The Making of ARCH IS_

Last Updated: November 24, 2009

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Li Wen, AIA Design Director at Gensler and John Friedman, FAIA of John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects, were asked by local president John Kaliski, AIA to head up a new Design Committee for AIA Los Angeles. He wanted the chapter to focus more on design issues, which he felt was lacking.

In order to have more dialogue and design discussion, the committee first created the more intimate "Design Dialogues" taking place regularly in architectural offices around town. Then the competition "ARCH IS_______" was born. The goal was to find out what the younger generation of designers and architects are thinking about; what is important to them. A jury will then decide who has the most relevant ideas and who best carries them over to his or her work. The two winners will receive a "Young Architectural Talent" award, earn $500, give a public lecture and be featured on the AIA chapter's website. For the first year the program is limited to California, with hopes that it will then go national.

The idea originally came from Annie Chu, while brainstorming with the committee. John and Li, the two chairmen, liked it for two reasons: The Chapter is always looking for ways to reach out to the newer generation of designers and architects and get them more involved. The second reason was that the winners could then lecture to older AIA members, who rarely go to the schools for presentations. It would introduce them to new ideas and give them a chance to see what these younger professionals are doing.

The prestigious five-member jury includes Hitoshi Abe - Chair, UCLA Dept. of Architecture and Urban Design, Christopher Hawthorne - Architectural Critic, Los Angeles Times, Brooke Hodge - Independent Curator; Scott Johnson, FAIA - Principal, Johnson Fain and Michael Rotondi, FAIA - Principal, RoTo Architects, Inc. and is purposely gathered from various architectural perspectives.

Funding for the program comes from design firms in the area; each office donates $199 flat so as to also involve smaller, newer companies. That gives them a chance to have their names right next to larger, more established firms like Gensler in order to communicate broad professional support for the competition's purpose.

LW: There was nothing like that here in Los Angeles and John and I felt it was time for change. We are all challenged, especially in this economy. It's a time for reflection and the timing is right for sharing ideas. It's hard to gather in our vast city, where we already are fighting geographic isolation. That's why we came up with the Design Dialogues and now this competition that will help people come together and get a feel for an architectural community, more common in compact cities like New York and Chicago.

JF: We are asking people to write a manifesto on what they think architecture is and what it can be. The theme is wide open, which I think is more in the spirit of LA. Often competitions have a theme and you might not enter because your work doesn't fall within that given theme. I personally never really liked that format.

LW: This is an opportunity, even if you are not quite ready. I know it can be intimidating to put your position out there on paper, but the position never stays the same. It will always evolve; keeping that in mind makes it less scary. The whole idea is that the person can set their own context and position themselves within that. Any good designer has already done that and he or she will be able to express that in writing.

JF: We would like to catch the segment of people a few years into their practice, so they have had a little time to reflect and gain more professional knowledge. Their design should be more mature. We want to see real projects, not student work from people fresh out of school. Therefore, the competition is open to designers and architects who are California residents and have graduated in the last five to 12 years from an accredited architectural school. It can be a partnership or collaboration, as long as all members meet the criteria. You can also represent your office as an individual, even if other members don't qualify.

LW: We both think it's a very important point in an architect's development. After ten years or so you are trying to shape a more mature mission of who you are and how you are going to accomplish the creative objectives from when you first started school. When I would have been eligible, there wasn't a program like this. At that age, my peers and I had been starving artists for a while and all we wanted was a platform to share our ideas. Now John and I want to create one for the younger generation.

JF: People have always come to LA for the freedom to experiment and innovate in the sense that there is land and opportunity. This is a chance to get recognition and the attention will lead to new contacts, along with business- and teaching opportunities. Since the award is new, we really need to get the word out, not the least to all the schools. They are full of design instructors, who in many ways are the perfect candidates. There are a lot of great ideas out there, but up until now no place to share them outside the academic community.

Text: Anna Connell

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