As Founder and President of Auerbach Pollock Friedlander and Auerbach Glasow French, Len Auerbach brings over 35 years of professional experience and international expertise in theatre consulting to his practice. With hundreds of theatre and lighting projects to his credit, his experienced leadership and personal involvement assures the highest level of design and quality of work.
Mr. Auerbach’s approach to theatre, architectural lighting and sound, A/V and multi-media consulting combines a background in architecture with his scenic and theatrical lighting design experience gained in New York and at leading regional theatres. His hands-on approach to planning and design and the innovative development of theatre systems is supported by patents and recognized by numerous design awards.
In 1968, he left his position as Resident Lighting Designer at the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis and joined the consulting firm of Bolt, Beranek, and Newman in New York. He ultimately became Director of their Theatre Consulting Services in San Francisco. In 1972, he formed his own private practice, Piacentini/Auerbach which became S. Leonard Auerbach & Associates, Inc. in 1973. In 2002 the growth of the firm culminated in its reorganization into Auerbach Pollock Friedlander and Auerbach Glasow, now Auerbach Glasow French.
Expanding into architectural lighting early in his career enabled Mr. Auerbach to apply his theatrical lighting design experience in an entirely new format. With the belief that lighting is part of the architectural design process and not an engineering exercise, Mr. Auerbach’s innovative use of light sources and the development of unique, award-winning designs has become a hallmark of Auerbach Glasow French’s approach to architectural lighting.
Mr. Auerbach pioneered significant designs over the years with such prominent projects as the 21,000-seat Conference Center for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; the new Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space, Museum of Natural History; Carnegie Hall - Judy and Arthur Zankel Hall; the new Griffith Observatory Planetarium; the Minneapolis Children’s Theatre; the Ordway Music Theatre; the Berkeley Repertory Theatre; the Bagley Wright - Seattle Repertory Theatre; the Oregon Shakespeare Festival; the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts; the Philadelphia Academy of Music; the Santa Fe Opera and the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House renovation.
Mr. Auerbach is a Visiting Professor and was the 2001 FitzGibbon Chair at the School of Architecture, Carnegie Mellon University, where he is leading the development of a graduate curriculum in Theatre Architecture. In addition, he has taught at the Architecture Department of the University of California at Berkeley, at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design continuing education program and has lectured throughout the world. He is active in international theatre and lighting organizations and has published numerous articles and professional papers.
Educated in the fine arts, Mr. Auerbach earned a B.F.A. in Drama and an M.F.A. in Theatre Architecture with a Heinz Fellowship for the Fine Arts from the Carnegie Institute of Technology.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Society of Theatre Consultants
President 1983 - 1987, Founding Member
American Institute of Architects,
Professional Affiliate
International Association of Lighting Designers
Illuminating Engineering Society of North America
International Society for the Performing Arts
National Council on Qualifications for the Lighting Professions
Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers
United States Institute for Theatre Technology, Fellow
