In memory of Peter Mackenzie

About two weeks ago, the architect Peter MacKenzie died. There’s not much more that I can say that has not already been more eloquently been said about Peter, across many media but I just felt the need to express my loss.

I met Peter years back although I won’t say how many, it feels like betraying a secret! He was a fellow architect in town who was also balancing designing housing for profit and designing affordable housing. In his memory, there are over 2,000 affordable homes in San Francisco bearing his mark.

Peter was a rare human being whose amazing characteristics shone in the competitive field of architecture. He was sharp, fun to be around and humble despite his many accomplishments. He was also always willing to help, I knew I could call him (and I did, on many occasions), to ask a question, to bemoan the latest “board of whatever” trying to block our work or commiserate about the latest crazy regulation that was making it harder to do good and affordable work.

I wish the best to his family and to David and his office.

He will be truly missed.