I am a registered architect in Italy and an international member of the American Institute of Architects. I am also a member of the following professional societies: The Architects & Urban Planners Society of Rome Italy, Santa Clara Valley Chapter of The American Institute of Architects, California Council of The American Institute of Architects, and The National Trust for Historic Preservation.
I received my Master's degree in Architecture from the University of Rome, "La Sapienza," with the maximum G.P.A. in 1983. I began my professional activities immediately after graduation. In 1984, I passed the "State of Italian Architect Registration Examination." As a result, I became certified to practice as an architect. For four years, I served different architectural and engineering firms in Rome, Italy, where I learned a lot working on a variety of projects with several renowned experts specializing in different fields.
In 1986, I placed second among more than 180 registered architects and engineers, candidates in the admission examination of the doctoral program in Monument Restoration at the University of Rome "La Sapienza." I received my doctoral with maximum G.P.A. in 1992. Meanwhile, in 1988, I established my own firm in Rome. I was fortunate to work on numerous new building projects, historic preservation, restoration, remodeling, and interior design in addition to serving as building supervisor, building superintendent, and part-time teacher at various Roman institutions. In fact, I am still a licensed instructor in Italy to teach general structures, construction technology, and technical design.
Ottavia Apartment Complex, located in a northern suburb of Rome, is a sample of my projects for new building design (162 apartment units). Among my works on historic preservation and restoration projects in Rome are: 12th Century Sant'Agata dei Goti Church, 15th Century Santa Maria in Via Lata Church, 17th Century Palazzo del Grillo, 17th Century Casa Sant'Agata, 18th Century Hayloft at Villa Doria Pamphilj Park, 19th Century San Giacchino Church, and a 19th Century building on Via Carlo Emanuele I.
My professional activities in the United States began in 1999 at the ARCADEME firm in Chico, California. I was engaged as a project manager and historic preservation specialist to work on an unusual and unique reconstruction project of the 12th Century Sancta Maria d'Ovila's Chapter House's stones in Vina, California. This Cistercian monastery's stones, originally from Guadalajara, Spain, had been purchased and imported to California by William Randolph Hearst. My work experience in California continued with Page & Turnbull, a San Francisco historic preservation firm. Once again, I was fortunate to work with outstanding experts and became involved in a variety of exciting projects including the Ferry Terminal, Hearst Castle, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Le Conte Hall at U. C. Berkeley, and Mechanics' Institute.
To pursue a long-time dream to share my architectural experiences in an academic environment, I joined the faculty of Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio in the fall of 2002. In my short time as a faculty member, I taught 16 different courses. I received Academic Merit Awards in 2003 & 2004; my online course in Architectural Building Codes was nominated for a nationwide exemplary course award, and I was one of four affiliate Professors selected to work with the Rochester Institute of Technology on PLTW (Project Lead The Way).
In January of 2006, I accepted a faculty position at West Valley College in Saratoga, California. After six months of service, I was appointed to serve as the Department Chair of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. During the three years of my Chairmanship I have changed all programs' curriculum and outcomes for three times, revised all existing courses, deactivated obsolete courses, created eleven new courses, created and converted some existing courses to an online format, and created a new certificate program in Historic Preservation. I am a lifelong learner, a dedicated teacher, and a researcher. I enjoy working with my students tremendously.
Phone: 408.741.4097
email: soroush.ghahramani@westvalley.edu