Activitiesplanning strategy
archival research
workshop facilitation
spatial analysis
concept design
proposal writing
Tools Illustrator
PowerPoint
Excel
Miro
ArcGIS
Procreate
Date2022
LocationCentral Valley, California
TeamDaniel Haufschild, Kate White, Remi Drouot, Thyda Uy
PartnersFoster + Partners
Sitelab
Zach Urban Solutions
How do you show an agency you can unlock the deeper power of its work?
Cruising the I-5 through the Central Valley between San Francisco and L.A. can feel like a blur of billboards and fields as far as the eye can see. But beyond most people’s view are cities that’ve been left behind, cut off from the growth and buzz of California's coastal hotspots.
This is where high speed rail’s about to change the game. When the agency in charge of the project went looking for partners to design its first four stations in the Central Valley, my team didn’t hesitate.
The Macro View
Our bid director knew we had to get the client’s goals and the local context right to win this job, so she had me dive in. A week later, I’d scoured archives, interviewed locals, and put together a ‘context memo’ laying out the big challenges and opportunities for the client and the station cities. These became the basis for our project approach.
I teamed up with our planners to shape the project approach and led creation of high-level maps showing how the stations would impact the local communities. I also helped tighten up our pitch, pushing for strong concepts and punchy lines like “Bridging downtown to Chinatown” for Fresno’s station and “High-speed rail has the power to transform California.”