What we’re about
Our Sketching Group is made up of architects and designers who gather every month in different locations throughout the Bay Area. We work on our sketching skills using the built environment like buildings, streets as our subject matter, and so on and share our experience with each other. Our group was formed in 2012, by me "Sassan Pedramrazi, AIA" to help young architects, designers and students to sketch and design their concepts and ideas on the paper and make visual conversation in their professional field.
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See all- Sketching together October 2025San Jose Convention Center, San Jose, CA
The convention center covers 550,000 square feet (51,000 m2), including 165,000 square feet (15,300 m2) of exhibit space, 31 meeting rooms, and banquet facilities for some 5,000. There are entrances on West San Carlos Street, Almaden Boulevard, and South Market Street. The San Jose Hilton and Marriott hotels both adjoin the convention center. A two-story hallway connecting the three entrances is called the "Parkway" on the ground floor and the "Concourse" on the second floor.
A recessed main entrance along West San Carlos Street features two prominent art installations. A tile mural by Lin Utzon (1988) adorns a façade surrounding the entrance. The two-story-tall mural, resembling a flock of birds in flight, consists of over 8,000 red, white, and black porcelain tiles manufactured by Royal Copenhagen.[3] An interactive sculpture, Idea Tree by South Korean architect Soo-in Yang, stands in the plaza fronting the entrance.[4] In the lobby hangs a 1993 life-size bronze and steel sculpture, Winged Guardian by Stephen De Staebler.[5]
The South Hall, a metal-framed fabric structure, adds another 80,000 square feet (7,400 m2) of exhibit space, for a joint total of 245,000 square feet (22,800 m2). It can accommodate 11,428 people, or 5,333 people with exhibits.[6] It is surrounded by a public parking lot on a 191,668-square-foot (17,806.5 m2) site.[7] City leaders have called for the South Hall's demolition at various times since it was erected in 2005 as a temporary structure;[6] nevertheless, the city considers it important for attracting large events to the convention center. The South Hall and surrounding parking lot are owned by the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency of San Jose (SARA).[8] The South Hall's maintenance costs $38,000 each year, while demolition is estimated to cost at least $1 million.[6]
The convention center is located one block from the San Carlos Street exit of California State Route 87 and two blocks from the Almaden Boulevard exit of southbound Interstate 280. California State Route 82 also passed by the convention center on South Market Street until this portion of the route was relinquished to San Jose in 2013. The public Convention Center Parking Garage is connected to the convention center. Public surface parking lots are located across Almaden Boulevard to the west and across Viola Street surrounding the South Hall.[9]
The convention center is accessible by public transportation. The Convention Center VTA light rail station is located directly in front of the convention center's main entrance on West San Carlos Street. The station is served by the Blue Line and Green Line. The station is two stops away from the intermodal San Jose Diridon station. The convention center is also served by VTA local and express bus routes, San Jose State University's free Downtown Area Shuttle (DASH), and a Bay Wheels bicycle sharing station across West San Carlos Street.
