Robert (Bob) Anshen was born January 4, 1910 in Revere, Massachusetts and worked on Wall Street for several years before deciding to pursue architecture. He attended the University of Pennsylvania where he met Steve Allen, born July 15, 1912 in Neptune Township, New Jersey. Both received a Bachelor of Architecture in 1935 and Master of Architecture in 1936, and upon graduating received traveling fellowships allowing them to take a global tour, including Germany, Japan, and Italy. Their travels eventually came to an end when they reached San Francisco in 1937. Both began working as chief designers, Anshen for Clarence Tantau and Allen for Masten & Hurd. It was then they began to learn about and appreciate the characteristics of west coast design while dreaming of the day they could open their own office.

In 1939, Anshen and Allen secured their first commission: a house for Ralph K. Davies, senior vice president for the Standard Oil Company, in Woodside, CA. The following year they formed the architectural firm, Anshen & Allen. The house was finished in 1941, one week before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

During WWII, Allen served as a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy and Anshen as a Technical Director for the Housing Authority in Vallejo, CA. By 1946, both were back to practicing architecture full time, and with the help of Davies, they had a growing list of clients. The firm became known for a wide variety of project types including residential, commercial, educational, religious, and later specializing in medical buildings. Their most well known projects include the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona, AZ and the International Building in San Francisco.

In 1950, Anshen & Allen began collaborating with Joseph Eichler of Eichler Homes, Inc. to build the first modernist tract homes named for the developer. Bob Anshen would become known for adding an atrium to the building plans, a classic Eichler element. They continued this collaboration until 1960 when employee Claude Oakland, who had been doing much of the design, left to start his own firm and took over the account.

Anshen joined the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1946 and became a Fellow in 1962. He was a lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley from 1952-1953, a lecturer at the Interior Design Conference is Aspen, CO in 1957, and was a registered architect in California, Nevada, Texas and Virginia. He was also on the original design team for the University of California, Santa Cruz. He died suddenly in 1964.

In 1948, was the president of the AIA Northern California Chapter in 1956, and became a Fellow in 1959. He was a member of the San Francisco Art Commission from 1952-1956, Chairman of the Civic Design Commission from 1954-1956, and an advisor to the Architect Selection Committee for the California State Colleges in 1961. He was a registered architect in California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, and Virginia. He died at the age of 80 in 1992.

Anshen + Allen continued to thrive under the direction of Principal Derek Parker until the firm was acquired by Stantec in 2010. Derek Parker was born in England, he earned his architecture license in 1958. After traveling the world, he moved to San Francisco where he joined architecture, planning, and design firm Anshen & Allen in 1960. In 1964, he assumed a leadership role at Anshen & Allen, which he held for nearly 50 years. During his tenure, he guided the firm to a focus on healthcare and academic design, leading the design and planning of more than 50 hospitals and biomedical facilities in 15 countries and received more than 75 awards for his achievements.

Sources:

Allen, William Stephen. “Ralph K. Davies,” n.d. Anshen & Allen Records, Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley.

Michelson, Alan. “S. Robert Anshen (Architect).” Pacific Coast Architecture Database. 2015. ref 16 Mar 2015. http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/person/526/

Michelson, Alan. “William Stephen Allen Jr. (Architect).” Pacific Coast Architecture Database. 2015. ref 16 Mar 2015. http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/person/527/

Portfolio, n.d. Anshen & Allen Records, Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley.

“Robert Anshen: Short-Selling Eichler in Orange Designed by Anshen & Allen.” Curbed Los Angeles. 18 Nov 2011. ref 16 Mar 2015. http://la.curbed.com/tags/robert-anshen

Weinstein, Dave. “Eichler Architect, Bob Anshen: Self-Made Man.” Eichler Network. ref 16 Mar 2015. http://www.eichlernetwork.com/article/eichler-architect-bob-anshen-self-made-man?page=0,0

“William Stephen Allen Jr.” ArchInform. 2015. ref 16 Mar 2015. http://eng.archinform.net/arch/109294.htm Healthcare Design. Obituary by Anne DiNardo | May 10, 2023 Accessed February 26, 2024

Derek Parker Interview with Waverly Lowell, July 2022