Patty Solis
Architect
When Patty Solis first joined Public Works more than a decade ago, it was baptism by fire for the architect and urban planner.
“I really came into the job a little bit blind but willing to do anything really – and within just a month or two I was put on the War Memorial Veterans Building project,” Solis recalled. “And that one was just an enormous project. That was my first big project that I did at Public Works. It was quite an impressive building to work on.”
As the job captain on the seismic upgrade to the historic building – which was constructed during the Great Depression and became the birthplace of the United Nations after World War II – Solis had to study the various historical drawings to inform the renovation design, bring order to the project and coordinate with consultants. Even 13 years later, the project still holds a cherished place in her heart.
Listen to Patty discuss her path to becoming an architect and some of the incredible projects she has worked on for the City of San Francisco.
“It is about making livable cities. I think it’s important to really push to make San Francisco a successful, strong city.”
Walking down the hallway of the finished project – knowing what is behind that plaster wall, how it looked when it was under demolition and how it was put together in order to bring in the needed improvements – is “very special,” Solis said.
“That’s pretty amazing,” she added, “to be able to know a building and such a landmark.”
As a senior architect and section manager with the Bureau of Architecture, Solis is part of a bureau – housed within Public Works’ Project Design and Development Division – that helps shape the built environment in San Francisco’s public realm.
With a staff of more than 70 professionals, the Bureau of Architecture designs libraries, performing arts centers, recreation and parks facilities, police and fire stations, hospitals and neighborhood clinics and a wide range of other projects throughout the City.
“I went to school not so that I can just do retail or high-end residential – not that there is anything wrong with that – but I do like to have something that’s, I think, more meaningful to me,” Solis said.
“You don’t go in there with any preconceived notion. It comes to you.”
Throughout her career at Public Works, Solis has been able to work on a wide variety of projects, from a navigation center for unhoused people along The Embarcadero to an adaptive reuse and rehabilitation of a historic masonry building as the new home of San Francisco Animal Care & Control.
The design of the Animal Care & Control project aimed to maintain the character of the brick building – constructed in 1893 – by pulling the new construction away from the historic shell to expose the original masonry and windows.
Solis and her team approached the project – which was completed in spring 2021 and is unique in the Public Works portfolio – with humility and curiosity, digging into the building’s history and listening to Animal Care & Control officials about what their needs were for the space.
“You don’t go in there with any preconceived notion,” Solis said. “It comes to you.”
A dedicated public servant, Solis knows the responsibility that comes with shaping San Francisco’s urban landscape and continuously improving it.
“It is about making livable cities,” she said. “I think it’s important to really push to make San Francisco a successful, strong city.”