Recently my office has had three proposed developments spotlighted in a number of local media sources. You would not know this, however, because those news outlets failed to report who the architects of these proposed developments were. Failing to mention the architect of a project is pretty much standard practice in Long Beach, even in the case of public projects where one would expect that taxpayers would want to know who received the city contract. Can anyone answer the question, “Who designed the new Mark Twain Library?”
Naming the architects beyond local developments matters—not for self-serving reasons of boosting the architects’ collective profile, but to help ensure accountability for the entire profession. If a new development has a high-quality design, the architects involved should be recognized for their contribution. On the other hand, if a new building is poorly designed, those responsible for its design should be held responsible. One important reason that there has been so little quality architecture built in Long Beach recently is it seems no one cares who designs buildings in town, good or bad. At present, architects have little incentive to provide good architecture. Theoretically, architects should take pride in their craft, but unfortunately there are firms with different priorities or standards about what constitutes good design.
This does not mean that we should demand a design team made up of famous architects like Frank Gehry, Richard Meier, and Tom Mayne. On the contrary: there are many talented firms, both local and not, that are both innovative and genuinely interested in helping design a city fabric made up of complimenting (not competing) architecture. It is not the place of the public or government sectors to dictate who a private developer selects to help create their vision, though this is not the case when a public development is under consideration. Nonetheless, Long Beach deserves good design, and should demand high quality architecture.
Knowing the parties involved—both the architect and the developer—will help us know what to expect and thus know how hard to urge them to create results that our city deserves. With that in mind, I challenge the local media to emphasize the architects involved when they report on a new project. We need to take notice about the hands that create our city.
In the meantime, for those curious, you might want to contact your local community planner for relevant information (such as who is the architect) regarding development in your community.
North… [email protected]… 570-6435
West-Central… [email protected]… 570-6288
Southwest… [email protected]… 570-6134
Southeast… [email protected]… 570-6439
East… [email protected]… 570-6193
CSU Chancellors Office courtesy of LPA, Inc.