Architectural Resources Group (or ARG; also known as Architects, Planners & Conservators, Inc.) is a firm that was founded in 1980 by Bruce Judd and Steve Farneth in

San Francisco, CA San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. It began by providing professional services in the fields of

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

and

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

with particular expertise in the area of

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

. In 2000, David Wessel, a Principal of ARG, founded a separate conservation- contracting division, ARG Conservation Services which operates under the same roof as ARG. By 2005, the firm had expanded to a full-service architecture firm with 50+ employees. ARG also opened offices in

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. ...

serving

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

, and

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

, serving the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

Company

Because of the complex range of issues common to preservation projects, the firm associates with

consultants A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

in diverse fields such as

architectural history The history of architecture traces the changes in architecture through various traditions, regions, overarching stylistic trends, and dates. The beginnings of all these traditions is thought to be humans satisfying the very basic need of shelt ...

, preservation technology, building

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

building material Building material is material used for construction. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, rocks, sand, wood, and even twigs and leaves, have been used to construct buildings. Apart from naturally occurring materials, many man-ma ...

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

, and

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

ARG was among the first architecture firms in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

to include architectural conservators as staff members. ARG has provided a range of services for various

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

s, buildings listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

, local historic districts, and other culturally significant sites. Rancho Los Alamitos

Awards

The firm and its projects have received more than 100 awards in

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...

excellence, conservation, and planning, including those sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

, the California Governor's Office, and the California Preservation Foundation. In 2006, ARG received the Firm of the Year Award from the AIA California Council. In 2016, ARG was honored with a

Palladio Award The Palladio Award is an architectural prize given annually for "creative interpretation or adaptation of design principles developed through 2,500 years of the Western architectural tradition". The Awards, in several categories, are presented by t ...

for its Steven S. Koblik Education and Visitor Center at the

Huntington Library The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington (1850–1927) and Arabella Huntington (c.1851–1924) in San Ma ...

Affiliations

ARG retains close alliances and involvement with national and international preservation policy and advocacy organizations such as the Office of the

United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natur ...

, National Trust for Historic Preservation,

ICOMOS The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS; french: links=no, Conseil international des monuments et des sites) is a professional association that works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the worl ...

DoCoMoMo Docomomo International (sometimes written as DoCoMoMo or simply Docomomo) is a non-profit organization whose full title is: International Committee for Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites and Neighbourhoods of the Modern Movement. ...

, the

Association for Preservation Technology International The Association for Preservation Technology International (APT) is a not-for-profit, multidisciplinary, membership organization dedicated to promoting the best technology for conserving and preserving historic structures and their settings. Founded ...

, and the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works.

Notable projects

Architecture and cultural resource preservation

* Buena Vista Winery, Restoration and

Seismic Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...

Strengthening, Sonoma, California *

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

, Linde + Robinson Laboratory for Global Environmental Sciences, Pasadena, California * Cavallo Point, the Lodge at the Golden Gate,

Fort Baker Fort Baker is one of the components of California's Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The Fort, which borders the City of Sausalito in Marin County and is connected to San Francisco by the Golden Gate Bridge, served as an Army post until t ...

Golden Gate National Recreation Area The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is a U.S. National Recreation Area protecting of ecologically and historically significant landscapes surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area. Much of the park is land formerly used by the United ...

, California *

Conservatory of Flowers The Conservatory of Flowers is a greenhouse and botanical garden that houses a collection of rare and exotic plants in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California. With construction having been completed in 1879, it is the oldest building in the ...

, Restoration & Repair, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California *

Curry Village Curry Village is a resort in Mariposa County, California in Yosemite National Park within the Yosemite Valley. A rockfall in 2008 damaged a number of structures, and about one third of visitor units were closed because of risk. In 2012, eight v ...

Lounge and Registration Buildings,

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ...

, California * Filoli Estate, New Visitor Center and Café Addition, Woodside, California * Furnace Creek Visitor Center, Death Valley National Park, California * Huntington Library, Art Collection, and Botanical Gardens, Education and Visitor Center,

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

, California * Inn at the Presidio, Presidio of San Francisco, San Francisco, California * Napa Valley Opera House, Rehabilitation & New Addition, Napa, California * Napa Valley Vintners, Jackse Barn,

Adaptive reuse Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an existing building for a purpose other than which it was originally built or designed for. It is also known as recycling and conversion. Adaptive reuse is an effective strategy for optimizing the o ...

, Napa, California *

Oregon State Hospital Oregon State Hospital is a public psychiatric hospital in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the state's capital city of Salem with a smaller satellite campus in Junction City opened in 2014. Founded in 1862 and constructed in the Kirkbride ...

, Adaptive Reuse and Restoration, Salem, Oregon *

Pasadena City Hall Pasadena City Hall, completed in 1927, serves as the central location for city government in the City of Pasadena, California and is a significant architectural example of the City Beautiful movement of the 1920s. History In 1923, the people ...

, Seismic

Retrofit Retrofitting is the addition of new technology or features to older systems. Retrofits can happen for a number of reasons, for example with big capital expenditures like naval vessels, military equipment or manufacturing plants, businesses or go ...

, Rehabilitation and Repairs,

, California * Pasadena Conservatory of Music,

, California * Sunset Center, Rehabilitation and New Addition,

Carmel-By-The-Sea Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and r ...

, California

Conservation

450 Sutter Street 450 Sutter Street, also called the Four Fifty Sutter Building, is a twenty-six-floor, 105-meter (344-foot) skyscraper in San Francisco, California, completed in 1929. The tower is known for its " Neo-Mayan" Art Deco design by architect Timothy L. ...

, Window Stabilization, Rehabilitation & Replacement, San Francisco, California * The

5th Avenue Theatre The 5th Avenue Theatre is a landmark theatre located in Seattle's Skinner Building, in the U.S. state of Washington. It has hosted a variety of theatre productions and motion pictures since it opened in 1926. The building and land are owned b ...

, Restoration,

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington *

Angel Island Immigration Station Angel Island Immigration Station was an immigration station in San Francisco Bay which operated from January 21, 1910 to November 5, 1940, where immigrants entering the United States were detained and interrogated. Angel Island is an island in ...

, San Francisco Bay, California * Charles Krug Winery, Rehabilitation and Structural Strengthening,

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...

, California * Coit Memorial Tower, Mural Restoration and

Waterproofing Waterproofing is the process of making an object or structure waterproof or water-resistant so that it remains relatively unaffected by water or resisting the ingress of water under specified conditions. Such items may be used in wet environme ...

, San Francisco, California * David Ireland Residence, Conservation, San Francisco, California * Mark Hopkins Hotel, Design Services, San Francisco, California * New Mission Theater, Restoration, San Francisco, California * Old Saint Mary's Cathedral, Restoration and Seismic Strengthening, San Francisco, California * San Francisco Maritime Museum, Restoration,

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is located in San Francisco, California, United States. The park includes a fleet of historic vessels, a visitor center, a maritime museum, and a library/research facility. The park used to be r ...

, California *

Washington State Capitol The Washington State Capitol or ''Legislative Building'' in Olympia is the home of the government of the state of Washington. It contains chambers for the Washington State Legislature and offices for the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary ...

Campus, Conservation, Olympia, Washington *

Watts Towers The Watts Towers, Towers of Simon Rodia, or ''Nuestro Pueblo'' ("our town" in Spanish) are a collection of 17 interconnected sculptural towers, architectural structures, and individual sculptural features and mosaics within the site of the artis ...

State Historic Park,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, California

Historic structures reports

* The

Ahwahnee Hotel The Ahwahnee Hotel is a grand hotel in Yosemite National Park, California, on the floor of Yosemite Valley. It was built by the Yosemite Park and Curry Company and opened for business in 1927. The hotel is constructed of steel, stone, concre ...

, California *

First Church of Christ, Scientist The First Church of Christ, Scientist is the administrative headquarters and mother church of the Church of Christ, Scientist, also known as the Christian Science church. Christian Science was founded in the 19th century in Lynn, Massachusetts ...

, Berkeley, California * Frank Lloyd Wright-Designed Hanna House, Stanford University, California * Los Angeles Union Station, Los Angeles, California * McConaghy House, Hayward, California * Old United States Mint Building, San Francisco, California *

Rancho Los Alamitos Rancho Los Alamitos takes its name from an 1834 Mexican partition of the 1784 Rancho Los Nietos, a Spanish concession, covering an area in present-day California's southwestern Los Angeles County and northwestern Orange County. Los Alamitos m ...

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, California * Reno Depot,

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

, Nevada * State Forester's Office Building, Salem, Oregon * The Village Green, Baldwin Hills, California *

, Olympia, Washington

Design review and historic resource surveys

Century Plaza Hotel The Fairmont Century Plaza is a landmark 19-story luxury hotel in Los Angeles. Located in Century City, the hotel forms a sweeping crescent design fronting the Avenue of the Stars, adjacent to the twin Century Plaza Towers and the 2000 Avenue o ...

, Historic Resource Assessment and Impacts Analysis,

, California * City of Anaheim, Historic Resource Survey, Anaheim, California * City of Burbank, Historic Sign Survey, Burbank, California *

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is an American national park located in the U.S. state of Hawaii on the island of Hawaii. The park encompasses two active volcanoes: Kīlauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, and Mauna Loa, the world's mo ...

, Crater Rim Drive Historic Road Inventory,

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

, Hawaii * Monterey Old Town National Historic Landmark District, Historic Context Statement and Survey,

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bot ...

, California *

Oregon Parks and Recreation Department The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD), officially known (in state law) as the State Parks and Recreation Department, is the government agency of the U.S. state of Oregon which operates its system of state parks. In addition, it has pro ...

, Context Statement and Inventory, Oregon * Palo Alto Children's Library, Section 106 Compliance,

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

, California * Pier 27 Cruise Ship Terminal, San Francisco, California * Presidio Design Guidelines, Presidio of San Francisco, California * Survey LA, Citywide Historic Resources Survey, Los Angeles, California * Tomales Design Guidelines, Tomales, California

Referencesthe

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Architecture firms based in California Architecture firms based in Oregon Companies based in San Francisco Companies based in Portland, Oregon Companies based in Pasadena, California Architecture in the San Francisco Bay Area 1980 establishments in California New Classical architects