San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Designer Profile
Architect Sarah Hobstetter creates spaces that inspire others to appreciate their surroundings.
Architect Sarah Hobstetter wants the spaces she conceptualizes to inspire someone to put down their smartphone and slow down for a minute — to be present and in the moment. The stores, restaurants and singlefamily homes she’s designed all feature elements intended to facilitate contemplation and reflection.
“Much of our world is designed to be disorienting, like grocery stores or attentiongrabbing interfaces,” said Hobstetter, who was born in the Haight, raised in the East Bay and now lives in Potrero Hill. “I prefer to create a counterpoint to that, spaces that are oriented toward making people aware of themselves and their surroundings.”
Hobstetter’s style, a fusion of minimalism, sensibility and fine artistry, strategically balances natural light, volume and textures.
Despite being the daughter of an architect and donning a hardhat at the age of 10 to tour Oakland’s Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse while it was still under construction, Hobstetter didn’t envision herself growing up to be an architect. “I wanted to form my own path,” she said.
Upon graduating from high school, Hobstetter crossed the Atlantic Ocean to study painting at Scotland’s Glasgow School of Art. But she slowly grew to appreciate architecture, her epiphany coming upon realizing designs could be artful and utilitarian simultaneously.
Inspired, she went on to earn a degree in architecture from the California College of Arts. After stints with Geremia Design and Craig Steely Architecture, Hobstetter and her father opened Hobstetter Architecture Studio in 2013. Her father stepped back years ago, and Hobstetter, mother to a 1yearold daughter, now balances running a small business with raising a child. She scaled her business back to accommodate being a new mother and is looking forward to relaunching her business as her daughter joins more structured childcare.
In this interview with The Chronicle, Hobstetter talks about her style, the benefits of being a certified Women-Owned San Francisco Local Business Enterprise and a side project she’s working on. Q: How do you define your style?
A: Spatial and atmospheric. I’m interested in creating architecture that promotes contemplation. I aim to create environments where you are aware of your presence in a space and orientation to the world.
I come from a painting background, so I like to work with the quality of light and shadow, as well as how we experience perspective and time. In the Bay Area, we are often acting on existing buildings, so our work is informed by architectural and environmental context — but we avoid historic mimicry.
Q: What’s your favorite types of projects and why?
A: Hobstetter Architecture Studio works in a variety of typologies from public sector to singlefamily residential. Our focus area is an interest in the cultural component of the project.
This could be anything from an experimental music space that hosts noise shows, to a home for a filmmaker who thinks very deeply about view. Our aim is to create spaces that reflect the uniqueness of the inhabitants.
Q: What’s your favorite project and why?
A: We are about to start construction on a remodel of a 5,000squarefoot home in Los Altos Hills that was originally built in 1961.
We love the way the existing building cascades down the sloped landscape and orients to views, so we kept the major changes true to the original architectural vernacular. Window and door technology has vastly improved, so we are able to open the facade up while also keeping the home energy efficient.
The homeowner is a talented photographer, so it has been fun to collaborate with regard to how the spaces are composed, like how the window apertures open to frame
the landscape.
I’m also working on a material research project in my spare time that reimagines how we handle ash remains. Ash is a necessary ingredient in concrete, so we incorporate it into the concrete to create decorative blocks that can be aggregated or stand alone. I like the idea of a special brick in a garden or fireplace that serves as a remembrance site for a loved one. I’m still prototyping at the moment but I’m excited to develop this more. My initial formal investigations have been based on decorative relief moulds from my greatgrandfather, who was a plaster worker.
Q: What’s a piece of technology you couldn’t imagine doing business without?
A: I use a lowtech, hightech approach. I like to handdraw, so I always carry a sketchbook, and most days a roll of trace paper and scale.
We recently started using a collaborative Building Information Modeling software for a project we’re teaming with TEF Architects on. My counterpart at TEF, Amanda Hoch, and I can work on the 3D building model simultaneously. She is a health care expert, so it is inspiring to get to work so closely despite being remote in separate studios. As a small creative business, effective collaboration tools are important for us.
Q: Your firm is a certified WomenOwned San Francisco Local Business Enterprise (LBE). What does this mean, and what are the benefits of this designation?
A: We have LBE certification in the categories of architecture, interior design and historical and conservator services that allows us to apply and team on certain public contracts.
While small businesses face heavier overhead costs, they are great for the local economy. San Francisco’s 14B LBE and NonDiscrimination In Contracting Ordinance aims to level the playing field so that small, women and minorityowned businesses have a fair chance to apply and be selected for contracts where public funds are spent. This program is how we came to collaborate on a healthcare project with TEF Architects. TEF started as a LBE and has since grown their business doing wonderful work. TEF’s cofounder, Doug Tom, mentored us on the process. We think the program is great for small business and have enjoyed the opportunity to work at a larger scale.