Anshen & Allen

Anshen and Allen

Company type	Private
Industry	Architecture, Planning, Design
Founded	1940
Founder	Samuel Robert "Bob" Anshen, William Stephen "Steve" Allen Jr.
Defunct	2010
Fate	Acquired by Stantec
Headquarters	San Francisco , United States
Area served	Global
Products	Architectural design, planning, sustainable design

Anshen and Allen operated as a global architecture, planning, and design firm based in San Francisco, with additional offices located in Boston, Columbus, and London. In 2010, the firm achieved an eighth-place ranking for sustainable design and was nineteenth overall in the "Architect 50" list published by Architect magazine. That same year, it was also recognized as twenty-eighth among the "100 Giants" by Interior Design magazine.

History

Established in 1940 by Samuel Robert "Bob" Anshen (1910–1964) and William Stephen "Steve" Allen Jr. (1912–1992), who both completed their architectural studies at the University of Pennsylvania before moving westward, the firm began its operations in San Francisco. Their first major commission was the Davies House, a 6,000-square-foot Tudor Gothic residence built for Ralph K. Davies of Standard Oil and finished in 1941. Following World War II, the company expanded its portfolio to include Standard Oil gas station prototypes, parking structures, and naval interior designs.

During the 1950s, Anshen and Allen were commissioned by residential developers Joseph Eichler and John Calder Mackay to create California Modernist tract housing projects, a collaboration that continued until 1962. The firm transitioned into a contemporary international architectural practice under Derek Parker’s guidance in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

By the mid-2000s, Anshen and Allen had adopted Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology within their processes and actively participated in advancing Integrated Project Delivery through the American Institute of Architects California Council. Their innovative approach to sustainability included designing healthcare clinics constructed from shipping containers for the nonprofit Containers 2 Clinics (C2C) initiative.

By 2009, the firm had established a strong presence specializing in sustainable healthcare and educational facilities. In 2010, Anshen and Allen was acquired by Stantec.

Legacy

The archives of Anshen and Allen's work are preserved at the Environmental Design Archives at the University of California, Berkeley.

Selected projects

• 1950: Eichler Homes Developments, Bay Area, California
• 1956: Chapel of the Holy Cross, Sedona, Arizona
• 1961: 601 California Street, San Francisco, California
• 1963: Latimer Hall, University of California, Berkeley
• 1965: Good Samaritan Hospital, San Jose, California
• 1966: Samuel Silver Space Sciences Laboratory and Hildebrand Hall, University of California, Berkeley
• 1967: Bank of California Building, San Francisco, California
• 1968: Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley
• 1969: Bank of California Tower (currently Union Bank Tower), Portland, Oregon
• 1987: Claude Howard Administration Building, University of Nevada System, Reno, Nevada
• 1991: Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, California
• 1993: Green Earth Sciences Building and Tang Center - Health Services Building at University of California campuses
• 1994: Children's Hospital Ambulatory Services Building in Oakland; Landau Center for Economics and Policy Research at Stanford University
• 1998: Doernbecher Children's Hospital at Oregon Health and Science University; Alway Building Genetics Department Laboratory at Stanford University
• 1999: Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Main Hospital and Specialty Center; New Hunt's House at King's College London; Beijing Hospital Inpatient Pavilion
• 2000: Franklin-Wilkins Building at King's College; Seattle Children's Pediatric and Infant Intensive Care Unit
• 2001-2002: UCSF Medical Center Ambulatory Care Center; Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital; Asian Hospital and Medical Center (Philippines); MESA Women's Health Center (Turkey); Diablo Valley College Business and Language Building; University of Kentucky Engineering Building; seismic upgrades at UC Berkeley; UC Davis Contained Research Facility
• 2003-2004: Intermountain Healthcare Dixie Regional Medical Center; Contra Costa County Regional Medical Center Ambulatory Care Center; Chapman Science Academic Center at California State University Monterey Bay; Hameetman Science Center at Occidental College; New Botnar Building and Weston House at Great Ormond Street Hospital (London); Harvard School of Dental Medicine Research and Education Building; Life Sciences Center at University of Missouri; De Anza College Science Center; Royal Manchester Children's Hospital
• 2005-2006: Hutchison Cancer Research Centre (University of Cambridge); Meyer Children's Hospital (Florence); Sir Henry Wellcome Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre (University of Manchester); Physical Sciences Building at UC Santa Cruz; Michael Hooker Research Center (University of North Carolina); Warnock Engineering Building (University of Utah)
• 2007-2010: Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center; Fenway Community Health Center (Boston); Intermountain Medical Center (Utah); PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend (Oregon); Royal Victoria Infirmary (Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals); Stanford Hospitals & Clinics Outpatient Center (Redwood City); Laguna Honda Hospital Expansion (San Francisco Department of Health); Palomar Medical Center and Pomerado Hospital (San Diego); Mills-Peninsula Health Services Peninsula Medical Center (Burlingame)
• 2015: UCSF Medical Center Mission Bay Campus (under construction)

Awards

• 2005 Concrete Masonry Design Award
• Recognized as one of the Best AEC Firms to Work For by Building Design & Construction, 2007
• Camden Building Quality Award for Large Commercial Projects – Octav Botnar Wing, Great Ormond Street Hospital, 2007
• Interior Design Best of Year Merit Award in Healthcare category – Jon & Karen Huntsman Cancer Center, Intermountain Medical Center, 2007
• Interior Design Best of Year Merit Award in Education – Sir Henry Wellcome Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre, 2007
• Honor Award from the International Interior Design Association Northern California Chapter – Sir Henry Wellcome Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre, 2008
• Building Better Health Care Award for Outstanding International Design – Intermountain Medical Center, 2008
• Best Hospital Design accolade from Building Better Health Care – Northern Centre for Cancer Care and Renal Services Centre, The Freeman Hospital, 2008
• Judge's Special Award Highly Commended from Building Better Health Care – The Bexley Wing, St. James's Institute of Oncology, St. James University Hospital, 2008
• LEED Silver Certification awarded by U.S. Green Building Council for Columbus Office, 2009
• American Society of Healthcare Engineering Vista Award for New Construction – Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend, 2009
• Healthcare Environment Award recognizing excellence in Ambulatory Care Facilities – Stanford Medicine Outpatient Center, 2010