BEST ARCHITECTURAL/DESIGN FIRM
“We strive to not only design inspiring educational environments, but to be stewards of our community and give back in as many ways as we can.” —Aaron Jobson, president and CEO Q UATRROCCHI KWOK ARCHITECTS
By Bo Kearns
“T hank you to NorthBay biz and its readers for this wonderful honor,” says QKA President and CEO Aaron Jobson. “We strive to not only design inspiring educational environments, but to be stewards of our community and give back in as many ways as we can. It’s humbling and gratifying to be recognized for our efforts alongside many other remarkable business leaders in the North Bay.” Following graduation with a Master of Architecture degree from UC Berkeley, Mark Quattrocchi started his own business nearly 38 years ago— operating out of a spare room in a small North Bay rental. Moved by the passion of teachers and school administrators, he immersed himself in the process of educational design. That continues to be the company’s focus today. In 1991, Steve Kwok joined as partner and the name was changed to Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA). Over the years the firm has grown considerably. There are offices in two locations—Santa Rosa and Oakland. There’s a staff of 70 professionals. And over $2.5 billion in educational facility designs have been completed. Some of the more notable projects include: the $121 million American Canyon High School, dubbed “America’s Greenest High School” by Huffington Post; Corte Madera’s The Cove School, with a design inspired by the Google campus; the Cupertino High School Complex, pre- engineered, less expensive and delivered quicker than traditional buildings; the 100,000-square-foot Alameda High School, a historic rehabilitation that
earned nine design awards. Last year QKA undertook work on 10 North Bay educational facilities including the Sonoma Academy Community Performing Arts Center completed in February 2024. Over the years, QKA has received accolades from a number industry publications: Engineering News-Record—Top 500 Design Firm and Top 100 Green Design Firm; Building Design & Construction—Top Architectural Firm and Top K-12 Architectural Firm; Architectural Record—Top 300 Architectural Firm. A year and a half ago, QKA announced a leadership change, with Founding Principals Mark Quattrocchi and Steve Kwok moving to principal emeritus status and transitioning day-to-day management and strategic planning to a six-person leadership team of longtime principals and employees. QKA continues to embrace its core values of integrity, quality and culture, designing exceptional learning environments that have a positive impact on their communities. Investing in its employees, the firm became a majority employee-owned company through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan in 2020. QKA is also focused on advancing its diversity, equity and inclusion goals, establishing a DEI Council and participating in the International Living Future Institute’s JUST 2.0 Program, a social justice, equity and transparency reporting tool. It recently received its updated scorecard, with results showing a marked improvement in all six social justice categories. v
Quattrocchi has continued to expand and now has two locations in Santa Rosa and Windsor as well as approximately 70 employees.
qka.com
Best of the North Bay 2024
Northbaybiz 49
Made with FlippingBook - PDF hosting