Sometimes, you get to work with someone who is supremely professionally grounded, so solid in their knowledge and conviction and demonstrated ability, that you feel totally confident in their work before they've even put pen to paper.
Paul Welschmeyer is one such person. I had the good fortune to meet him through mutual friends who also live in our historic neighborhood (Niles district of Fremont CA), and was very quickly drawn in by his deep knowledge of local history, respect for historic designs, passion for marrying the old and new, sense of community, and energy-conscious design that doesn't sacrifice comfort or aesthetics.
Over time, I've seen Paul's work in multiple locations, both on paper and realized, including designs for our own house, and have come to realize that he doesn't just talk the talk, he walks the walk. His house is a showpiece for energy-efficient design which, while retaining its traditional bungalow facade from the street, is a near-perfect house-concert venue with a beautiful high-ceilinged space at the back of the house.
Paul's also focused extensively on local and California history, ranging from the initial layout of Niles (where he's researched the change in land allocation over 150-plus years), to leading a lecture series (Transcontinental Connections) regarding various California architectural/historical phenomena (did you know that Spanish Revival is neither Spanish nor a revival? Neither did I....), to more. He's done a series of articles on the alleys of Niles, a particular sore spot and point of contention between Alameda County and the City of Fremont, both of which disclaim responsibility for them, and the effects of that neglect on the community. He's written on local architect William Wurster, with cogent and clear text and some absolutely beautiful drawings of the full realization of Wurster's designs, and a book which clearly falls into the belle lettres genre entitled "Niles is Here, not There," chock full of informative text about the Niles community, reflections on community in general, and tremendously beautiful photography.
His most recent foray has helped formalize the Niles House Concert series (a long-running but fairly loose endeavor which floats from house to house in Niles) by building some structure around the schedule and offering his backyard as a venue.
All in all, Paul's work is splendid. He's a tremendously multi-capable person who's shown that he can deep-dive on subjects and come back with the goods and deliverables - whether it's design, or history, or organization, or energy conservation, or a host of other skills.
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