Architecture & Planning Firm Awarded Four 2005 Best in American Living Awards

McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners, a full-service architecture, planning and interior design firm with offices in Irvine and Oakland, today announced a recent Platinum Best in American Living Award (BALA) in recognition of the firm’s design leadership for the Fruitvale Transit Village in Oakland, Calif. Marking the highest possible BALA achievement, the Platinum Award recognizes MVE & Partners’ project design as the best submission in the Urban Smart Growth Community/Neighborhood category. Additionally, the firm received a Gold Award for Enclave at Treasure Island, a Gold Award for The Metropolitan in San Mateo and a Silver Award for Mariani Square in San Jose.

"Our design aspiration is always to leave an environment better off than how we found it and being acknowledged for successfully meeting that aim is rewarding to our design team," says Ernesto Vasquez, founding partner with MVE & Partners. "We invest a great amount of time and energy into the creation of each of these environments and our goal in designing the Fruitvale Transit Village was ultimately to revitalize this central business district."

MVE & Partners was commissioned by the non-profit developer, Fruitvale Development Corp., a subsidiary of The Unity Council in Oakland, CA, to bring to life an existing BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station, which was blighted economically and lacked adequate area housing, retail and community facilities. Working directly with both public and private parties in the endeavor, MVE & Partner’s overarching goal throughout the design process was to dramatically improve quality of life for community residents as well as to improve the use of the site’s land. The firm’s "smart growth" mixed-use design has widely been attributed to the area’s revitalization and incorporates pedestrian-oriented retail, high-density and development along a high traffic rail-transit corridor.

"There are a lot more urban renewal projects, because people want to be part of a larger community," says Chek-Fong Tang, principal of MVE & Partners. "We are seeing more mixed-use synergy to create a context and a lifestyle that people are drawn to." BALA also awarded MVE & Partners with three additional accolades, bestowing honors for the firm’s demonstrated capabilities in residential, urban and multi-family design. These honors included a Gold Award in the best attached home of 9 to 19 units for Enclave at Treasure Island in Laguna Beach and a Gold Award for the best rental development of 5 units or more for The Metropolitan in San Mateo. Additionally, MVE & Parters won a Silver BALA Award for the best attached urban infill design for Mariani Square in San Jose.

Presented by Professional Builder Magazine and the National Association of Homebuilders, Best in American Living Awards are given yearly to recipients that exemplify superb residential designs found in markets around the United States.

About MVE & Partners

MVE & Partners is one of the country’s most influential and diverse architecture, planning and interiors organizations. Celebrating 30 years of excellence in design, the firm is a recognized industry leader in residential, commercial, mixed-use, hospitality, urban, transit-oriented and institutional design. MVE & Partners employs a renowned team of facility programmers, planners, architects, urban designers, computer specialists and interior designers in Irvine and Oakland, California. The firm’s differentiation is its ability to design highly functional and attractive architecture, creating environments where people aspire to work and play. Visit MVE & Partners online at www.mve-architects.com.