YAKUH ASKEW
Y.A. studio
SAY IT LOUD - CALIFORNIA Exhibitor
NOW Exhibitor
California Based Designer
Who or what inspires you professionally?
To look at each project uniquely and with a critical eye as a way to iterate and improve. To collaborate and build community.
YAKUH ASKEW
Bio:
In 2004, Yakuh Askew founded Y.A. studio, a San Francisco based architectural design studio committed to bringing an innovative and modern approach to design. Y.A. studio was founded around the ideals of social responsibility within architecture; focusing on developing future skilled professionals, serving the under-served and under-housed within our communities, and elevating the social discourse of our built environment while minimizing its impact on the natural environment.
How did you first learn about architecture and when did you decide that built environment profession was an area of interest for you?
A poster I saw in high-school advertising a Summer workshop at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. It captured my attention and I applied. After attending the 6 week program, I knew I found my calling.
What do you do?
Run a 25 person studio in San Francisco, mostly focused on affordable housing and community serving opportunities.
What excites you in the work you do?
Meeting the new residents and families of our projects and hearing how access to stable housing can transform lives.
Who or what inspires you professionally?
To look at each project uniquely and with a critical eye as a way to iterate and improve. To collaborate and build community.
What is your proudest professional accomplishment or achievement?
To have grown a business over 18 years where our opportunities and accomplishments get better and stronger each day.It's a test of patience, but seeing progress is energizing.
Featured Project Name:
Black Cultural Zone
Featured Project Location:
Oakland, CA
Featured Project Completion Date:
est. 2025
Role in Featured Project:
Architect
Featured Project Description:
Sited in Oakland’s Liberation Park, a community Hub, the building’s design takes its inspiration from the Black Liberation Flag, with its vibrant shades of red, black, and green. The building’s exterior will prominently feature the color red, representing the blood that unites all people of Black African ancestry, black tones to symbolize Black people of African ancestry and Green signifying growth and the natural resources of the land and, in particular, the abundant natural wealth of Africa
Photography Credit:
Y.A. studio
Featured Project Name:
Casa Adelante / 2060 Folsom Street
Featured Project Location:
San Francisco, CA
Featured Project Completion Date:
2021
Role in Featured Project:
Collaborating Architect with Mithun
Featured Project Description:
Combining affordable housing and an active community hub, Casa Adelante is a 9-story building housing 127 families and transitional-aged youth. The building includes a paseo linking it to the adjacent neighborhood park and community gardens. Casa Adelante is a winner of the 2023 COTE Top Ten Award.
