A LETTER FROM YOUR AIA LOS ANGELES PRESIDENT

*Written by Chava Danielson, AIA – President, AIA Los Angeles & Principal, DSH // architecture

After dozens of zoom calls, webinars, and interviews I find myself opening with the mantra, “None of us has ever been here before.” While this resonates and captures what many of us are feeling, it is far from the truth. The scope of the destruction we have experienced in Southern California is overwhelming but, unfortunately, not unique either to our state or, zooming out, to places across the globe with similar patterns of development. Even worse, it is clear that fires of this magnitude are expected to be recurrent and even expected – I almost said ‘normal’ – but certainly a predictable part of our near future.

What is new for us this time is where the fires hit and the kind of neighborhoods that were destroyed. When exactly and in what form these may be rebuilt are urgent questions being asked of us by friends, neighbors, colleagues, and clients. Most of us know what we would like the answers to be yet, if we are honest, the outcomes will rely on factors that feel beyond our control. Our work, our vision, our aspirations are part of a much larger ecosystem comprising finance, insurance, ongoing revisions to fire codes, issues surrounding procurement and availability of materials, availability of labor for construction, and the responsiveness of public agencies at the federal, state, and local levels. These are always the case but are rarely so acutely felt and not in my memory all at once.

While architecture alone will not be the driver of this recovery neither should any other contingent be the defining voice. Many of us may not have previously recognized ways in which the architectural profession is able to act as an important and central player in the conversations taking place, but we are learning fast and with an appropriate sense of urgency.

Among the things we have learned:

show up
listen
do not sign on to easy answers
check your signature at the door
be empathetic
communicate what we all know and understand: there are better ways to build our city – not only more resilient to climate change and future fires but culturally, offering a better way to live together.

In these weeks since January 7, we have been present – as neighbors, as technical experts, under the aegis of AIA chapters, and as individuals – in force at community meetings, professional roundtables, discussions with public officials, calls for volunteers, town hall and rebuilding events and delivering actionable information to each other as practitioners. In doing so we are expanding the public’s understanding of what it is we do just as we are expanding our own understanding of the boundaries of design.

Creating the kind of synthetic solutions that are needed to rebuild in a way that is meaningful and has lasting value is a design problem that we are uniquely trained and positioned to take on. Weaving together necessary technical expertise with sensitivity to materiality and environmental concerns, imagining and crafting resonant spaces, communicating culturally, and helping in the restoration of community is what we’re best at when we are firing on all cylinders. The communities we lost deserve nothing less.

Technical knowledge concerning home hardening and defensible space has entered most of our working vocabularies. We are engaging with other design professionals to share knowledge and help define best practices – and together be part of a rebuilding process creating neighborhoods that are more resilient and defensible.

We have stepped up as responsible citizens. In our meetings with public officials, representatives of the AIA Los Angeles push to open up access and simplify procedures for permitting and approvals. This is an important service to all constituencies and for rebuilding at every scale. It is clear, however, that processes that are simpler and more readily available will empower a greater number of residents to return, and will support a rebuilding effort that helps recreate the character, along with the economic and cultural diversity, these neighborhoods previously enjoyed.

I find hope in the possibility that this particular incarnation of architects flexing our muscles and speaking up will not once again retreat to our previous corners and private discussions. As much as we learn from each other, architecture is a social practice, and it is time to recognize this rich, expanded field we are able to operate in when we are present.

We must remain engaged and drive this civic project throughout Los Angeles. Every neighborhood deserves a 21st century city, resilient and responsive to the demands of contemporary life. This is a moment to look in the mirror, determine who we are, and decide which superpowers each of us will wield. Our voices have proven important in the current moment in articulating a vision of the future. It is up to us to continue to make the case that design is essential – essential to building that future.

Chava Danielson, AIA
Principal, DSH // architecture

*Disclaimer: The advice and perspectives shared here belong to the author and should not be considered official recommendations from AIA Los Angeles.

Chava Danielson, AIA – President, AIA Los Angeles & Principal, DSH // architecture

Chava Danielson, AIA, a native Angeleno, is Principal of DSH // architecture with specialties in design, project advocacy, and serving non-profit organizations. She focuses on imparting beauty and sensitive programming to recharge underserved neighborhoods through educational, therapeutic and residential projects.

Danielson leads DSH’s civic and child-centered work, including early education centers in which alternatives to conventional practices are employed to spark curiosity and wonder in the minds of young children. Larchmont Charter High School at Lafayette Park, an inventive adaptive reuse of the former New York Life Insurance headquarters, catalyzed the neighborhood’s revitalization and continues DSH’s forward-looking approach to historic preservation.

Danielson currently serves as President of the AIA Los Angeles. She is Adjunct Professor at the USC School of Architecture, and previously taught design studios and urban history at Otis College of Art + Design. Chava served on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design, and as a founding member of the Board of Directors of Larchmont Charter School. She holds an M.Arch. from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University and a B.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Berkeley.