Architects

The Berkeley Charles Hotel’s expert and diverse team of architects reflects Carpenter & Company’s commitment to build a world-class hotel. The team, Cambridge Seven Associates, Professor Donlyn Lyndon and SMWM, “reflect our commitment to building a hotel that will showcase the best in architectural design,” Dick Friedman, CEO of Carpenter & Company said in announcing the team, “the addition of two distinguished local architects is proof of our commitment that we will build a hotel that will have the best Bay Area thinking as an integral part of the design.”

Cambridge Seven Associates
Cambridge Seven Associates is internationally acclaimed for its innovative work in architecture, urban design, planning, exhibitions, graphic, and interior design. Winner of the prestigious American Institute of Architects Firm Award, C7A was cited for its "uncompromising clarity of purpose, design excellence, and an abiding respect for and delight in the human use of their projects." The Firm Award Jury described the firm as "an influential and stimulating example, demonstrating new directions of professional practice." The Jury also commended "the staying power of their approach," noting, "the impact, graphics, and readability of their work continue to serve as landmarks."
Since their first project for the New England Aquarium, and in numerous projects in architecture and exhibit design today, Cambridge Seven Associates has been designing buildings that teach a respect for our environment and educate the public about conservation, through both example and content. In-house LEED accredited professionals, collaborations with green design leaders, and total building system integration with their engineers is leading to sustainable projects for US agencies, universities, not-for-profits, and businesses alike.

C7A has worked with Carpenter & Company for over twenty years. Gary Johnson, Principle with Cambridge Seven Associates, leads the architect team.

Mr. Johnson applies his versatility as an architect and urban designer to a wide range of projects at C7A. With a Masters from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and undergraduate degrees from the Rhode Island School of Design and Wentworth Institute of Technology, Mr Johnson’s interest in urban design is utilized on projects in the United States and abroad. Working with diverse C7A clients including developers, hospitality corporations, colleges, private schools, city planners and airport authorities, Mr. Johnson has a particular strength in helping his clients communicate their goals to the agencies, residents, donors and others concerned with the evolution of their projects.

Professor Donlyn Lyndon
Professor Lyndon, the Eva Li Professor of Architecture, Emeritus at UC Berkeley and a member of the Urban Places Design Group at the University, is an internationally acclaimed architect. He has served as Head of the Department or Chair of the architecture programs at Berkeley, University of Oregon and MIT.

Mr. Lyndon has enjoyed a distinguished career as a designer, beginning in Berkeley and in Boston and Cambridge. His first big project is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Prior work in Berkeley includes University Avenue Cooperative Homes with Lyndon/Buchanan, the design guidelines for the Bayer Biotech campus in Berkeley, as well as the design of several of its buildings, and the Downtown Public Improvements Plan, prepared in conjunction with Allan Jacobs.

His work as an architect, author and educator about the designing of places has been widely recognized. His books include The City Observed: Boston, The Sea Ranch, Chambers for a Memory Palace and The Place of Houses. Among the principal honors he has received are the AIA ACSA Topaz Award for distinguished achievement in Education and the AIA California Council Lifetime Achievement Award.

SMWM
Founded in 1985, SMWM is a woman-owned firm that ranks among the leaders in local design. Their roster of projects includes such notable designs as the San Francisco Main Library and San Francisco Ferry Building. Cathy J. Simon and Linda Sobuta are the architects principally responsible for SMWM’s work on the Berkeley Charles Hotel project.

Cathy Simon is a founding partner of SMWM. Ms. Simon personally directs the design of all architectural projects on which she works and has established a significant record of commissions throughout the country. Ms. Simon's projects reflect an ardent devotion to the physical and social viability of cities, and are distinguished as extraordinary settings for human interaction. Recognized nationally as an articulate spokesperson for urbanity and community building, and as an expert in academic and library design, Ms. Simon has contributed significantly, through her lecturing, writing, and building, to the revitalization of civic centers, commercial districts, waterfronts, public transport, and campuses.

Linda Sobuta is an Associate Principal with SMWM, contributing her extensive design and project management experience to the ongoing work of the architecture studio. Ms. Sobuta's projects are often the most challenging, occurring at the fascinating border between architecture and urban design, and include work on two multi-modal transit facilities. Her ability to reveal new frontiers available to conventional building types, such as libraries, affordable housing, laboratories, commercial development, and educational facilities, has brought equal distinction to the firm.

Carpenter & Company Executives

Richard L. Friedman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Friedman is, or has been, a director of numerous civic and charitable organizations and formerly served as a director of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board. He received a B.A. degree from Dartmouth College in 1963. Following graduation from college, Mr. Friedman served as an officer in the US Army and was the Harvard College ski coach. He also served on the real estate investment committee of Dartmouth College. Mr. Friedman was appointed by President Clinton as Chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission, the major Federal government urban planning agency, a position that he held through the early years of the Bush administration. He also chairs the Interagency Security Task Force, which has extensive interaction with Federal, City and private entities regarding security and urban planning in Washington.

Peter Diana Vice President and General Council
Mr. Diana joined Carpenter in 1992. While at Carpenter, Mr. Diana has worked on numerous projects including the development of a luxury hotel and residential complex in downtown San Francisco, the development of a convention center headquarters hotel in Boston, and the conversion of Boston’s historic Charles Street Jail into an upscale hotel. Before joining Carpenter, Mr. Diana was a Junior Partner at the Boston law firm of Hale and Dorr where he worked on numerous large mixed-use projects. Mr. Diana also served as an adjunct professor at Cornell Law School, where he taught a course in real estate development and finance for three years, and a lecturer at the MIT Center for Real Estate, where he taught a course on real estate law. Before becoming a lawyer, Mr. Diana worked as a regional planner at the Philadelphia-based architecture and planning firm of Wallace, Roberts and Todd and as a researcher at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Science where he studied nutrient cycling in closed forested ecosystems. Mr. Diana received a B.A. in biology from Middlebury College, a Master of Regional Planning degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and a J.D. from Cornell Law School.