Blecher Building + Urban Design I BBUD

10/14/2026

Tomorrow evening, Blecher Building + Urban Design I BBUD principal Howard Blecher will moderate the San Francisco Firms Forum program:

Navigating Firm Crossroads: Startup, Client Relationships, and Ownership Transition

The program brings together legal, practice-management, client-relationship, and business-transition perspectives for a practical discussion focused on small architecture firms.

Topics include firm focus, client selection, difficult conversations, business development, firm value, ownership transition, and succession, with an emphasis on what firms can put in place earlier to improve outcomes later.

The program is available in person at AIASF / Center for Architecture + Design and online.

Registration:

Small architecture firms face recurring crossroads: starting and organizing the practice, defining firm focus and marketing/business development strategy, choosing work and clients, managing difficult conversations before they become disputes, and planning for ownership transition or succession. Thi...

08/05/2026

Blecher Building + Urban Design I BBUD is pleased to share the morning AIASF Small Firms session on August 25: AI in Architectural Practice: Adoption, Responsibility, and Risk.

Howard Blecher will moderate a practical panel on responsible AI adoption in architectural practice, with focus on workflows, professional judgment, confidentiality, documentation, contracts, insurance, and risk management.

The morning session brings together AI implementation, legal, and insurance/risk perspectives for architects, small firms, consultants, and allied professionals.

Registration is open through AIA San Francisco - AIASF.

Register: https://www.aiasf.org/events/ai-in-architectural-practice-adoption-responsibility-and-risk

06/24/2026

Thank you to and for a productive discussion on how the Bureau of Infrastructure & Development Permitting supports projects through permitting, infrastructure coordination, interagency review, project delivery, and acceptance of public improvements.

Blecher Building + Urban Design I BBUD principal Howard Blecher helped organize the program, provided opening remarks, and assisted with the Q&A.

One especially promising takeaway was the positive response to developing an evolving library of Public Works information sheets, interpretations, and process guidance. Clearer shared references could help applicants, design teams, reviewers, contractors, and other project participants work more consistently.

We appreciated the openness of the Public Works team and look forward to continued dialogue.

Program details:
https://www.aiasf.org/events/public-works--inside-idp---accelerating-infrastructure-and-housing-development-in-san-francisco

This program will provide an overview of the Bureau of Infrastructure & Development Permitting (IDP) and its critical role in advancing housing production, public infrastructure, and major development projects throughout San Francisco. As the City's technical hub for Development Agreement projects a...

05/16/2026

27th Avenue House: Recomposition
San Francisco, CA

Reallocation rather than expansion.
For a young couple planning for a growing family, this remodel reworked the third floor of a 1923 Edwardian to make the existing spaces more useful, more comfortable, and more beautiful.

Key moves:
• room-sized closet + small office to primary suite
• new bath and walk-in closet within the existing footprint
• improved closet space for an adjacent bedroom
• excess hall area absorbed into usable rooms
• bearing walls replaced with consolidated beam lines
• skylights illuminating the third floor and connecting it to the second floor through the stair

The before and after shows the transformation. The plan and section show the architecture behind it: a focused, intricate intervention where structure, circulation, and light work together to support daily life.

Architecture / planning:
Interior design:
Structural engineering: BASE Design
Contractor:
Photography: