Hollister architect has hands in many pots, and an eye for the
county’s aesthetic beauty
A bluesman who pushes for affordable housing and green
architecture, David Huboi understands that architecture is a
philosophy-driven science and an art that reflects the natural flow
of a community.
Hollister architect has hands in many pots, and an eye for the county’s aesthetic beauty
A bluesman who pushes for affordable housing and green architecture, David Huboi understands that architecture is a philosophy-driven science and an art that reflects the natural flow of a community.
Everything is interrelated, a concept the Hollister architect began to instill in his designs even before he moved to Hollister 12 years ago from Los Gatos.
Huboi’s latest project, the Honda Powercenter, that will be located where Hollister Lanes Bowling Alley once stood, was recently submitted to the San Benito County Planning Commission.
Last fall he proposed a revision to the city’s master plan that calls for the adoption of a “green building program” to encourage the use of green building materials and energy conservation. Provide a resource list of local suppliers and builders that promote green building materials and practices.
It also called for the adoption of green architecture standards that can be used in the rating system for approving development under the city’s growth management program.
Huboi is an anomaly of sorts. He’s an architect, but he’s not all about building and development. He’s interested in preserving the quality of life in San Benito County and he does a lot of work with nonprofit and affordable-housing projects.
“When I first got here, I think people thought I wanted to build lots of buildings, but that’s not necessarily true. Architecture is not development, it’s art and science. It’s not just building to build,” Huboi said.
Huboi is an artist. He’s an architect, but he doesn’t like using computers; his renderings come from hand and seemingly his heart. He also is a planning commissioner.
Appointed by Councilman Doug Emerson, Huboi is described as an ideal planning commissioner due to his consciousness of environmental issues.
“In some ways it’s strange, because he’s an architect but at the same time he’s concerned with the quality of life in Hollister. He’s well-balanced,” Emerson said. “He’s always eager to help out and donate his time.” Emerson has also worked with Huboi on the Homeless Task Force.
He was new to the area and he said that he was literally knocking on doors looking for projects he could do.
“I’d had an office in Campbell and my wife and I wanted to buy a house, but all the areas we’d looked in were too expensive. We took a drive down here and were immediately taken away by the open spaces and the Gavilan Range. I saw the old homes and the historic downtown and loved it,” Huboi said.
He and his wife found a cheap tract house on the west side of town and relocated. His first office was in his master bedroom.
“Back in those days nobody would give me the time of day. Finally I got involved with a community project and Donny Marcus and former [City Planner] George Lewis opened some doors for me,” Huboi said.
Today he works out of the old Hazel Hawkins Hospital Building on Monterey Street – in the same downtown area he was fascinated with all those years ago. He doesn’t have to knock on doors anymore as people have come to know him for the projects he’s worked on and his involvement within the community.
He constantly looks relaxed. In San Benito County he is at home. Sitting in a coffee shop on a recent Tuesday morning, he reflected on his life in San Benito County and the joys that this community have brought to him.
He’s worked on several significant projects for the city of Hollister including the Veterans Memorial Building renovation, the Dunn recreational building and the old fire station.
One of the pet projects he took on was the preservation of the historical strip of terrazzo sidewalk in front of what was the State Theater.
“He was instrumental in getting that project done,” said Sharlene Van Rooy, of the Hollister Downtown Association.
He’s also done a lot of work with the Community Service Development Corporation.
As his reputation grew he started to get involved with the local organizations he joined the Chamber of Commerce, the Hollister Downtown Association and is a sitting member of the Planning Commission.
Councilman Brad Pike said that he knows Huboi both personally and professionally. He describes the man as honest, stand-up and he someone who doesn’t beat around the bush with facts. He’s witnessed Huboi’s work on projects for the city and worked with Huboi in the role of planning commissioner.
“I’d support anything he does,” Pike said.
Huboi started out as an art major at San Jose State and minored in philosophy. His father had been an architect and to some degree had an influence on Huboi’s decision to follow the same path. He’d always been good at sketching, but prefers traditional hand drafting to that which incorporates computers.
“While I was in school I had an epiphany, architecture is like the highest form of art,” Huboi said.
While putting himself through school he worked on a Hispanic landscaping crew, he says that was how he learned Spanish, but more than that he learned about people. He developed relationships with the men on his crew. He ate in their homes and began to understand how they lived. He said that perhaps this is what started his passion for creating affordable housing.
After graduation he got into working with groups on affordable and transitional housing and did projects for the cities of Santa Clara and San Jose as well as for Santa Clara County.
“Affordable housing is a working solution. It can’t be pulled out and separated from the rest of a community, it needs to be incorporated within,” Huboi said.
He is an advocate for historical preservation and has worked with several local groups trying to preserve buildings around town.
“You don’t see hand-drawings anymore. Now all you see is the computer renderings, you lose a lot of the character of those drawings. The way they used to make buildings, nothing was pre-fabricated, look at the way they used to install glass – at the site, not pre-assembled from a factory, this is how I got into historical preservation, the old ways need to be respected,” Huboi said.
He has worked closely with the Hollister Downtown Association as part of their design committee. Last year the organization nominated as volunteer of the year on philanthropy day.
As a professional architect Huboi often has to take projects he’s less passionate about, but pay the bills. He said that ideals become conflicted and he’s had to turn to other outlets to express himself creatively. He enjoys music and art and often performs with his guitar at the Hollister Certified Farmers Market. He mostly plays a Martin guitar, but he owns four others. His favorite type of music is the blues. He fondly remembers growing up to the tunes of Lightning Hopkins, John Lee Hooker, and B.B. King.
“I love music not just for the art of expressiveness, but also for the art of sharing myself,” Huboi said.
In addition to performing at the farmers market he also performs regularly at his church. There he also works as a youth group teacher. He said that one of the things he enjoys about working with the youth is that he learns as much from them as do from him.
Like the bluesmen he admires, Huboi said that his major influences have always been architects like Louis Sullivan, Faye Jones and Frank Lloyd Wright.
He was particularly excited about Wright’s concept of organic architecture – that which comes naturally from the environment and the user.
“Every setting is unique,” Huboi said. “Sometimes developers use a cookie-cutter method, but as architects we need to respect the solar and wind elements, because projects need to be harmonious with the environment.”
Green architecture is a rising concept in the architectural world.
“I think it started with Frank Lloyd Wright, with organic architecture, the idea of form and function as one, then adding ecology with sustainable energy. We need to go in this direction because the environment won’t be able to survive otherwise, especially with problems like deforestation and acid rain.”
Green architecture takes into account shortages of materials and calls for the use of local contractors and locally made materials, so that excess fuel and pollution aren’t damaging the environment. It incorporates ideas such as using fly ash in the concrete and recycled steel.
Huboi said that if he knows local suppliers and builders he often encourages clients to use them, instead of going outside the area.
“The problem as an architect with recommending green architecture is justifying the costs, but there are options out there,” Huboi said.
As he sees it, Hollister has a lot of potential to shape itself into a good example of new urbanism, especially with the new general plan in effect.
Some examples of how Huboi would like to see Hollister grow include a revitalized downtown that incorporates more homes into that area. He said that the houses of the future will likely be smaller and offer more entertainment options for younger people. He’d like to see some European courtyards, possibly with cafes, instead of the alleys as they currently exist.
A good example of a downtown that works, Huboi said, is Morgan Hill. Los Gatos has also done a very good job at attracting a lot of foot traffic. It also has public art infused with the streetscape.
“I think there are a lot of areas here with great potential. I could see an amphitheatre on Park Hill and the airport is a sleeping giant. I think the city is doing very good with its new general plan.”
