A foundation in design
BA in Design, University of California, Los Angeles.
Background / Kasra “Kas” Kamooneh
A life in design.
A practice in preservation.
UCLA-trained in design and architecture. A hands-on roofing and general contractor. Founder of Sustainable Roofing Solutions.
The roots of the work
Climate was part of
the question from the start.
The son of an architect, Kas grew up with a connection to the built environment. His father’s firm, Khalvat-e Memar , is part of that family background.
At UCLA, Kas earned a BA in Design in 1994 and a Master of Architecture in 1997. His education in architecture preceded his work in roofing.
His graduate “Climate Responsive Design Thesis” was advised by Professor Baruch Givoni, a UCLA Professor Emeritus known for his work on climate-responsive and passive design.
Givoni authored Man, Climate, and Architecture and Climate Considerations in Building and Urban Design. Kas’s thesis applied those questions to a mid-rise residential tower design for northern Tehran, his birth city.
Professor Baruch Givoni · UCLA referenceClimate-responsive thinking, applied
Master of Architecture, UCLA. A graduate thesis translated into a residential tower design for northern Tehran.
A company starts in a garden apartment
Kas founded Sustainable Roofing Solutions out of a garden apartment in San Francisco’s Mission District.
Green building education
Certified Green Building Professional, issued by Build It Green in Berkeley, as of 2007.
Twenty years of SRS
SRS marked its 20th anniversary. Today, the Berkeley company brings roofing, waterproofing, general contracting, and eco-sensitive restoration together, with Kas hands-on on every job.
Credentials you can look into.
California contractor license #846393 · C-39 Roofing and General B contractor licenses.
For current license status and classifications, check the CSLB record. The Master of Architecture is an academic degree; no architect licensure is represented.
The path from design
to the roof.
Kas moved to San Francisco in 1998 and worked in architecture offices before joining a roofing company. Working across the trade brought him outdoors and into the practical work of protecting buildings. In 2004, he established SRS.
Clients may also know him as “the Doc.” His design education, climate-responsive thesis and hands-on trade experience are parts of the same story.
Read the complete original background
Sustainable Roofing Solutions became licensed by the State of California in 2004 for providing c-39 (roofing and waterproofing) services to the public. Previous to this, our founder, Mr. Kasra Kamooneh (aka ‘the Doc’), was hard at work pursuing a career mainly focused on becoming an architect. Following in the footsteps of his architect father, (www.KhalvateMemar.com) he first earned a BA in Design (1994) and then a Master of Architecture degree (1997) from the University of California, in Los Angeles. After completing a curriculum focused on ‘green design’ for more than two years, for his graduate thesis under his advisor, Professor Baruch Givoni, Kasra completed a ‘Climate Responsive Design Thesis’ which was a unique endeavor at the time in the M.Arch I program. The thesis was a combined research and applied design effort producing a mid-rise residential tower in the northern region of Tehran, his birth city.
In 1998, Kasra moved to the older and more traditional city in California, San Francisco, where he sought to begin and complete his training to become a licensed architect. After holding various positions in architect’s offices in and around San Francisco, Kasra found himself laid off for a time eventually landing a position at a prominent roofing company. Initially this event appeared unfortunate because it seemed far off from having the more prestigious position in the architectural/design professional environment. A couple of years passed as he persistently worked to pay bills in the meanwhile learning about the details of roofing and the business. He worked in almost all capacities for the company developing a versatile understanding of the trade. Incidentally, he began to love roofing because of his preference for spending time outdoors versus working in an office. Soon, Kasra discovered that he qualified to take the exam for receiving the c-39 license, so this is what he did; passing the exam and Sustainable Roofing Solutions was born.
We are happy to announce that we have also been issued the general ‘B’ license from the Contractors State License Board, so we are able to provide a full array of services for all of your building construction needs. Also, as of 2007, the ‘Build it Green’ agency (Berkeley, CA) has issued us the title of ‘Certified Green Building Professional’ acknowledging our efforts to work in an environmentally friendly manner.
