Architect Lisa Follman leads cultural, institutional and commercial projects out of our San Francisco studio and advances adaptive reuse research firmwide. She cultivates interdisciplinary collaboration through curiosity and a keen understanding of the technical details that can achieve a client’s goals and unlock the best experience for a building’s users—whether a church, a consulate, or a college campus. 

Lisa’s work spans typologies, from the Cathedral of Christ the Light to international government facilities including the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou. Specializing in design and detailing of exterior walls and public spaces, Lisa leverages her knowledge to create dynamic facades at such commercial projects as 111 Main Street in Salt Lake City and One Steuart Lane in San Francisco.

Her commitment to public-serving work extends to her education projects, where she contributed to the new Engineering Building at UC Berkeley, the Sustainable Research & Engineering Building at UC Merced, the Cotchett Law Center at UC Law, and SOM’s ongoing work with Head-Royce School.

Applying her architectural expertise toward revitalizing downtown San Francisco, Lisa recently chaired a task force to facilitate office-to-residential conversions. The new guidelines—the result of a remarkable collaboration between the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development and the city’s departments of Planning, Fire, and Building Inspection—clarify the process and remove barriers toward redevelopment.