Curriculum Vitae

BLINK!LABarchitecture, inc

4228 martin luther king, jr. way
oakland, ca 94609
t 510.326.2176

Design Principal
J A Grant, AIA, LEED AP
USGreen Building Council Member - Northern California
jgrant@blink-lab.com

In the News - NASA Ames Sustainability Base, a 50,000 square foot facility, one of the greenest buildings in the federal systems, nears completion - expected April 2011.

January 2011 – NASA Ames Sustainability Base featured at Autodesk Sustainability Summit.

September 2010 - NASA Ames Sustainability Base was awarded the Green Innovation Award by the General Services Administration's (GSA) Green Innovation Award. The GSA recognizes innovative and original ideas in its announcement of annual Real Property Innovation Award winners. The award category, Green Innovation, recognizes an innovation or idea with clear potential to transform the federal community's overall energy and environmental performance, in keeping with the goal of Executive Order 13514 to design federal buildings for "zero-net energy consumption".

September 2010 - NASA Ames Sustainability Base award San Jose / Silicon Valley Green Building Award.

June Grant, AIA
"I am excited and honored. NASA Ames, the team of architect, engineers and general contracts were committed to an ideal of giving the best and this building, we hope, will encourage others to commit to striving for the best."

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J A Grant is an Architect with over 20 years practice experience in architecture, planning and economic analysis on local, national and international projects. Her formative years in innovative offices such as Volker Giencke (Austria), Diana Balmori (Landscape Architecture), Marc Cavagnero, Nilus De Matran, Harvey Hacker and most recently AECOM (formerly DMJM and EDAW) continue to be the background from which she questions the role of architecture, planning and design in our future society.

Her focus is innovation; the most notable being the NASA Sustainability Base - a near net-zero energy and the greenest building in the US federal portfolio. That perspective on the future combined with her diverse background brings a strong understanding of client needs, visitor experience but most of all the potential of architecture to inspire and change lives. Her works include designs for federal and corporate offices, school renovations, multi-family housing and public buildings, landscape architecture and urban planning - for projects ranged in size from 5,000 to 500,000 square feet..

Civic life and participation is both an ethical and aesthetic concern for Ms. Grant. As a result, she lectures at high schools and participates community design charrette such as that for the City of Pittsburg, CA where she brought to the forefront the cultural potential on the urbanscape of that city's large Hispanic population.

Throughout, her prior career in Investment Analysis has been indispensable in grasping economic influences and its impact on design. It is this ability to incorporate social, financial and aesthetic components which makes her approach to the architectural inquiry unique.

Education - Yale University, School of Architecture - Masters in Architecture, 1999. Bernard Baruch, CUNY - Bachelors in International Finance, minor in Art, 1993; magna cum laude. The Educational Alliance, New York - Metal Sculpture (Oxyacetylene welding), 1994 -1996. The Arts Student League, New York - Clay Figurative Sculpture and Human Anatomy, 1993 -1996. National Academy of Design, New York - Clay Figurative Sculpture, 1993 -1996.

Presentations - Autodesk Sustainability Summit 2011, Johnson & Johnson Worldwide - Energy Forum, June 2010. Key note speaker: Designing Net-Gen/Net-Zero. NASA Academy of Program, Project and Engineering Leadership 2010 PM Challenge. Speaker: Green Engineering for Mission Critical Objectives

Publications - Autodesk Communicate across barriers. William McDonough + Partners and AECOM deliver to NASA one of the federal system’s greenest facilities. The Registry (Bay Area Real Estate Journal) – Something for Nothing; Sustainability Base, NASA’s demonstration project at Moffet Field, is supposed to be net zero. California Construction News – NASA Ames’ Sustainability Base Project Aims to Exceed Green Standards, March 2010

California Space Center, Santa Maria, CA. As Master Architect for the new California Space Center, ($250M, 470,000 square feet) we are laying the foundation for the 10-year development of this new facility. Located at the edge of the Vandenberg Air Force Base, the CSC will offer launch viewing capabilities, interactive science museum, after-school and adult education facilities as well as be the home for commercial space related research and development. Ecologically sound land-use strategies, building design as well as community outreach are an integral part of this Master Architect service.

NASA Ames Research Center, Sustainability Base, Building N232, Mountain View, CA. N232 is the first of 5 buildings under the Renovation-by-Replacement program. It is also the 1^st new building for the Ames campus in over 20 years. N232 is revolutionary in that it is designed to be a naturally ventilated building with fully automated mechanical systems controlling lighting, shade devices, as well as indoor air temperature. As a prototype, N232, is intended to reduce facility related costs and increase operational efficiency when compared to existing aged, substandard, high-cost facilities. This new facility, as part of the Master Planning process, will replace five existing inefficient buildings. Recipient of the 2010 GSA Green Innovation Award.

N232’s design also addresses new workplace comfort. To date optimized Building Energy Design Demand are indicating formidable results:

Building Energy Demand reductions – from 34% passive strategies and 73% Active strategies. Remaining energy demand can be provided by renewable sources such as Building Integrated photo-voltaic cells and roof top photo-voltaic cells.
High Performance Water reduced storm water discharge; results 87%reduction in potable water, 100% reduction in sewer discharge.

It is also noteworthy, in that this is the first building in NASA’s history where products resulting from NASA’s research will be incorporated into the structure of the building. Making N232 truly ‘NASA Inside’. N232 is designed to meet LEED-NC Platinum certification.

NASA Ames Research Center, Integrated Office Building, Building N268
N268 is the second of 5 buildings under the Renovation-by-Replacement program. It continues the Master Plan implementation with a building designed for greater sustainability and energy generation than its predecessor N232. In addition to being designed to be a naturally ventilated building with fully automated mechanical systems to control lighting, shade devices, as well as indoor air temperature. It is also designed to fully meet it’s energy needs through capturing solar energy. As with N232, N268, is intended to reduce facility related costs and increase operational efficiency. N268 is designed to meet LEED-NC Platinum certification.

GOVERNMENT

- U S Coast Guard – Telecommunications & Information Systems Command (TISCOM), Alexandria VA. Planning Proposal for two new structures ; first, a 100,000-SF multi-story office building consolidating administrative and facility maintenance storage located in 11 primary structures scattered over 200 acres. Second, a new 12,000 cubic feet multi-story Logistics Service Facility. TISCOM is environmentally constrained by wetlands, floodplains, critical area setbacks and other factors. The majority of structures on the site have been rated “Substandard”. Analyzing the development process for the two new buildings required understanding the operations taking place in the 11 primary structures scattered over 200 acres. The Concept Design and Planning Proposal addresses site and organizational structure; avenues for redundancy reduction and efficient expansion strategies; determination of future requirements both mission critical and infrastructure evaluation and finally recommendation of alternative development plans.

- Air National Guard C-5 Avionics Shop and Mezzanine, Martinsburg, WV. New 11,000 addition to to the existing fully enclosed 162,000 square foot hangar bay and associated shops and administration allows isochronal maintenance for C5 aircrafts. The new Avionics shop facility is a concrete slab-on grade, steel structure with concrete masonry wall, composite metal panel wall system, structural standing seam metal roof panel with rigid insulation with insulated glass window units. The project includes interior casework, interior and exterior lighting, HVAC and plumbing systems, communications, electrical work, automatic sprinklers, fire protection, site work, concrete paving, and utilities.

- National Guard Bureau Readiness Center, Arlington VA. New 250,000-SF headquarters for the Army National Guard. This $126 million project (three phases and over $24 million of FF&E and specialty audiovisual facilities) is designed to meet LEED-NC silver certification. A five-story triangular tower and three levels below grade meet the design challenges of site restrictions, including force protection and zoning height requirements on a constrained site, creating an architecturally compelling signature facility that amplifies the site’s landscape. Below grade stories underneath a landscape park roof include an auditorium, conferencing center, gymnasium, office spaces and a command center. The project also includes a garage for 550 cars.

- NASA Ames Research Park, Moffet Federal Airfield, Moffet Field, California Strategic renovation and space planning proposal for the historic Shenandoah Plaza – the original center of the NASA Ames complex which has grown to a 220-acre, 3-million square foot research campus for university and industry partners. The Plaza is composed of a ring of mission-style extra-thick concrete block building. The project includes preservation of 700,000 sf of historically significant buildings. Beyond basic architectural services, expertise provided include master planning facilitation.

EDUCATION

- Santa Maria Children Discovery Museum, Santa Maria, California. Museum planning and exhibit design for a proposed new location for the new museum. The project consisted of rehabilitation of an existing bottling facility for experiential learning environments focused on K-8.

- CA Science Center Amgem Center for Science Learning, Los Angeles, California. Concept development, exhibition design and fabrication for a new outdoor learning garden which functions as a laboratory for students in the Amgen Center Charter School. Using the exhibits, children engage in dramatic, large-scale scientific experiments.

- Chicago Children’s Museum, Chicago, Illinois. Hired to develop the master plan and new visitor experiences for an expanded and renovated facility at historic Navy Pier. The conceptual framework developed was entitled Kids Reinvent Chicago that established the approach to all visitor experiences. This framework encouraged visitors to contribute to and shape the physical museum environment, as well as, create a sense of place. The goal of the conceptual framework was to put kids in charge and connect the program to the site.

- a new university, Bozano, Italy (Giencke & Co)

COMMERCIAL

- Surfshop Corporate office (Nilus Designs) / AKQA Corporate office (Nilus Designs) / Chevron San Ramon Executive offices / Charles Schwab (TDG) / Fritz - A UPS Co Executive offices (TDG) / Discover-RE, San Francisco Executive offices (TDG)

RETAIL

- cafe/office - concept development, design and construction / wine bar - concept development, design and construction / art gallery - concept development, space planning and interior design for an African Art dealer / Westfield Shopping Center (Bloomingdales) San Francisco (TDG) / The Gap (TDG)

URBAN ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

- Oakland 2nd Avenue Urban Study / Oakland International Blvd Urban Study and Street Furniture / City of Richmond Infill Development / greenscape design development for the city of Bilbao, Spain (Diana Balmori Landscape Architecture) / housing estate and a glass /greenhouse for Bremen, Germany (Giencke & Co).

RESIDENTIAL

- Shattuck House / Sakurai House / SF condo / 30th Street Expansion (Nilus Designs/Blink-labarchitecture) /- Kentfield House Design Package (Nilus Designs) / Twin Peaks House Design Package (Nilus Designs) / Rhode Island House (Nilus Designs) / Telegraph Hill remod (Nilus Designs) / multi-unit condo (Ralph Butterfield)

FURNITURE

- ChevronTexaco conference tables and security system / Addressing use-objects and their reflected relationship with contemporary living resulted in an adventure into furniture design / Two approaches; two collections - "looking back" and "spare and clear".

PACKAGING

- Continued branding for Cacao Anasa chocolates - new exhibit booth design and luxury edition box package / ChevronTexaco environmental graphics

Strategy and investment analysis

Strategy is a key ingredient to the design process at BLINK!LAB. This perspective on architecture is the enfolding of experience gained as Sr. Investment Research Associate for Automobile, Aerospace and Defense, Waste Management and Small Businesses Industries at Scudder Stevens + Clark, NYC.

Awards

2006, published interview by the American Institute of Architect - "Young Female African-American Architects"

2004, 'Perception as a Marketing Strategy' - The AACoC, Austin, Texas

1st Prize - 1996 Annual Student Drawing Review - The Arts Student League

1996 - received invitation to exhibit with the Sculptors Alliance group at the Lincoln Center, NY

1993 - Italian Cultural Institute Scholarship Award - Italian in Italy, June - Dec 1993

Committees + Associations Port of Oakland - Member of the Port of Oakland/Turner Construction Company Mentor/Protegee Advisory Committee

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