Dave Mendro

With NMA Since

Since the beginning…

My Life

Originally from Southern California, I relocated with my family at a young age to Montana, where I was immersed and came to greatly appreciate an alternate, more rural outdoor way of living. Through a series of serendipitous and fortunate events, upon college graduation in 1986 I returned to California where I began practicing architecture with my partners Andy and Mary, met my wife, adopted our four children, and came to be an enthusiastic convert of the Santa Barbara community and way of life. 

My Inspiration and a Favorite Memory

Soon after graduating from college, I backpacked through Europe on a shoestring with my new girlfriend Patrice (who since became my wife). I dragged her off to a remote region of Eastern France to see the work of the French master architect Le Corbusier. After an arduous train ride, bus trip, and hike that became a Comedy of Errors getting completely lost and waylaid along the way, I vividly remember finally arriving at Ronchamp late in the afternoon summer light and really seeing for the first time the beautiful cacophony that the art of architecture can be: form, function, shelter, art, sculpture, metaphor, religion, human expression… and since difficult travels are a true test of any relationship, I had an inkling that things might just work out well between Patrice and I…