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Photo ©Darren Bradley Berkeley is essentially the opposite of everything that UCSD represents in terms of architecture.  The campus has an extensive heritage of historical buildings dating back to the second half of the 19th century. I didn't take any photos of those.  But there are a few nice examples of modernism at the school. The Cesar E. Chavez Student Services Center is my favorite: The Chavez Center was designed by the architecture team of Hardison & DeMars, and completed in 1961.  Some people refer to it as "The Flying Nun". I particularly appreciate the mix of textures and forms - between the shadow block, the wood, and the thin shell concrete roofline... I'm a sucker for drama in architecture, I guess.

Photo ©Darren Bradley One of the greatest collections of modern architecture in the country is right in my backyard. The University of California at San Diego is like a museum of modern architecture, from the 60s through the present day. And what makes it even more unique is that there is not a single example of traditional architecture on the campus!  Living so close and having spent much time here since my childhood, I know the campus well. Since I can't go longer than a few days without needing to go make some photos, UCSD serves as both my playground and lab for trying out new techniques. As a result, I've built up a pretty good sized collection of photos of the buildings there over the years.  My friends at ArchDaily recently decided to do an article on UCSD and its architectural treasures, and I was happy to contribute my photos to the effort.  Here's  a link to the article on ArchDaily . And a couple more of the photos included... Photo ©Darren Bradley Photo ©...

Photo ©Darren Bradley Spent the weekend up in Sonoma recently to do a photography project for the  Mingei Museum . I'll post more details about that project as I'm able, but don't want to ruin the surprise...  Anyway, the point is that I found myself up in the Bay Area on a Sunday morning with a few hours to kill with my friend  Dave Hampton . He was game, so we did a quick tour of some of the modernist homes hidden up in the hills of Berkeley before I had to get my flight home.  Our first destination was  Greenwood Common , which is an enclave of modernist homes surrounded by a private park, perched on a hill overlooking Berkeley, with the great views of the bay and San Francisco, beyond.  This house above and below was designed by the architect John Funk. Though not well known outside the Bay Area, Funk was a pioneer of the modern genre particular to this region - simple, organic forms that just work...  Photo ©Darren Bradley   The idea for this...