Oakland, Calif., Oct. 4, 2021 – Students, teachers and staff at Fremont High School (FHS) in the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) recently returned to significant new and modernized facilities for in-person learning.

Despite a transition to the fall season that looks a little different than we all expected, we are grateful to have had the opportunity to mark our 35th anniversary alongside a wonderful team and excellent clients, with many opportunities to reflect on QKA’s legacy and impact. Thank you to top industry publications Building Design + Construction and School Construction News for covering our milestone and the publication of our JUST scorecard, capturing a history we are proud of and a future we are greatly looking forward to.

For the twelfth year, QKA is honored to have been named one of the North Bay Business Journal’s Best Places to Work. It remains a top priority to foster an equitable and rewarding environment for all of our employees, as reflected by our recent transition to majority employee ownership and commitment to social justice and transparency, including assessing and updating our policies to benefit all members of our trusted staff. With this recognition being based on employee survey results, we want to thank our team for making QKA’s vision and mission come to life every day.

You know what they say about the best laid plans… QKA’s Mark Quattrocchi was interviewed by local publication The Press Democrat on the firm’s fall reopening plans, Delta variant digressions and flexibility for staff amidst ongoing uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read about how QKA and other North Bay business leaders are handling yet another shift in on-site work plans, here. 

This summer, Founder and Principal Mark Quattrocchi shared his insights on the fundamentals of sustaining a successful education design firm in a feature article for School Construction News. He describes the importance of values as an anchor point, following one’s vision – even against the grain, and investing in the future. Highlighting examples of QKA’s rich 35-year history, Mark outlines what have become QKA’s keys to success.

City Leaders and Project Team Commemorate “Transformation” of 70-Year-Old Campus

Largest North Bay Area Architecture Firm Receives JUST 2.0 Social Transparency Label from International Living Future Institute

A welcoming focal point, the new facility replaces the severely damaged library and media center previously lost to fire and includes an innovation lab, digital media lab, restrooms and support spaces.

Projects include a new Student Services Center and Auxiliary Gymnasium at Mountain View High School (MVHS), new one-story classroom buildings at Freestyle Academy for Arts & Technology (Freestyle Academy), and a new Student Services Center at Los Altos High School (LAHS).

An annual honor, QKA has ranked once again both regionally and nationally on Engineering News-Record California and Engineering News-Record's Top Design Firms lists. Standing at #54 of 86 firms statewide, QKA was also ranked as the #6 Education design firm and #16 strictly Architecture design firm in California.