Shah Kawasaki Architects (SKA) is pleased to congratulate Philip Luo as he transitions from Principal to Principal Emeritus. This transition is part of SKA’s evolution as the firm continues to provide unparalleled service to our community in the San Francisco Bay Area. Founded in 1999 by Harish Shah and Alan Kawasaki, Shah Kawasaki Architects was established with a vision to be Oakland’s leading municipal and public sector architectural practice. We find self-value by using our design skills to enhance our community. Over the years our community has expanded to the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, where we specialize in community centers, public safety, and educational facilities.
Philip joined Shah Kawasaki Architects in 2004. He worked as Project Architect on the award winning Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts, a museum and classroom building designed by renowned architect Fumihiko Maki. After 11 years at the firm, SKA Founder Alan Kawasaki invited Philip to be a Principal in 2015, an offer we were glad he accepted. Philip is the embodiment of SKA’s philosophy to operate as an extension of our clients’ organization and embraces being a member of their team. He carried this philosophy as he led Shah Kawasaki’s efforts with repeat clients such as UC Berkeley and Alameda County. The renovation of Wheeler Hall, one of the most significant historic buildings on UC Berkeley’s campus, was his first project as Principal.
With his prior extensive experience designing workplace projects, Philip expanded upon Shah Kawasaki’s mission in designing administrative facilities. Significant projects include the Oakland Unified School District Central Administrative Center at Cole Campus as well as East Bay Regional Park’s District Headquarters. SKA has long been a leader in the design of public safety buildings with many fire stations in our portfolio, but with Philip’s expertise we began to extend into law enforcement facilities as well. The Los Banos Police Headquarters, Oakland Police Administrative Building Needs Assessment, and BART Public Safety Headquarters are some of these projects.
Philip received his Masters of Architecture and Bachelors of Art in Architecture from University of California, Berkeley. He started his career designing corporate offices and manufacturing facilities at Studios Architecture before slowly moving into public sector design. A long time member of the American Institute of Architecture (AIA) East Bay, he restarted the Committee On The Environment (COTE) in 2017 and served as Committee Chair for 2 years. Philip has been a LEED Accredited Professional since 2008 and is proud to have led the design of two Zero Net Energy (ZNE) buildings at Shah Kawasaki Architects. He has also been a Design Build Institute of America (DBIA) member since 2019 and led seven design-build projects for our firm.
Philip Luo enjoys working with users and clients to articulate and conceptualize their vision during the design process, which results in facilities that serve their occupants well. He looks forward to rolling up his sleeves and walking through the operational needs of every space with clients during the programming phase and enjoys being there every step of the way until completion. He believes that every building project starts with a dream and his role is to bring that dream to fruition—a role he has excelled in. His dedication, professionalism, and leadership has left a lasting impression at Shah Kawasaki Architects and he will be greatly missed. We wish him luck as he enters this new chapter of his life.