Post-War Schools Portfolio II: John Carl Warnecke, FAIA

Mario Ciampi‘s junior by more than a decade, John Carl Warnecke, FAIA, is, like Ciampi, a graduate of Harvard. Warnecke attended the Graduate School of Design during World War II, when Walter Gropius was dean, then returned to his hometown of Oakland to begin his practice. Warnecke’s father, a Beaux Arts architect who worked with Arthur Brown on the San Francisco City Hall, had been one of the few architects in Oakland to maintain a practice throughout the Great Depression. Familiar with historical styles through his father’s practice and a great lover of nature, Warnecke pioneered the idea that modern buildings could be designed in sympathy with the natural and built context. His Mira Vista Elementary School in Richmond does just this, drawing its section not only from the angle of sunlight but also from nearby natural forms—rocks, grass, and waves. Other early schools of Warnecke’s include the White Oaks Elementary School in San Jose and the Frank C. Havens Elementary School in Piedmont, California.