D A V I D L U D W I G, A I A
After seventeen years working as a principal at Polsky Architects, I have decided to open my own practice in San Anselmo. I would like to share some of my background as a way of introducing the unique perspective I offer my clients as a result of having 36 years of building experience in the Bay Area.
My design strength centers on my aptitude for space planning. Following the “form-follows-function” philosophy, I “furnish” my plans as I draw them, and having been a builder, I simultaneously resolve structural requirements by “building” my projects in my head. Using these skills, I can arrive a uniquely efficient and elegant design solutions for challenging projects with physical, financial, and political limitations. I also have a special aptitude for creative visualization. Having mastered my hand-drawing technique, I am able to produce a wide variety of images, from thumb-nail sketches to presentation drawings with exceptional speed and ease. More recently, I have combined my drawing skills with the 3D power of ArchiCad, which has added a high degree of flexibility and accuracy to my hand drawings. My drawings clearly communicate to clients, contractors, and public agencies a combination of sensitive proportion and carefully resolved details.
Trained as a carpenter during my teenage years by my father, I advanced my skills to journeyman level and became a Licensed General Contractor in ’76, and I opened a design-build firm called Dovetail Design and Construction in the East Bay. Between ’71 and ’87, I completed over 100 projects. In ’87 I came to work with Jared Polsky in Larkspur, where I have completed over 50 additional projects. My hands-on building experience sets me apart from most other architects who have none, and are often criticized for designing projects that are unnecessarily difficult and expensive to build.
I received my professional education at U. C. Berkeley, graduating with a Bachelors of Architecture in ’69 and a Masters of Architecture in ’71. After graduation, I worked for several prominent Bay Area Architectural firms including: MacKinlay / Winnacker, ELS, Daniel Solomon, and John Carl Warnecke. I received my California Architecture License and was invited to join the American Institute of Architects in ’78.
My other creative interests include photography, designing theater backdrops, painting on silk, painting with watercolor and pastel, dancing and playing music. I have four beautiful and creative daughters and three grandchildren.