Davida Rochlin

Davida Rochlin (born October 1951) is an American architect, active primarily in Los Angeles and Southern California. Her work includes residential and commercial buildings and is notable for its emphasis on green and passive design concepts. She is known for her research on the American porch, which began with her Master's in Architecture thesis at the University of California, Berkeley College of Environmental Design and continued throughout her career. Rochlin is LEED Homes and Living Future Accredited. Early years Davida Rochlin was born in October 1951 in Los Angeles to Fred and Harriet Rochlin. Fred was born in Nogales, Arizona, and made his way to California as an architecture student at UC Berkeley. He went on to have a successful career as a Los Angeles-based architect for decades. Not long after retiring, Fred discovered a second career as a performer in the late nineties when he began performing monologues of war stories from his time in World War II. This experience eventually led to the publication of his book Old Man in a Baseball Cap: A Memoir of World War II. Harriet was born in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles and also attended UC Berkeley, which is where she met Fred. Harriet was a writer, historian, and lecturer who was regarded as an authority on Jewish heritage in the Western United States. Her research in this area was largely inspired by her experience growing up in Boyle Heights, then a diverse community made up of people of Jewish, Mexican, African, and Asian descent. Boyle Heights was once home to the largest West Coast Jewish community, a fact that Harriet's work, including her book Pioneer Jews: A New Life in the Far West, co-written with Fred, focused on. The two were married in July 1947. Together they have four children Davida, Margy, Judy, and Michael. Rochlin followed in her parents' footsteps by attending University of California, Berkeley, where she earned both a Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Architecture in 1973 and 1976 respectively. It was there that she began her research on the American porch, completing a thesis on the topic under the mentorship of American architect Joseph Esherick.