Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Rochlin, Davida
- Abstract:
- Davida Rochlin is a second-generation Los Angeles architect born in October 1951. Rochlin received her Bachelor of Arts and Master's in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley in 1973 and 1976, respectively. Rochlin gained notoriety early on in her career with research begun under the mentorship of American architect Joseph Esherick for her master's thesis on the American porch. This research on the porch has shaped Rochlin's work throughout her career, which focuses on sustainable design, ranges from residential architecture to medical and educational buildings, and encompasses exhibitions and research. The collection contains student work and records produced by Rochlin while enrolled as an architecture student in the School of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley and early career works, including apprenticeships for various architectural firms and freelance jobs. Also included are materials relating to Rochlin's professional work about the American porch, such as research, preparation for the 1983-84 exhibition The Front Porch at the Craft and Folk Art Museum (CAFAM), published magazine articles, book proposals, and exhibition materials from Rochlin's 2010 exhibition The New American Porch shown at the LA Archive Gallery. Materials created by Davida Rochlin Architecture (DRAIA), Rochlin's architecture firm, include drawings, architectural plans, research, photographs, correspondence, and other office records.
- Extent:
- 42 linear feet (26 boxes, 6 flat boxes, 4 telescope boxes, 1 shoebox, and 12 map folders) and 333 born-digital carriers (311 unprocessed 3.5 inch floppy disks, 2 unprocessed 5.25 inch floppy disks, 20 unprocessed CDs)
- Language:
- Materials are in English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Davida Rochlin papers (Collection 2369). Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Collection contains student work and records produced by Davida Rochlin while enrolled as an architecture student in the School of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley and early career works. Included in early career works are materials from architectural apprenticeships for architectural firms and freelance jobs. Also included are materials relating to Rochlin's professional work around the American porch, such as research, exhibition preparation for The Front Porch exhibition at the Craft and Folk Art Museum, published magazine articles, book proposals, and materials from Rochlin's 2010 exhibition, The New American Porch. Materials created by Davida Rochlin Architecture include drawings, architectural plans, research, photographs, correspondence, and other office records.
- Biographical / historical:
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Davida Rochlin is a second-generation Los Angeles architect. She was born in October 1951 to writer and historian Harriet Rochlin and architect-turned-performer and writer Fred Rochlin. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley (cum laude) in 1973. She went on to earn a master's degree in Architecture, also from UC Berkeley, in 1976. Rochlin gained notoriety early on in her career with research begun while working on her master's thesis on the American porch, under the mentorship of American architect Joseph Esherick. This research on the porch has shaped Rochlin's work throughout her career.
After earning her MA, Rochlin began her career at Esherick, Homsey, Dodge and Davis in San Francisco. Next, she worked briefly for Miller, Waltz and Diedrich in Atlanta. She then went on to serve as Project Planner and Architect at Rochlin and Baran (later RBB Architects) until 1986. During this time she also continued research on the American porch in Atlanta and created The Front Porch exhibition at the Craft and Folk Art Museum (CAFAM), which was part of a regional symposium and series of exhibitions titled Home Sweet Home: American Domestic Vernacular Architecture.
In 1986 Rochlin opened her own firm, Davida Rochlin Architecture (DRAIA), which operated out of the landmark Barry Building in Brentwood, California for thirty years. As of 2019, DRAIA is still active and has relocated to Santa Monica. Rochlin is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), United States Green Building Council, and the International Living Future Institute. Rochlin's work exhibits a specialization in American domestic vernacular architecture and sustainability. The porch, as both a cultural icon and a passive solar design solution, shapes the theory and design behind Rochlin's architecture, which focuses on energy efficiency and renewable energy. Rochlin's work both at other firms in the early stages of her career and under DRAIA is not limited to residential and includes medical, education, and office buildings.
Some of Davida Rochlin's most well known works include the Market Street Residences (San Francisco, CA), Sea Level House (Malibu, CA), Honakai House (Big Island, HA), Rancho Girasol (Taos, NM), Elijah Wood Residence (Santa Monica, CA), Kenquest Corporate Headquarters (Beverly Hills, CA), and Leo Baeck Temple Religious School renovation (Los Angeles, CA).
Notable writing featuring DRAIA work can be found in publications including the New York Times,Los Angeles Times, Architecture, Metropolitan Home, Fine Homebuilding, LA Architect,Martha Stewart Living, artslant.com, and chanceofrain.com. Rochlin has also exhibited at the Craft and Folk Art Museum, Architecture and Design Museum, and LA Archive Gallery, all of which are located in Los Angeles.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of Davida Rochlin and Fred J. Marcus, 2018.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Grace Diliberto, under the supervision of Courtney Dean in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), 2019. Before coming to UCLA the collection was pre-processed by an MLIS student to establish series and subseries, which were largely retained. Some subseries were combined for clarity.
Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.
We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating existing description of our materials that contains language that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit feedback about how our collections are described, and how they could be described more accurately, by filling out the form located on our website: Report Problematic Content and Description in UCLA's Library Collections and Archives.
- Arrangement:
-
This collection has been arranged in the following series:
Series 1: Academic work, 1971-1982
Series 2: Early work, 1976-1986
Series 3: The American porch, 1976-1994
Subseries 3.1: Porch research, 1976-1984
Subseries 3.2: The Front Porch exhibition, 1981-1984
Subseries 3.3: Porch book and publications, 1983-1994
Series 4: Davida Rochlin Architecture (DRAIA) work, 1980-2019
Subseries 4.1: Davida Rochlin Architecture (DRAIA) projects, 1980-2010
Subseries 4.2: Thomas/Goff Residence (Honakai House), 2001-2004
Subseries 4.3: Elijah Wood Residence, 2000
Subseries 4.4: Sea Level House, 2003-2008
Subseries 4.5: Market Street Residences, 2014-2015
Series 5: Davida Rochlin Architecture (DRAIA) office records, 1984-2017
Subseries 5.1: General office records, 1984-2017
Subseries 5.2: Brochures and requests for proposals (RFPs), 1999-2010
Subseries 5.3: Press and publications, 1983-2017
Series 6: The New American Porch pop-up show, 2010
Series 7: Digital Materials, 1994-2010
The materials largely retain their existing order, since they came to UCLA pre-processed into series and subseries. Some subseries were combined for clarity. These series follow Rochlin's career in chronological order.
- Physical / technical requirements:
-
CONTAINS UNPROCESSED DIGITAL/AUDIO MATERIALS: Digital/audio materials are not currently available for access and will require further processing and assessment. If you have questions about this material please email spec-coll@library.ucla.edu.
- Physical location:
- Portions of the collection stored off-site. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
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Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
- Terms of access:
-
Property rights to the objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Davida Rochlin papers (Collection 2369). Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
- Location of this collection:
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A1713 Charles E. Young Research LibraryBox 951575Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
- Contact:
- (310) 825-4988