior.
4. Stanford university renovation of the memorial church and historic quad buildings
A restoration project for the University of Stanford to seismically re-strengthen the historic and landmark structures after the 1989 earthquake. Not only the structural assembly of the built nature was repaired but also the artifacts and intricate stonework on the façade needed to be preserved due to the historic importance of the memorial church and centrally located historic quad buildings.
5. Yale and National University of Singapore programming, campus master planning and campus design Singapore | Pfeiffer
Yale campus master plan and the detailed space program was for the 1200 student capacity liberal arts college in Singapore. Serving as the intellectual, recreational and cultural hub for the campus, it was an academic venture forming the core between the four residential colleges. Inspired by the traditional planning concepts and historic southeastern architecture contextualized in the modern era of the 21st Century.
6. Soka University of America Campus Master Plan and Implementation
A 100-acre campus project was duly completed in four major phases. The 25 acres comprised the initial phase which eventually formed the core surrounded by the supporting administration and student health center. The design maximized the use of available natural topography, shifting the parking to the perimeter, providing a loop road that defined the core and limiting vehicular traffic thus maintaining 50% of open space.
7. Rio Hondo College campus master plan
A campus of 188 acres projected for the future of Rio Hondo Community College is designed in a way to meet the requirements of the community in the next 10 years. Some of the key elements include the administration, a student center and the library. A varied selection of colour palette and landscape materials makes an ideal combination to fit into the context requirements.
8. California State University-Fullerton Joseph A. W. Clayes Performing Arts Center | Pfeiffer
A theatre and arts center ranked among the top in the country of California, is designed to meet the dual responsibility of functionality and identity. It is a center that serves as a terminus to the emerging artists in the university. An 800 seated concert hall spread over 1,10,000 sq. ft. has its spatial energy contributing to the life of the campus.
9. Los Angeles Central Library Historic Renovation, Tom Bradley Wing & Maguire Gardens
Expansion and restoration of the central library, an important landmark in the city, was designed to preserve both the historical significance as well as addressing the diverse population. This civic monument became one of the most essential assets of the city with the Maguire gardens that formed an extended part of the library displaying the work of eleven sculptors and painters.
10. Westmont college of global leadership center | Pfeiffer
As the name suggests, the college adopted the global learning program integrated with the on-campus student residences to provide a living-learning environment for its students. The buildings were designed as tree houses made of wood and stone to blend with the natural site setup oak groves.
11. Harvey Mudd College Residence Hall
The on-campus residential housing integrated with the existing fabric of the college followed a framework of a larger master plan approach. The hall provides amenities such as group study rooms, lounges and collaborative workspaces thus setting a new standard for residential living in the Harvey Campus.
12. Evo A. Deconcini Federal Courthouse, Tucson
A civic project built in the city of Tucson consolidates diverse courts some of which are federal, district, magistrate courts cladded with concrete panels and curtain walls reflecting the Tuscan character in materiality and horizontal massing.
13. Griffith Observatory Renovation and Expansion
One of the most beloved landmarks in Los Angeles hosting over 70 million visitors, is designed to place a 40,000sqft new exhibition space below grade as well as rebuilding the lawn. One of the new elements added was the Gottlieb Transit Corridor, an instrument that tracks the transit of the sun along its meridians.
14. Performing Arts Center Eastside (PACE), Bellevue, Washington
PACE is regarded as the “marker space” fostering the creation of performing arts professionals as well as expanding performance technologies emphasized on the acoustics and spatial design parameters. The illuminated articulated glass wraps the building façade creating a visual drama for the passersby.
15. University of California-San Diego Biomedical Library | Pfeiffer
The building serves as a landmark complementing Robert Evans Alexander’s landmark structure designed in 1986. Structural similarities are met by matching the existing with the new concrete roofline with a dramatic upturn roof forming the entrance to the campus.
