Inspired by influences from Monet to Alvar Aalto and Frank Lloyd Wright, Krista has built a career on the understanding that beautiful, functional design is always accompanied by rigorous technical expertise. Yet she always keeps in mind Harriet Braiker’s observation that “Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing,” a lesson that drives not only her work as an architect but her role as a teacher to ABA’s up-and-coming staff.
From her work on the Santa Catalina School Math & Science building, whose design looks forward while speaking to the campus’ history, to the San José Public Library Cambrian Branch, which integrated public art into the project without compromising the overall design, and a challenging tenant improvement project to adjust a Medical Office Building’s design within an existing space, Krista has earned a reputation for completing projects that hit all the marks in terms of aesthetics, functionality, budget, and schedule. She carries this reputation forward as ABA’s practice lead for Health & Wellness. Drawing on experience working on a variety of clinical and hospital spaces, she focuses on helping major healthcare providers create the spaces that help doctors and medical professionals serve patients with modern spaces, cutting edge equipment, and holistic healing environments.
To celebrate the firm's 40th anniversary, staff were challenged to share their imagination and design thinking by creating a row house concept. Here is Krista's.
Statement:
My inspiration comes from two places – my travels and my home. One of my favorite places was Amsterdam and the old canal houses with a modern infill. Sometimes the new house would take advantage of the development in structural systems and materials. The windows could become significantly larger while maintaining similar proportions or strong datum lines to tie into the existing fabric.
My role at ABA is helping figure out how to make the design real so that it’s constructable, affordable and meet codes. That shows in the design of my rowhouse. My cats bring laughter and whimsy to my home and the same to my row house. Their oversize scale repesents their personality and impact on my home. If I was ever able to design and build my own home, catification would be a major design element. I would love to expand beyond the shelves and cat trees in my current home to create a full kitty highway with tunnels through the walls, climbing features and an outdoor catio. It would allow all for all sorts of cat antics while meeting my design aesthetic.
