I believe in an architecture of personality and individuality, not in the egoistic sense but as a result of the passion to elicit the uniqueness inherent within every dream seeking realization My intention is to evoke, through architecture, the subtle qualities that inspire the human spirit. This is explored through balancing the dynamic and still qualities of form, utilizing the organizing principles of geometry and proportion, and delighting in the relationships between the physicality of space, light and material. This allows for an enhanced experience of architecture which is both nurturing and accessible.

Melvyn Bernstein

As a designer who has practiced in New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, Melvyn Bernstein brings a blend of intelligent practicality and aesthetic sensivity to his practice of architecture. His formative years were spent working in the prominent New York architectural offices of Edward Larrabee Barnes Associates and I.M. Pei & Partners. He moved to Los Angeles in 1978 to further his studies at the UCLA Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning. In 1986 Mr. Bernstein returned to the east coast to form the partnership of Anderson Bernstein O'Brien Architects, Washington D.C. Returning to Los Angeles in 1989, he worked with internationally recognized Frankin D. Israel before becoming Senior Associate with Ehrlich Architects, a prominent Santa Monica architectural firm. In 1994, Melvyn Bernstein Architects was established.

At UCLA, Mr. Bernstein focused on Sacred Architecture and Geometry, the study of buildings and forms that reflect the idealized aspects of the human spirit. Mr. Bernstein recognizes these qualities as the foundation of much of the inspirational art and design throughout human history. His work is in direct relationship to the Perennial Wisdom with a commitment to embody these principals through the symbolic and material components that make up architecture. Mr. Bernstein has also completed post graduate study in a Master’s Program of Spiritual and Applied Psychology. This has has assisted him in developing excellent communications skills and the ability to creatively respond to and address individual as well as group concerns.

Recently, Melvyn Bernstein Architects won a 1994 and a 1997 Los Angeles American Institute of Architects Design Award for the Uyemura Residence. While at Ehrlich Architects, he was the Project Designer and Project Architect for a number of award winning projects. The Schulman Residence, completed in 1992, won the National, State of California and the Los Angeles American Institute of Architects Design Awards. Other award and notable projects include the Sony Music Headquarters Complex in Santa Monica, The City of Los Angeles Robertson Branch Public Library, and the Sony Pictures Child Care Center.

Mr. Bernstein has taught Geometry in Architecture at UCLA. He has been a licensed architect since 1979, a member of the American Institute of Architects and the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture & Urban Design.

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