Doug Austin and his team at AVRP Studios have designed billions of dollars of projects across the globe, everything from schools, to homes (affordable housing, seaside mansions and everything in between), master planned communities, downtown office towers, life science headquarters, hospitals, community theatres, gymnasiums and more, including Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres. 

Other AVRP design highlights include the 1,400-acre Aviara master-planned community in Carlsbad; the Price Center at UCSD; and the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center on University Avenue.

So what’s Doug’s favorite project?

“While the next one, of course,” he quips. “Of the projects that got built, maybe my favorite project right now would be the Beth Israel Synagogue.”

The 65,000-square-foot campus set on three acres in University Town Center traces its roots back to 1861 and is home to the largest and oldest Jewish congregation in San Diego. Doug and one of his partners, Randy Robbins, who designed the project with him, traveled to Israel for inspiration when they started working on the design for Congregation Beth Israel.

“It's a place where life happens,” Doug says on this episode of Beyond the Doors with co-host Daniel Shkolnik.

Austin, FAIA, LEED AP, is founder, CEO, and Chairman of AVRP Studios, a design firm with offices in San Diego and Vancouver. Doug is a respected architect, land-use leader, and policy influencer. A former planning commissioner for the City of San Diego, Doug serves as Chair of the Advisory Board for YIGBY (Yes in God’s Backyard) San Diego, and he’s a member of the President’s Council of Advisors at Cal Poly SLO, where he received his B.ARCH. 

Doug and his teams have designed more than $3 billion in projects over his career in multiple cities across multiple continents. Their work has won multiple awards and the firm has been profiled in numerous publications.

On this episode of Beyond the Doors, co-host Daniel Shkolnik and Doug enjoy a lively conversation that explores Doug’s successful design career; the firm Doug founded in 1976 out of his home, which is now one of the largest design shops in San Diego; Doug’s approach to design; San Diego’s housing crisis; and much more.

Tune in wherever you listen to your podcasts, and don’t forget to like, share, subscribe, and review. Thank you!

‍

‍