Professor of Architecture Raveevarn Choksombatchai to retire from UC Berkeley
Professor of Architecture Raveevarn Choksombatchai, who has explored new ways of intensifying sensory experiences in architecture, is retiring from the university after 30 years of teaching in the College of Environmental Design.
Raveevarn, as she prefers to be called, is known for creative work that is a distinctive fusion of art, landscape, and architecture. Her design practice challenges traditional disciplinary boundaries: rather than being driven by client commissions, her work has been rooted in critical inquiry and formal discourse.
— Chair Lisa Iwamoto
“Raveevarn truly understands the craft and artistry of architecture; she brings beauty into the world through her work and teaching. I think everyone who has known her as a professor or colleague understands how passionate she is about not just architecture, but also about life. Her work is gorgeous and vibrant — like a physical extension of her imagination and personality,” says Department of Architecture Chair Lisa Iwamoto.
In addition to teaching design studios, Raveevarn offered a popular series of drawing seminars that stemmed from her commitment to drawing as a mode of operation for both re-envisioning and critical re-investigation.
“Teaching architectural design has been my found passion after graduate school,” she says. “It offers me an intellectual exercise routine to grow muscles and stamina, allowing me to be nimble and optimistic. Teaching helps me to engage with opposing ideas, and to see things beyond my own limitations.”
Raveevarn will continue to pursue her creative practice after retiring from teaching. She is the founder and principal of VeeV Design, where she produces work focusing on spatial and material investigation and emphasizing the temporal, particularly in realms not exclusively visual. Current projects include a condo renovation in San Francisco’s Alamo Square and the Hillside House + Tree House in Lafayette, California.
VeeV Design has been recognized with awards for design excellence, shortlisted for major international competitions, and published widely. Notably, the Grace Street Live/Work project received an AIA Design Award and an American Architecture Award from The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, among other citations. VeeV’s Co-Housing Project in Ayudhaya, Thailand, currently under construction, received a special honorable mention by Architizer A + Awards.
Prior to VeeV Design, Raveevarn was co-founder of Loom Studio, where she was a principal from 1993 to 2003. During her time with the practice, Loom Studio received three Progressive Architecture Awards and Citations (1998, 1996, 2002), was named among Emerging Voices in Architecture by the Architecture League of New York (1999), and was nominated for the Chrysler Design Award (2000) and Cooper Hewitt National Design Award (2002).
In a recent talk at CED, Raveevarn told the audience:
“At certain moments in my career, I found it difficult to maintain a sense of optimism. Let’s face it — great buildings are so rare. I don’t think my work has come even close. Yet I believe. To continue to build, one needs to be a bit of an optimist. And one must believe that architecture can improve someone’s living experience or, better yet, change someone’s life.”