Ernest Born

Ernest Born (February 21, 1898 − May 9, 1992) was an architect, designer, and artist based in California. He and his wife Esther Baum Born (1902−1987) collaborated on diverse projects in the San Francisco Bay Area from 1936 on. He was also a notable architectural photographer.

Ernest was born in San Francisco, Esther in Palo Alto, and they married in 1926 after meeting at UC Berkeley's architecture school.

In 1928, he traveled to France to attend the American Beaux-Arts School at Fontainebleau.

Born taught architecture at UC Berkeley for almost 2 decades. He was initially a lecturer in 1951, then a Professor (1952-1958 and 1962–1974).

In 1955, he became a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA).

Born designed several notable public building in San Francisco. 1951, in collaboration with architect Henry H. Gutterson, Born designed North Beach Place, a public housing project at the cable car turntable on Taylor Street. It was demolished in 2001. In 1961, Born redeveloped and modernized recreation areas and transportation structures along Fisherman's Wharf, an area of San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood. The project stretched along the coastline from Pier 33 on the east to Black Point on the west. In 1975, a collaborative project between Born and Lawrence Halprin resulted in the United Nations Plaza Fountain. This fountain was a source of controversy for many decades due to its use by the homeless population. In the 1970s, Born collaborated with Corlett & Spackman in the design of two Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) stations, the Balboa Park Station and Glen Park Station. The Glen Park Station was Born's last architectural design project. In 1957, Born worked on alterations to the Hearst Greek Theatre in Berkeley. He designed a basement backstage area, which includes a large plaza flanked by two stage-level constructions.

Notable Private Residences In the 1940s, Born designed at least three houses for faculty from Stanford University and UC Berkeley. The two faculty houses at Stanford were the Isaac James Quillen House and the Anatole and Josephine Mazour House. Born also designed the house of Walter Horn, who he later collaborated with to write and illustrate texts on medieval architecture. The Horn House is located in Richmond on a steep hill and projects out over the down slope. Multiple rooms commanded views of Marin County and the Golden Gate. The original portion of the house was a polygon. The windward side of the house, which is prone to squalls and wind, had a metal frame covered in weather-resistant stucco, while the rest of the dwelling was clad in flush redwood boards over wood framing.

In 1949 the Borns designed the 'Ernest and Esther Born House' for themselves, a Modernist residence located at 2020 Great Highway in the far west of the Sunset District.

Other projects His mural paintings for the Golden Gate International Exposition established his reputation as an artist. During the war years, Born worked with architect Gardner Dailey on special military projects in Brazil and in the U.S.

Born was an accomplished artist, type designer, and illustrator as well, and focused on these in his later years.

Ernest Born died in 1992, at the age of 94.