1 of 2
2 of 2
In this month’s issue, we unveil the winners of the 2009 AT HOME Architect & Design Awards. Thumb carefully through the pages to view their projects, and go online at stlmagathome.com to see the work of those who came oh so close. I suspect you will be both awed and inspired by their creations.
As you peruse those projects, ponder this question: With this kind of talent, why does St. Louis so frequently turn east, west, north, or south when assigning a major project? On the biggest assignments worth boodles of bucks, why do we get the sense that the architect, builder, or designer will probably be from anywhere but here?
It doesn’t happen all the time. Bond Wolfe’s new design for the Kirkwood library is brilliant. The new Edward Jones buildings by Arcturis are stunning. And who doesn’t love the new $31.4 million Gateway Station, designed by the city’s KAI Design & Build? The recently unveiled $75 million BJC HealthCare tower came off Christner’s drafting table. St. Luke’s $18 million Rehab Hospital is a product of Mackey Mitchell Architects. And while the planners behind the fabulous Citygarden did tap Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects of Charlottesville, Va., for the plan, they also picked local firm (and AT HOME ADA winner) Studio|Durham to create Jim Fiala’s Terrace View restaurant.
But think of all the times local architects were passed over for big names from other places. A sampling: The $236 million SSM St. Clare Health Center? Designed by HGA Architects and Engineers of Edina, Minn. Lumière Place? Marnell Architecture, Las Vegas. The $17 million Pulitzer building? Japanese architect Tadao Ando. The new Aberdeen Heights in Kirkwood? AG Architecture of Wauwatosa, Wis.
Just consider the campus of Washington University. The Stephen F. and Camilla T. Brauer building? Designed by RMJM of Princeton, N.J. The Danforth Center? Tsoi/Kobus and Associates, Cambridge, Mass. The law school? Firms from Washington, D.C., and Boston. The Sam Fox Arts Center and Mildred Lane Kemper Museum? Fumihiko Maki of Japan. Um, isn’t there an architectural school off Forsyth?
Sure, the world is flat. I get it. I’ve read Thomas Friedman, too. And thankfully, local architects, builders, and designers are constantly jetting off for out-of-town assignments as well. For example, review the breadth of HOK’s work—and the fact that its projects span continents. But for the smaller company, the climate is claustrophobic and catastrophic. Architectural firms have downsized to the partners and a secretary. Some have shuttered; others remain but don’t know how long they can continue.
A firm goal of the Architect & Design Awards is to spin the spotlight onto our own stars, to ballyhoo their accomplishments. There is plenty to revere, a depth to respect. And it strikes me that in this blasted and beleaguered economy, we should try to make sure the people living here get enough work to keep the electricity on and the bank at bay. I argue it’d be considerably more helpful if the city leaders and CEOs first looked down the block when hiring, instead of beyond the city limits and county line.
All the best,
Christy Marshall Editor, AT HOME
