Doug Austin, FAIA, LEED AP, is founder, CEO, and Chairman of AVRP Studios, a design firm with offices in San Diego and Vancouver. Doug is a respected architect, land-use leader, and policy influencer. A former planning commissioner for the City of San Diego, Doug serves as Chair of the Advisory Board for YIGBY (Yes in God’s Backyard) San Diego. He also is a member of the President’s Council of Advisors at Cal Poly SLO, where he received his B.ARCH. 

Doug and his teams have designed more than $3 billion in projects over his career in multiple cities across multiple continents.

On this episode of Beyond the Doors, co-host Daniel Shkolnik and Doug enjoy a lively conversation that explores Doug’s successful design career; the firm Doug founded in 1976 out of his home which is now one of the largest design shops in San Diego; Doug’s approach to design; San Diego’s housing crisis; and much more.

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The key moments in this episode are:

00:00:00 - Welcome and Meet Doug Austin

00:02:00 - Doug’s Journey: Architect to Citizen Architect

00:05:00 - Learn by Doing: Early Career Challenges

00:10:00 - Affordable Housing: Creative Solutions for San Diego

00:15:00 - San Diego’s Urban Evolution

00:20:00 - Overcoming Zoning Challenges

00:30:00 - Balancing Growth and Sustainability

00:35:00 - A Vision for San Diego’s Future