John Hinkel Park / Grand Opening

When the beautiful historic clubhouse of John Hinkel Park burned down in 2015, neighbors and Berkeley city staff came together to discuss the future of the park and its users. Built in 1918, the redwood clubhouse structure served its purpose for 73 years, officially closing its doors in 1991 due to the estimated $1-2 million-dollar repair costs to restore it to habitability. After the 2015 fire, the city (Berkeley) was able to receive insurance money, which planted the seed of innovation. At the same time, this allowed John Hinkel Park – like a Phoenix – “to rise from the ashes,” and reinvigorate the experience of the park that embodies the cultural and architectural history of Berkeley at the turn of the 20th century.

Toward the end of 2015, Carducci Associates and diverse stakeholders – including city staff, Council Members, and invested neighbors – collaborated to envision a new chapter for John Hinkel Park. Over five years, after multiple community meetings and the approval of the Landmark Commission, the community decided to replace the clubhouse with enhanced site access, ADA improvements, unique site furnishings and a picnic terrace that would maintain the park’s natural aesthetic while celebrating the past that John Hinkel himself gave to the neighborhood.

Carducci Associates leveraged the park’s history through the use of salvaged materials from the clubhouse, such as wood and stone, and designed custom features that highlight the park’s past for present and future users. Some of these features include rock walls, rock and wood benches, and picnic tables topped with 100-year-old salvaged redwood to preserve the memory of the clubhouse’s original location. If one were to examine the picnic tables, one can see the chars and scars of the blaze that paved the way for the park’s renewal.

Finally, after years of waiting, Carducci Associates is honored and excited to say that John Hinkel Park can once again serve as a space where neighbors and friends can gather to make new memories. After the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony (July 31, 2020), visitors practiced social distancing while enjoying the renewed park. There were plenty of smiles that even face coverings could not mask.

Thank you to the City of Berkeley, the Landmark Commission, and the John Hinkel Park community for entrusting this special project to Carducci Associates. May John Hinkel Park continue to flourish in all of its cultural and natural beauty.

Let there be plants! / Conrad Square gets a refresh

Intended as a short-term beautification and improvement to Joseph Conrad Square in San Francisco’s North Beach/Fisherman’s Wharf neighborhood, Carducci Associates’ landscape plan preserves existing trees and introduces a low growing and varied plant palette designed to draw and welcome visitors in all seasons.

The low growing planting and improved landscape lighting – two basic principles of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) – were incorporated in response to the community’s ongoing concerns regarding criminal activity in the space. These elements will help to increase visibility and surveillance, thus making it a safer place to occupy throughout the day, and night.

On January 17^th, the first phase of Conrad Square was completed in collaboration with the Fisherman’s Wharf Community Benefit District and the SF Rec & Parks. (The SF Rec & Parks Dept. obtained the plant materials, compost, and the mulch; it used 20 gardeners to install the planting in one day.) The first phase included: clearing previous planting that might have encouraged unwanted activity. In turn, this allowed the new succulent and drought-tolerant garden to take root on-site. Check out the new plants if you’re in the area!

More information about our project is available here.

Welcome! / K.C. Farrell Joins the Carducci Team

The newest member of our staff, Associate K.C. Farrell has a team-oriented approach to design, along with ten years of experience. “The best idea wins,” he says, of collaborating. “I believe that good design is achieved without ego and that ideas can come from anywhere and anyone at any time.” At all times, K.C. brings this attitude to his work. 

So far, K.C. has brought a fresh perspective to old projects, leadership to new ones, improvements to our office standards, and a bounty of herbs from his garden. “Every day that I come to work, I strive to design something with meaning. My goal is to create spaces that allow users to have unique experiences and create memories that will outlast the built environment.” 

His previous experience includes high-end residential, retail, campus, and public works, and he studied landscape architecture at UC Berkeley and UC Davis. In 2008, K.C. began volunteering at the National AIDS Memorial Grove (NAMG) monthly workdays to maintain and improve the eight-acre site. Soon after, he became a workday Team Leader and Site Advisor on the Site Committee, where he helped design and develop site improvement plans. 

In the years that followed, K.C. has continued as a Site Advisor to help lead many projects, including a historic waterfall restoration (2011), South and North Slope repaving (2016-2017), and SF Gay Men’s Chorus Circle (2018). Of his decade as a NAMG volunteer, he says: “serving as a Workday Volunteer is still some of the most enjoyable work that I do. Digging my hands into the soil and working with a team in an effort to maintain a landscape that is sacred to so many people is truly a rewarding experience.” 

Advancements at Carducci Associates / Joel Franceschi Promoted to Design Coordinator

We are happy to announce the promotion of Associate Joel Franceschi to Design Coordinator! After three years of contributing to and managing many projects at Carducci, we recognize Joel for his proficiency in skills essential to leadership in landscape architecture practice today, from representation and professional communication with colleagues, consultants, and clients, to construction methods and code.

One of the best talents Joel brings to the office is his vast knowledge of soils and plants, as species, aesthetic elements, and life sensitive to highly specific environmental conditions. His love of native plants, especially those supporting pollinators, is evident throughout all of his school and residential projects. Alpine meadows and the Santa Cruz Mountains have long provided Joel with a rich inspiration, before studying landscape architecture at UC Davis and working at a residential landscape architecture firm in Santa Cruz.

When he isn’t coordinating, Joel can be found caring for and experimenting with his rapidly expanding collection of unusual orchids and other friends that are beginning to engulf his desk.