The SafeHouse

David Thompson is the founder and principal designer of Assembledge+, founded in 1997 in Los Angeles. With over 25 years of diverse architectural experience in design and management as well as in the production and construction aspects, David’s buildings – whether residential or commercial – express a highly refined sense of craft. Prior to establishing Assembledge+ David had been a key member at a number of Los Angeles architectural firms including Syndesis (David Hertz) and Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects. As a senior designer/project manager, David played a vital role in the design and management of award-winning residential, multifamily, and commercial projects including the internationally published Jai House, Cafe R&D for the Houston’s Group, and the Habitat 825 condominium project next to Schindler’s King’s Road house in West Hollywood, which was distinguished with AIA National Housing Award. David’s formative years tinkering with objects informed his interest in the craft. As an accomplished furniture designer, David’s expertise in methods of fabrication informs Assembledge+’s architectural projects. David holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Tulane University and has been a member of organizations such as the AIA and the LA Forum for Art and Architecture. David was raised in the heart of Hollywood and retains a deep knowledge of Los Angeles and a commitment to extending the city’s history of architectural innovation.

Jasmit Singh Rangr grew up on the coasts of India, and in the UK, and has lived in the US since attending Yale University for college and for graduate school. In these different climates and geographies he developed a deep sensitivity to the interaction between climate, landscape, and architecture. In 2004, Jasmit founded Rangr Studio, a design firm committed to creating architecture in harmony with its landscape, climate and the environment. The firm has designed and built architecture across the United States and internationally, including the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Costa Rica and India. Rangr Studio's work has been published around the world, and won global awards, including an Architizer Award in 2015 and a World Design Award in 2020. Jasmit has dedicated his work to the continued investigation of the relationship between building and site. Each project seeks a poetic experience of its location: a view over a pool seamless with the ocean; a screen porch that hangs over air among tree branches; oak leaves blazing gold through a clerestory at sunset; a city apartment and roof deck from which one sees moving columns of light on asphalt in the rain. Jasmit is currently teaching architecture at the University of California, Berkeley. He was a juror for the 2020 Architizer A+ Award, and he continues to be a guest reviewer of student work at UC Berkeley, Yale University and California College of the Arts.

Over a career spanning across four decades, Kevin Daly has defined a design process that upholds the practical magic of architecture –an alchemical conjunction of craft, materials, and form. Bolstered by abundant research, he has demonstrated the benefits of advanced, unconventional building technology in works that are consistently recognized in publications and awards, and range from public schools, custom residences, and university buildings to affordable housing. Founded in 1990, Kevin Daly Architects’ award-winning portfolio includes environmentally and socially responsive educational, residential, and institutional projects ranging in scale from single room artist workspaces to campus master planning. The firm’s work has been widely recognized in the press and with awards including four National AIA Honor Awards, over 30 regional design awards, and a Gold Medal for Urban Excellence from the Rudy Bruner Foundation. KDA was selected the inaugural AIALA Firm of the Year in 2009. Through his teaching experience he fosters a next generation of architects across the country. A regular faculty member at UCLA, Kevin has held distinguished university chairs at Berkeley and Michigan, and has served on juries or lectured at institutions across the country, including Stanford, Cornell, Rice, SCI-Arc, the Architectural League of New York, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Rhode Island School of Design.