Learning at BDE

Mentorship Program

The mentorship program at BDE Architecture is designed to foster the professional growth of emerging architects by pairing them with experienced BDE mentors. The program focuses on skill development and industry insights.

Participants engage in one-on-one or group mentoring sessions that emphasize goals tailored to their specific career aspirations and challenges. Mentors provide valuable feedback on design and implementation process and share best practices in project management.

A person is marking architectural blueprints with a purple ruler on a white table, with architectural plans and drawings visible.

In-Person and Virtual Site Visits

Group of people posing outdoors in a garden area, with a brick building and greenery in the background.

In June 2024, members of the BDE Team toured the newly completed Helen Diller Anchor House, a student housing project sited just a few steps off UC Berkeley’s campus. They had such a great time that a few of our Cal alumni joked that they would like to re-enroll in school if it meant they could live in this incredible, and highly amenitized dormitory! UC Berkeley students will be moving in this August, and we are sure they will enjoy all the amenity spaces this building has to offer: The Porch, the Living Room, the Arcade-Mail Room, the Hideaway, and many more. Way to go team!

Collage of four images showing modern urban architecture and interior spaces: a spacious lobby with seating, an outdoor rooftop terrace with city views and people walking, a courtyard with people walking, and an interior lounge with large windows and seating.

In July 2024, members of the BDE team toured The Brady, located at 1629 Market St in downtown San Francisco. Completed this year, The Brady is made up of 3 9-story buildings with 443 dwelling units and amenitized with an outdoor lounge and roof deck overlooking the ever-growing San Francisco city skyline. With close proximity to BDE’s office, it has been exciting to watch this project come to life!

A collage of four images showing different scenes of modern architecture and people. The top left image features three men viewing a scale model of a building development. The top right image shows a group of people on a rooftop terrace with a city view. The bottom left image displays a modern residential building complex with multiple white and black structures. The bottom right image depicts a stylish, sunlit interior space with large windows, contemporary furniture, and indoor plants.

BDE toured the Yerba Buena Island Residences in September of 2024. It was a beautiful blue-sky day with views of the Bay. Congrats to everyone who worked on this amazing project, what a thrill to be part of Yerba Buena Island's future!

Design Charettes & Whiteboards

The design session workshops are collaborative opportunities where staff engage in brainstorming and problem-solving activities. Led by the in-house Design Department, these charettes encourage open communication and the exchange of diverse ideas among team members. Through structured exercises and discussions, attendees work together to define project objectives and explore innovative design concepts. The goal is to foster professional growth of staff members while promoting a sense of teamwork and creativity.

Lunch & Learns

Learning is an essential process that we strive to maintain consistently in order to stay current with industry standards, new materials, and ever-evolving processes. BDE offers lunch presentations to staff that focus on three key categories: Industry Trends and Best Practices, Technical Knowledge and Skills Development, and Project Management and Leadership Strategies.

A group of people participating in a meeting or presentation in an office conference room. One person is standing and explaining architectural plans on a whiteboard to the others who are seated or standing around. The room has large windows, framed with wood, and there are architectural renderings on the walls.

Principal Alex leading a Design Charette at the Chicago office. (Sept. 2024)

Architectural blueprints and plans spread on a table with a calculator and a ruler.
Four people sitting around a cluttered conference table with blueprints and rolled-up plans, two in front of large computer monitors displaying design layouts in a room with beige walls.

Principal John leading the weekly Design Sessions at the San Francisco office. (Oct. 2024)