Architects Hans Baldauf and Donald MacDonald in Conversation

A San Francisco native and a graduate of the Yale School of Architecture, Hans is an architect with a long-standing interest in the public realm. This interest has led him to pursue a wide variety of project types which at their core enliven the public realm, including mixed use urban projects, grand market halls and projects as small as flower stands and bus shelters. Each design problem is considered both on its own terms as well as how it fits into the larger context.

A LEED accredited professional, Hans is also a strong advocate of a wider vision of sustainability which incorporates inspiration from the tenets of the Slow Food Movement. The combination of the celebratory aspects of Slow Food which constitutes “good” and its insistence with “clean” and “fair” rounds out the more technical aspects of the LEED rating system. Hans has taught architecture at Yale University, University of Illinois at Chicago, and University of Notre Dame, where he served as visiting faculty at their Rome Studies program.

In addition to his teaching, Hans has also been active in the Bay Area arts and architecture community, serving on various boards including the Friends of the Bancroft Library, the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA) and as chairman of the Maybeck Foundation.

Donald MacDonald, AIAF
Principal in Charge and Principal Designer of Donald Macdonald Bridge Architects LLP

With over 40 years of architecture experience, Donald brings expertise in all facets of bridge design, including conceptual planning, architectural enhancements, transportation operations, public participation, landscaping, and environmental studies. He has a record of successful collaboration with bridge engineers and other technical professionals on complex, award-winning signature bridges, such as the design-build of the $750 million Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in Charleston, SC; the 524-meter Tilikum Crossing Bridge in Portland, OR, and the $6.2 billion San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge project. MacDonald graduated from Columbia University, and during his career, has won just under 200 international, national, and regional awards for architectural design. He lectures on architectural design worldwide and holds an AIA Fellowship in design. The American School Archive, part of the University of Oklahoma (OU) Libraries’ Western History Collection, recently acquired the Donald MacDonald Collection, including thousands of items representing his life’s work.