Van Meter Williams Pollack is an award-winning architecture and urban design firm based in San Francisco, Denver, and Minneapolis. We provide a full range of design and planning services for a variety of clients, project types and scales.
We’ve been fortunate to work with some amazing partners, and have a long list of happy clients. If you ask them about us, they’ll tell you that we are tenacious solutions providers. We believe that environmentally intelligent design, planning and building is critical to the world’s future.
Some of our focus areas:
Affordable Housing: Equitable Housing Solutions
As a multidisciplinary firm, we plan and design a wide variety of affordable housing from high-density urban communities to small-lot single-family housing providing over 4,000 built units in our 35 years. With cost and quality of life as primary concerns in our housing, we use simple elements of construction, building materials and scale to create beautiful spaces. Our work has earned numerous design awards at both national and local levels. Recent accolades include the PCBC Grand Award for Best Health/Wellness Design for Vitalia, the NAHRO Best Project award for AVi at Olde Town, and the Architizer A+ Special Mention for Affordable Housing for Victory Village
Mixed-Use: Let’s Mix It Up
VMWP specializes in designing pedestrian-friendly projects that combine living, working, shopping and recreation; and use resources more efficiently. The right mix, concentration and placement of uses can spark a neighborhood’s identity. Access to local necessities invites people to walk more, drive less, brings life to the street, and supports both business and the environment.
Infill Housing: Good Neighbors by Design
Infill housing presents an opportunity to transform underused urban areas into inviting public realms. Responsive infill gives a place new life, making it more functional, exciting, beautiful, and sustainable, while at the same time preserving its character and history. Whether it’s a single building or an entire urban district, our aim is always to create straightforward, comfortable spaces, respecting good design and intimate scale to evoke a unique sense of renewal.
Transit Oriented: Keeping Community on Track
Our transit-oriented developments combine mixed-use and infill development with pedestrian-friendly streets close to public transportation. These comprehensive plans create lively villages that inspire people to buy locally, use more public transit and drive less. Our TOD projects have included land use plans and urban design guidelines, master plans for new mass transit station areas, and infill visions for park-and-ride lots. VMWP also works with municipalities to develop implementation strategies as well as guidelines with which to evaluate development proposals.
Neighborhoods: Developing a Sense of Place
Imagine a place where people could walk to where they wanted to go, find what they needed there or easily jump on a streetcar or bus to get it nearby, greeting friends and neighbors along the way. Mister Rogers had it right. We think neighborhoods like this make so much sense we recommend them to our clients so together we can develop them.
Streets, Squares & Corridors: Intersections for living
Great streets happen when pedestrians, cars and bicycles all get along. Our streetscape projects focus on making streets more comfortable to walk and gather, and better connected to a variety of retail and other districts and neighborhoods. We do this by arranging inviting places to sit, linger and enjoy private or social time.
What attracts people to urban spaces are other people. That’s why we design squares and parks to enhance the flow of human exchange. By providing easy access, clear boundaries, focal points, views and ample places to sit and interact, these spaces accommodate everyone.
Codes & Guidelines: Letting Cities be Cities
Whether you’re looking to update zoning, add more design standards, streamline your municipal codes, or study opportunities to preserve open space, our focus on prescriptive guidelines ensures that new development makes a positive impact in the community. We build on the best qualities of a place to strengthen and enhance the existing character of a neighborhood, a street corridor, or an entire city. The process of setting such standards is a crucial way for a community to transform its vision into a reality, while creating an invaluable tool to both shape and accommodate a city’s future.
Other Environments
We’re proud of our award-winning work, which includes sustainable, high-density, and high profile projects that bring people together and enrich their surroundings. While much of what we do focuses on the planning, design, and construction of infill housing, our nimble approach and broad range of expertise positions us as ‘all-around players.’ What can we do for you?
