When Marvin Bamburg lived in Japan during the 1960s as a Naval officer working on a project to build facilities in Okinawa, he learned many things. “My wife and I lived there for a few years and both of our kids were born in Japan. Living there opened our eyes and changed our view of the world. There are different ways of doing things.”
Forty years later, he and the firm he founded in San Jose in 1978, MBA Architects, became the masterminds behind the remodeling of the Ishikawa House, turning it into what is now JAMsj. The California Civil Liberties Grant Program funded the project.
Marvin Bamburg (left) and Pam Yoshida of MBA Architects
Pam Yoshida, a Project Manager at MBA Architects, was the connection to the Japanese American Community. Pam was responsible for the design, drawings and construction administration process, especially after the State of California budget freeze which halted all projects funded by the State. It took more than 6 months to reactivate the project after the construction was shut down.
On the JAMsj side, Ken Iwagaki was Project Manager and Jimi Yamaichi was Construction Manager.
MBA Architects in downtown Willow Glen
Pam recalls that many of the consultants that worked on the remodeling of JAMsj had ancestors that had experienced incarceration during World War II. Electrical: David Kaneda (Topaz), Landscape: Harry Nakagawara (Topaz), Civil: Lester Ikegami (Heart Mountain) and Pam herself (Heart Mountain and Jerome/Tuke Lake).
The Grand Opening of the current JAMsj was in 2010. Since then, MBA Architects has continued to help JAMsj with future development plans. MBA Architects also worked on several other projects in SJ japantown, including The Classic Rock (now the Classic Loot) and Jimbo’s (now JT Express).
Renovating the Kawakami House was part of the original museum project, but it was never completed due to lack of funding.
Now with a generous amount of donations, JAMsj is able to resume the Kawakami House renovation project with the help of MBA Architects. The firm will be presenting the design and schematics of the future Kawakami House to JAMsj.
The biggest challenge lies in how to retain and restore the historic Japanese American residence and at the same time add new functions, such as a community gathering space that JAMsj is envisioning. Marvin and Pam look forward to working with JAMsj to set a “clear and defined scope” of the new building so that they can support this new chapter for the museum.
Thank you, Marvin and Pam, for all your work!
*On Saturday, August 20, JAMsj with the support of the Consulate General of Japan and Sake companies, will hold an in-person Sake tasting event. Proceeds will go towards the restoration of the Kawakami House.
By Norri Kageki