Photo: Taghi Naderzad
Rudabeh Pakravan is an architect, educator and a founding partner of the architecture firm Sidell Pakravan Architects. She?s interested in how architecture shapes everyday experience, how people and buildings affect each other and how architecture is a physical exploration of space and a practice of social engagement. Designing with bold and straightforward forms, Rudabeh’s firm strives to make spaces that create opportunities for interaction, reflection and delight, both in the private and public realm. Along with her business partner and design team, she explores critical architectural ideas at many scales, from urban parklets and 300-square-foot accessory dwelling units in her home city of Berkeley to extensive office renovations and multi-unit housing around the Bay Area and California. In addition to Rudabeh’s practice, she teaches architecture at the University of California, Berkeley. She is also the recipient of the honored Architectural Record’s 2021 Design Vanguard. Today Rudabeh joins us for Friday Five!
Photo: Zaha Hadid Architects
1. White Paper Models

We make a lot of white paper models in our office. We start by taking an abstract concept and building it quickly. We then discover unique and often unexpected spatial possibilities. As a design team, we discuss these ideas and then build more models to further explore the potential. The ideas are loose at first, but the models are always made with precision and intention;...