About Our Firm:

Guiding and Implementing Your Vision

Opticos Design, Inc. is an award-winning multi-disciplinary design firm founded in Berkeley, California that specializes in creating great places by revitalizing old and creating new pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods and cities and designing well-crafted traditional and classical architecture. We are recognized nationally as leaders in our field and have won various awards for our diverse work. Our designs emphasize the creation of vibrant, sustainable communities, comfortable pedestrian environments, and memorable places that will withstand the test of time.

Our work is both regional and international in scope, and has attracted clients in diverse locales, including thirteen states and several countries in Central and South America. From 2005 to June 2008, Opticos had an office in Seaside, Florida. In Seaside, we served as the Town Architect, designing and implementing several large-scale architecture and urban design projects in the downtown area including our beachside master plan and Leon Krier’s tower, and providing high-quality design services for other New Urbanist projects in the region.

Our award winning international competition entries include:

•	Housing the Next 10 Million: Regional vision for California’s Central Valley
•	The Millennium Gate: Design for new civic gateway for Washington, D.C.
•	(Re)Vision Isla Vista: Revitalization strategy for a University community
•	Seaside, Florida 25th Anniversary Monument: Town founders’ monument
•	Octavia Boulevard Housing: Innovative urban infill housing prototype

Opticos has worked collaboratively with some of the most prominent and influential practitioners in traditional urbanism and architecture today, including European urbanist, architect, and author Leon Krier, Robert Davis, founder of Seaside, Florida, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk and Andrés Duany of DPZ, Ray Gindroz of UDA, and Peter Katz, author of The New Urbanism.

In addition, principals Daniel Parolek and Karen Parolek are founding board members of The Form-Based Codes Institute, a non-profit think tank established to promote best practices in Form-Based Coding.

We Practice What We Preach >>