About BOA

Buchanan Opalach Architects is an Oakland-based, award-winning architecture firm specializing in custom homes and remodels.

Partners

  • Bethany Opalach

    Architect and CFO

    • Bethany Opalach has lived in Oakland most of her life and has worked as an architect since 1997. She has designed new homes, residential remodels, multi-family housing, accessibility solutions, and once in a while her favorite treat, color consulting. She’s passionate about photography, cooking, and Brazilian music and dance.

    • CA License C28946

      Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts, UC Santa Cruz (1991)

      Master of Architecture, UC Berkeley (1997)

      LEED-AP

  • Edward Buchanan

    Architect and CEO

    • Ed Buchanan has worked as an architect in the Bay Area since 1990. Originally from Detroit, he came to Berkeley in 1988 for graduate school. He’s regularly called on by city planning staff in towns like Piedmont and Ross to help non-BOA projects through the approval process. He loves the challenges of golf, home winemaking and watercolor painting.

    • CA License C-24594

      Bachelor of Science in Architecture, University of Michigan (1988)

      Master of Architecture, UC Berkeley (1990)

Staff

  • Brook McCurdy

    • Lead Drafter
      Brook holds a bachelors of Architecture from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and has been working as an architect for over 20 years. She specializes in residential architecture, and enjoys working at BOA because the firm is committed to providing highly accurate plan sets that clearly communicate their clients visions. When not drafting, Brook enjoys morning walks in the forest with her dog, sunny days on the Trinity River, and working on independent design projects in beautiful Humboldt County, where she lives with her family.

Design Philosophy

Beauty

We see architecture as an art form, a way to bring more richness to our lives. A space is the medium through which we bring natural light, views of the outside world, balanced spaces, proportionate details and pleasing colors into an environment.

Function

The best designs are the ones that don’t require the builders to do extra work or the homeowners to alter their lives. Nearly all projects have this kind of latent design solution and we see it as our job to find it.

Durability

With creative use of low-cost, durable materials and the preservation of existing infrastructures, BOA will help you make the most of your investment.

Sustainability

Quality design and construction meant to endure constitute a valuable aspect of sustainable design. By combining beauty, function and durability in a project or remodel, BOA strives to exceed the California Energy Code.

To see examples of BOA’s recent projects, visit the Portfolio and Houzz. To learn more about our design ideas, check out the BOA blog.