Spring 2025 – Newsletter
Spring comes with glorious abundance forcing a smile amidst an abundance of radical change in our country. Supporting our community partners has newfound importance. Today we are highlighting two community projects.
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NEWS
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Progress on the Hillsborough Town Hall continues to gain momentum. Our design thinking approach grounds us in the belief that great design is more than solving problems—it’s about cultivating understanding, fostering connection, and creating lasting impact. We’re excited to be collaborating with EHDD on this meaningful project and to deepen our engagement with the Hillsborough community.
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Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village Loses Funding for their Restoration Project
Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, the last active Shaker community in the world, has lost funding for its major restoration project currently in progress. As the architect for the Shaker Village project in Maine, Red Dot Studio stands as a leader in preserving cultural heritage at a national level and seeks to garner support for Shaker Village and continue to strengthen resistance to the chaos. The arts and humanities stand as pillars of our cultural heritage, and the abrupt withdrawal of funding jeopardizes the continuity of projects that breathe life into history. We commend Congresswoman Chellie Pingree for her steadfast efforts in advocating for Shaker Village and for cultural institutions nationwide. Link to press release as well as the Herb House Capital Campaign page.
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CALENDAR
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April 19 12:00-3:00: Mission Creek History Exhibit & Evolved SF “Creative Bar” for Climate Week: Learn about the history of our urban waterways, how we can bring them back, and scientific foundations of “green infrastructure” including Deep and Light Green Infrastructure solutions to combat combined sewer overflows, heat island effect, and improve our urban tree canopy as part of the Sierra Club Green SF Now campaign. Join Karen Curtiss at the booth facilitating community input.
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April 26 12:30-6:30pm: Curiosity Exchange: Collaborative Journaling Using Artist’s Techniques: Explore the vast and fascinating landscape of Pescadero at Red Dot Ranch through art and writing with Jennifer Stuart! Using journals collaboratively, you will develop your curiosity in an artistic exchange by sharing what you see, think, and wonder about while exploring the ranch. Only a few tickets left!
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May 7th 6:00-9:00: Film Screening and Director Talk: Skin of Glass by Denise Zmekhol: This film follows director Denise Zmekhol’s journey after discovering that her late father’s most celebrated work as an architect, a modernist glass skyscraper in the heart of São Paulo affectionately known as the Pele de Vidro (“Skin of Glass”), has become occupied by hundreds of homeless families. Join director Denise Zmekhol and Karen Curtiss for a discussion about the film and its relevance today.
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May 22: Red Dot Ranch Speaking at the US Green Building Conference:
Karen Curtiss will be presenting at the US Green Building Conference. The built environment is the entire planet now and nowhere is this more obvious than our water system. We take fresh water from one bioregion use it once and flush it into the ocean. These systems have allowed us access to safe and reliable water but at a cost that leaves behind rural communities. This session will explore safe decentralized water systems for rural communities using Red Dot Ranch as a case study.
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ABOUT US
Red Dot Studio is an architecture firm that believes when you listen, watch, and learn the making comes naturally. We are a multidisciplinary firm engaging in research and design to build shelter for people and communities.
Red Dot Studio is located on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Ramaytush Ohlone. We wish to recognize Indigenous perspectives and pay our respect to the Ancestors and Community of the Ohlone and to affirm their sovereign rights as First Peoples.
