Author Description

In a world obsessed with an international cast of ego-driven starchitects, San Francisco architects Elizabeth Ranieri and Byron Kuth are the thoughtful, versatile, low-key, detail-obsessed exceptions. —Diane Dorrans Saeks, San Francisco magazine Byron Kuth and Elizabeth Ranieri have split their time over the last two decades between teaching, building, and research, and have produced a broad spectrum of work, from small-scale objects and installations, to uniquely detailed residential and institutional buildings, to large urban design proposals. With materials like the translucent glass used to sequence a view from Russian Hill, the constellation of domes used to manipulate sound at an AIDS memorial, and the eight hundred pounds of synthetic felt and one thousand C-clamps used to create the Fabrications installation at SFMOMA, the firm brings subtlety and innovation to every project. Kuth/Ranieri has been largely influenced by the uniqueness of the Bay Area—its culture, exceptional beauty, and landscape. At the same time it has earned a national and international reputation for its innovative work that integrates cultural discourse with issues of design, technology, and environmental awareness. Kuth/Ranieri's greatest strength is its vision of sustainability. It is committed to the conservation of natural resources and an informed community, establishing an investment in a future that is viable, healthful, and self-renewing. Kuth/Ranieri Architects presents the breadth of their work, showing both the constructed and the theoretical, in stunning photographs and thought-provoking drawings. Insightful texts by Ila Berman, Aaron Betsky, Rodolphe el-Khoury, and Mitchell Schwarzer form a centerpiece to the book and discuss issues of modernism and meaning.