Heritage Projects
We are proud of the legacy of our past projects that continue to shape our design approach for current and future work whether it is the grandeur of the stained glass windows of the Ahwahnee Hotel, the understated elegance of the Saratoga Village Library, or the rural simplicity of the Walbridge Ranch in Healdsburg.
Early on, Ted Spencer learned the necessity of relating small scale buildings to spectacular natural settings. He came to understand that one must learn to “draw nature in order to understand architecture.” This approach to contextual design would come to shape many of our firm’s project in the future. David Brower, former President of the Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth, described our accomplishments in simple terms:
“…I would like to praise what Ted Spencer did in Yosemite Valley at Yosemite Lodge. There you have the indoor-outdoor feeling. They built beautifully around beauty, creating an unostentatious structure that celebrates the beauty of natural things everywhere you go.”
In recognition of our eight decades of design excellence, Spencer Associates has been nominated twice by the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the American Institute of Architects for the California AIA Firm of the Year Award.