Dreyfuss + Blackford: Seventy Years

Will Smith

June 15, 2022

John Webre and Kris Barkley take a look at the new book, on site at SMUD Headquarters.

As Dreyfuss + Blackford turned 70 not long ago, we paused to reflect on all the stories, people, and projects that have made us the firm we are today. We all agreed that it was time to produce a book… but to be quite honest, it was a daunting thought to distill 70+ years of work into a single book. We ultimately decided to define the book in three sections. The first focuses on our founders (Al and Len) and our historic benchmark projects that established Dreyfuss + Blackford Architecture as a design leader in Sacramento. The second section explores our project process, understanding that a collaborative, team-centric, experimental, design process creates a more thoughtfully executed project. The final section showcases selected projects that highlight our broad portfolio of award-winning work.

In a perfect world, producing a 244-page book with this kind of scope would have been challenging. During a pandemic, it was truly a test of our creativity, ingenuity, technology, and unwavering resolve to make this book happen. We thrive on in-person collaboration but adapted quickly to overcome the virtual distance. In a way, this was advantageous as we were able to collaborate effectively with talented people across the globe to bring this project to fruition. Special thanks go out to our collaborators. Clare Jacobson, who not only provided masterful editing expertise but also went above and beyond in helping us move this project forward. Pablo Mandel, our talented book designer, who collaborated with our team to create an enriched visual experience that effectively expresses our personality as a firm. Our gratitude extends also to Pierluigi Serraino, whose insights into our history and observations of our place in the world of architecture have helped us to better understand ourselves.

It is with great pride that Dreyfuss + Blackford Architecture has published our first book through ORO Editions.

You can order your own copy from our publisher, ORO Editions, here.

Subscribe to learn about our latest projects, news + updates.