serie architects reveals the design for satsang hall, a 5,000-seat auditorium for the shrimad rajchandra ashram in dharampur, india. currently under construction, the 15,500 square meter building is scheduled for completion in 2021. the auditorium will serve as the primary discourse hall, or satsang hall, for devotees, and is the landmark building in the larger masterplan which will house over 10,000 lived-in devotee on site. the building is placed at the middle of a crescent-shaped ridge, overlooking a valley to the west.

all images courtesy of serie architects

principal of serie architects christopher lee describes the design as being informed by the concept of the samavasaran in jainism, which describes a mythical building which represents the aggregation of knowledge through discourse and learning as building blocks, to bring devotees ever closer to enlightenment. this concept is seen in all jain temples, where the aggregation of self-similar elements creates lofty shikaras curved, pyramid-like forms that cap the sanctum sanctorum at the heart of the temple and appear to reach for the sky. the building consists of 13 stacked rooms, rotated 45-degrees on top of each other. this rotational stacking gives rise to an interlocking wall structure made up thin, gently curved concrete shear walls, perforated to let in natural light.

the largest room of satsang hall the main auditorium is organized as a circular drum. this column-free space, measuring 56 meters in diameter, is located at the center of the building. the drum rises four storeys and is visible from all levels, making navigation and orientation around the building clear and intuitive. the structural load of upper floors is transferred away from the central space of the drum through four intersecting arched walls. the main stage is slotted into the arches on one side of the drum and clad with perforated timber panels acting as acoustic baffles. there is no fixed seating as devotees normally sit crossed legged on the floor.

principal of serie architects mumbai kapil gupta comments: the exterior faade of the building will be clad with hand-chipped, 75 millimeter wide, marble strips of varying lengths. the strips are sourced from the marble waste of the famous makrana mines in rajasthan. these are the same mines where traditional artisans have sourced a special white marble known for its environmental resilience to construct jain temples all over india. some of these temples are hundreds of years old, like the dilwara temples of mt. abu.

the main foyer is accessible from all eight corners of the building. facing a valley the main entrance is formed by two angled vestibules, allowing devotees to deposit their shoes before entering the foyer. on the upper floors, various rooms contain a library, classrooms, exhibition spaces, multi-purpose halls and meditation rooms. the last and highest room is an elongated lantern-like volume serving as a large meditation hall.

project info:

project title:satsang hall

architecture:serie architects

location: dharampur, india

status: under construction

expected completion: 2021

program:religious gathering

civil and structural engineering: LERA, NYC

mechanical and electrical engineering: ARKK consulting

quantity surveying: gleeds consulting

faade consultant: BES consultants

acoustics: munro acoustics LLP

lighting: T2 consulting

project management: panora infrastructure

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serie architects' satsang hall is an assemblage of perforated white volumes - Designboom

Marcos Zotes, co-director of Basalt Architects, explained how the firm's work explores Iceland's tradition of geothermal bathing in this lecture atStockholm Furniture Fair.

Zotes discussed Basalt Architects' architectural interventions in Iceland's volcanic landscape, which include the famed outdoor Blue Lagoon spa complex and the adjoining hotel recently completed next door, The Retreat at Blue Lagoon.

The 62-room resort hotel is embedded in the lava formations and turquoise geothermal pools of the Blue Lagoon site, in Iceland's UNESCO Global Geopark.

The Retreat at Blue Lagoon Iceland by Basalt Architects was shortlisted for Dezeen Awards last year. Dezeen Awards 2020 opens for entry today, start your entry here.

Dezeen is media partner for Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair 2020, which takes place at Stockholmmassan in the Swedish capital from 4 to 8 February.

Basalt Architects completes hotel at Iceland's Blue Lagoon resort

We are broadcasting a number of talks on 4 February, including a lecture by London-based design duo Doshi Levien about their collaborative process.

Photography courtesy of Basalt Architects.

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Watch our talk with Basalt Architects live from Stockholm Furniture Fair - Dezeen

Written by Matthew Ponsford, CNN

When architect Mphethi Morojele began designing Freedom Park in Pretoria, South Africa, a 130-acre (52-hectare) memorial to lives lost in the struggle against the country's Apartheid regime, he took the unconventional step of handing over the plans to a group of spiritual healers.

Work began nearly two decades ago, at which point these healers gathered signals from the natural and supernatural realms to create a sort of "heat map or a spiritual map of the site,'' explained Morojele.

"It's almost like the Chinese would use Feng Shui, where they feel the energies of the site and decide that this element must go here, this element must go there," he continued. "Then you start to lay out your design based on that as a kind of brief."

Freedom Park, Pretoria Credit: Clive Hassall

Alongside Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye and Burkina Faso-born Dibdo Francis Kr, Morojele's name was listed among "a generation poised to take on the ambitious projects that will define the architectural character and identities of rising Africa," in an New York Times article by Chika Okeke-Agulum, professor of art history at Princeton.

Morojele says it is a role he is glad to take on. During a telephone interview from his office in Johannesburg, he called for his peers to break down boundaries that still carve up the continent's architects along colonial lines, into Anglophone, Francophone, and other distinctions.

Mary Sibande re-imagines the story of South Africa's domestic workers

"Nowadays, there's a sufficient cohort of architects who have some relationship to the continent -- either having been trained here, or having lived here, or come from here -- who are beginning to question what it means to do architecture in Africa," he said.

The Hapo Museum Gallery, Freedom Park, Pretoria

For Morojele, the priorities he made when designing Freedom Park -- to respect the full sensory experience of the environment, including its spiritual content, and carefully construct community bonds through inviting diverse voices to input into the design process -- are key to constructing the African buildings and cities of the future.

Born in Lesotho, the mountainous nation enclaved inside South Africa's borders, Morojele has led Johannesburg-based MMA Design Studio since just months after the fall of Apartheid. In addition to Freedom Park, he has spearheaded other emblematic nation-building projects including designing the African Leadership Academy secondary school on the outskirts of Johannesburg, and South African embassies in Berlin and Addis Ababa.

The South African Embassy in Addis Ababa

Not confined to architecture and urban design, Morojele has been sought out for thought-leadership across design disciplines. In 2013 he was asked to help design the funeral of Nelson Mandela, which aimed to create a new tradition for how a leader of democratic South Africa would be laid to rest.

After Freedom Park, he again assembled spiritual leaders for input on another complex project, a market in Johannesburg where herbalists and healers sell "indigenous magic medicine," mostly herbs and plants, explained Morojele.

Long-forgotten family portrait sells at auction for $1.4 million

This complex project formalized the sale of products used by most South Africans, especially recent migrants from rural areas, which are sometimes frowned upon by city-dwellers and pushed to the margins of the city, he said. Creating a formal commercial space for traditional healers -- some are called inyangas or sangomas -- and the accompanying rituals, meant designing a new type of market that recognized which practitioners and which types of magic needed to be kept apart.

"I guess it's like any other client would brief you," he explained. "Only they work in the spiritual realm and then bring it back to brief us."

The process of working with spiritual workers is just one method Morojele has used to include often-excluded voices in the design process. He has also consulted diverse stakeholders -- members of the public, residents of townships and students at schools and academies -- incorporating users input into the design.

The Cradle of Humankind Visitor Centre, Maropeng, South Africa

The goal of greater inclusivity should be at the forefront for architects in South Africa and beyond, Morojele argued.

"I'd like to see architects focus on the way architecture creates social cohesion. In South Africa, architecture has always been used to separate. It had subtle mechanisms in buildings that were used to define who belongs where: which entrance you use, depending on your skin color, and things like that."

Morojele says architects and urban planners can -- and must -- reverse that historical process of division to repair fissures and create more equitable cities.

The African Leadership Academy Learning Commons in Johannesburg Credit: Tristan McLaren/Tristan McLaren

The unexpected art of Ghana's hand-painted movie posters

The African Leadership Academy Learning Commons in Johannesburg Credit: Tristan McLaren/Tristan McLaren

But the architect is distinguished in matching a hard-nosed focus on righting past wrongs of urban planning with a sensitive approach to planning. For example, he favors natural materials for heritage projects that draw on local animistic beliefs -- traditional beliefs that inanimate objects contain spiritual energy.

Vivid portraits shine light on Tahiti's 'third gender'

In Freedom Park, Morojele used natural materials to create a narrative of remembrance and hope. To do this he assembled boulders from South Africa's nine provinces -- having been ritually blessed in interfaith prayer sessions in the name of peace -- and even imported soil from across the world.

Stones in Isivivane, Freedom Park, are blessed in a ceremony

"It started off as a place that would offer symbolic restitution to people who lost their lives in the struggle for liberation," he said.

The Garden of Remembrance, a green belt surrounding the central memorial, contains earth from countries outside of South Africa where people had been stationed in exile and had died during the fight for liberation. "In a sense, the installation is given a certain spiritual energy because of the soil used that has come from different countries, which is now embedded into the monument or memorials," he said.

The Garden of Rememberance at Freedom Park, Pretoria

Morojoele is keen to now connect more analytic and spiritual approaches. As he plans for future commissions, he sees a path forward via neuroscience, and the ideas of "environmental psychology" developed by the likes of Finnish architect Juhani Pallasmaa, which hopes to explain how our natural and built surroundings affect our behavior and emotions.

"The advances in neuroscience nowadays can relate the environment to people's emotions and people's nervous system, how it responds to different environments," Morojoele said. "I'm interested in understanding the Western scientific basis of what indigenous knowledge systems were expounding."

Why being an African artist is so important today

This approach -- combining neuroscience with animism, and layering landmarks and urban infrastructure with emotional nuances -- makes clear Morojele vision.

"We need to go back to understanding ourselves as biological beings, less as intellectual beings, bringing in more senses," he said.

Both forward-facing and grounded in tradition, Morojele hopes that the city of the future is an environment where we can connect with our own nature, and commune with our surroundings. "A more sensual architecture," he explained. "And one that heightens your experience of the environment."

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How African 'feng shui' can shape the continent's cities of the future - CNN

One mans junk is another mans sloth.

First, Ron Yeo saw discarded beach toys, bent miniblinds, empty coffee canisters, busted vacuum cleaners and lots of bottle caps scattered on the beach or leaning against trash bins. Then he envisioned a fanciful menagerie.

Using the found objects, he created Jungle Junk Critters, sculptures that look right at home where theyre now on display inside the tropical conservatory at Sherman Library & Gardens in Corona del Mar.

Yeo, 86, is a retired Newport Beach architect whose studio on Jasmine Avenue, about half a mile from the botanical gardens, has given way to his found-object art. On his regular walks through the many alleys that give Corona del Mar veins and across East Coast Highway to the beach, he picks up odds and ends that have been thrown out or forgotten: soap jugs, the floppy handles of sand buckets, a snorkel, the caps of water bottles, small home furnishings.

With screws, paint and glue, they have become Fawkes the Phoenix, Red Wind, Electro Bird, Jungle Jim, Sam Sloth and 15 others tucked amid the broad fronds and spiky bromeliads inside the conservatory.

They fit in naturally, Yeo said.

A crab with an upturned bucket for a shell is affixed to a bodyboard that floats in the koi pond.

A crane stands on spindly yellow legs broom handles, perhaps at the ponds edge and peers with a neon blue and green snorkel face. Its wings are fashioned from white miniblinds snipped into pennant shapes tucked at its side, and a body made from a detergent jug glistens from the humidity.

The serpentine Guardian of the Glades hovers over glossy red anthurium with a pool-noodle body and hinged sharks-head toy nestled in the frill of a blue sand bucket.

Sam Sloth is closest to the door of the tropical hut. He has a Yuban coffee canister head, googly bottle-cap eyes, TV dinner-tray legs, nails for claws and a shaggy off-white pillow body that mirrors the Spanish moss nearby.

Yeo wanted to be a cartoonist when he was a teenager but wasnt even the best drawer in his high school cartooning club, he said. He instead followed his artistic tendencies into architecture, where for more than 50 years he designed custom homes and eco-friendly cultural centers such as the Back Bay Science Center and Muth Interpretive Center.

Hes a collector of stuff and would reuse scraps on his building designs, he said.

His mixed-media pieces started with beer, soda and water caps, occasionally with household sundries, such as disposable razors and batteries, arranged into mosaics, mandalas and sometimes animals, typically mounted flat. He has exhibited in Long Beach, Huntington Beach and galleries in Newport Beach.

Yeo met recently with Shermans library director, Paul Wormser, to donate some of his papers to the archives when Wormser noticed how tropical his art-packed studio seemed, with its natural cork interior walls. He said Yeos sculptures would be perfect for Shermans gardens.

Yeo said his critters are like 3-D versions of the cartoons he liked to draw as a kid. They are playful and anthropomorphize the mundane, like compact vacuum cleaners.

Red Wind and Electro Bird used to be utilitarian household gadgets. Dangling from wires, the tapered lines of their debris tanks and handles make aerodynamic heads and necks.

They make great birds, Yeo said.

Jungle Junk Critters is on display through April 30. Sherman Library & Gardens is at 2647 E. Coast Hwy.

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In the jungle: Architect and artist upcycles junk into tropical critters for Sherman Library & Gardens - Los Angeles Times

Dezeen Jobs has a number of promising architecture and design vacancies available right now in the US, including positions at Los Angeles firm Montalba Architects and New York art institution The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Hospitality-based project architect at Montalba Architects

Los Angeles firm Montalba Architects is seeking a hospitality-based project architect with a minimum of twelve years' hospitality/commercial experience to join its office in Santa Monica, USA. The practice designed a showroom for boutique fashion label The Row in Los Angeles, taking visual cues from California's modernist heritage.

Find out more about this role

Temporary exhibition designer at The Met

Camp: Notes on Fashion, an exhibition exploring camp and theatrical fashion throughout history was recently displayed by The Met's Costume Institute in New York. The Met has an opening for a temporary exhibition designer to support the exhibition design team across its three locations in New York, USA.

Find out more about this role

Senior graphic designer at Handel Architects

Handel Architects is recruiting a senior graphic designer to assist in shaping the firm's visual identity in New York, USA. The practice was behind the Dream Downtown Hotel in New York, which features a perforated metal-clad exterior and porthole windows.

Find out more about this role

Senior industrial designer at Fuseproject

Designer Yves Bhar's studio Fuseproject has worked in collaboration with robotics company Superflex to design the Aura Powered Clothing collection, a series of responsive garments that assist the elderly with mobility. The studio is hiring a senior industrial designer to become a part of its team in San Francisco, USA.

Find out more about this role

See all the latest architecture and design roles on Dezeen Jobs

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Four exciting architecture and design jobs in the US including roles at Montalba Architects and The Met - Dezeen

Calling all architecture writers! If you are interested in:

then you may be a good candidate to joinThe Architects Newspaperas an editorial intern!ANisa national publication with a dynamic online presence that publishes breaking news, reviews, and features on what matters right now in the world of architecture, urbanism, and design.

Were looking for a New York-based intern who will be available to work with our editorial staff in ANs Tribeca offices two days per week. Ideal candidates will be strong writers with an eye for detail, game for covering breaking news, openings, and announcements, and knowledgeable on the basics of WordPress and Photoshop or quick to learn. Interns will be expected to write both for web and print as well as update the website with events and competitions postings. Duties may also include fact-checking, event support, and photo research. Internships are paid on an hourly basis. The duration of the internship is flexible, from a few months to a semester, and we are looking for interns who can start this summer (around May 1, 2020).

Interested? Please send your resume/CV and three short (no more than 1,000 words each) writing samples to Jack Balderrama Morley at jmorley@archpaper.com.

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Apply for a paid internship at The Architect's Newspaper - The Architect's Newspaper

NAC Architecture's concept for the LAC+USC Medical Center Restorative Care Village. Rendering courtesy of NAC Architecture

With the dramatic rise of homelessness in Los Angeles, addressing the issue has become a paramount concern. Political pressure is rising, and the onset of public programs, task forces, and initiatives have shown promise, but still face mounting roadblocks. In response, many are pounding their fists in frustration. This endemic has been in discussion amongst architects also, who, as citizens themselves, seek to contribute to a resolution.

The need for shelter is a basic human need, and the architect recognizes a duty to facilitate that need. But, when it comes to addressing an issue so marred with bureaucratic constraints, we realize something so seemingly simple is multifaceted and complex. As architects, how can we better understand those complexities? And what is our role in the manner? There isn't a single answer. But, let's look at the work of a few architects and investigate how each embraces their duty to listen and collaborate in order to help establish fruitful partnerships. Perhaps, our exploration might inform us as to how we can think more critically about this social dilemma.

The problem of homelessness contains many moving parts, and within this multidimensional landscape, healthcare service remains one of the larger obstacles to address. Living on the street is dangerous, and the risk of sickness and disease lurks daily. When a homeless person needs medical attention, more often than not, the only option is the emergency room. Here, individuals receive some attention and care but are then released prematurely as the demand for beds in our E.R.s cannot meet the need experienced by people who are homeless. Toiling on the streets, without the appropriate time to recover, these individuals are forced back to the emergency room. And the cycle repeats on and on until the inevitable takes place.

"Most of us have the opportunity to recuperate from illness at home or in a longer stay in a medical facility," writes Michael Pinto, AIA, and Michael R. O'Malley, AIA, LEED AP, both principals at NAC Architecture. "Without that opportunity, homeless individuals are not recovering from the conditions that triggered their first hospital visit. As a result, they become frequent visitors to emergency departments. It's not effective; it's not efficient; it's not humane." The pair call for the implementation of recuperative care facilities "that provide both acute and post-acute medical respite for homeless persons who cannot successfully recover from illness or injury in the streets, but who are not ill enough to remain in a hospital." An offering of this kind would give the homeless individual the environmental quality they need to fully realize their recovery.

Such an implementation is already underway in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles CountyUSC Medical Center is working to develop what they're calling the Restorative Care Village, a facility that will offer a robust range of services for people experiencing homelessness. Some of the components in this facility would include recuperative care, a sobriety center, a psychiatric emergency room, psychiatric urgent care, crisis residential housing, permanent supportive housing, and a wellness center. While the final inclusion of all of these elements is not certain, the development of the Restorative Care Village has begun. A first of its kind, this development will mark a national turning point in how we can address homelessness in our cities.

The practice of architecture not only requires participation in the profession but it also requires civic engagement.

- Samuel Mockbee, Architect

When Michael Pinto, AIA, Design Principal at NAC Architecture LA, got invited to aCountymeeting a couple of years ago, he wasn't sure what he was walking into. "I walk into the meeting, and I see the leadership from across the County Health System," Michael told Archinect. He shared how the group was discussing an initial idea for the restorative villages, advocating for ano wrong door policy, and addressing the novelty of the concept. This would be a facility that would receive people wherever they were. So, if one needed recuperation, it could be provided without the E.R.; sobering care, no E.R.; psychiatric care; whatever it was, this solution would cover all areas.

"Finally,the meeting chair looksup, and he says, 'Hey, didn't we invite an architect to this?'" Michael said jokingly. "And my colleague just kind of looks over at me, sort of queueing me to speak up. And we all start talking about this in terms of architecture and how to facilitate it." After some back and forth, and taking the initial vision cast by the County and its partners, Michael and the team at NAC Architecture came back with the beginnings of a concept, which became the graphic collateral for awhite paper drafted by the Countyand later evolved into the scoping documents for a design-build team. Fast forward to today, and theLAC+USC Medical Center Restorative Villagehas already approached its second phase, with NAC's concept at the helm.

The Restorative Care Village will include two connected hubs, the Acute Care Hub and the Wellness Hub, and will progress in three phases. Phase 1, already underway, includes the construction of the development's bridge housing, split into two parts: Recuperative Care, for those in recovering from living on the streets, and Crisis Residential Care, for those dealing with domestic abuse and other challenges; both are part of the Acute Care Hub. Phase 2, just starting, includes the demolition of three empty laboratory buildings, making way for the new Wellness Hub, which will house a Community Resource and Recreation Center, services to secure employment, Permanent Supportive Housing, a Recovery and Respite Center, and Psychiatric Urgent Care.

Finally, Phase 3 will return to the Acute Care Hub, starting with the demolition of the vacant Women and Children's hospital, followed by the construction of the new Psychiatric Hospital and Psychiatric Emergency Department. Working with an existing site and through collaboration with the County, health professionals, and the surrounding community, NAC's challenge was dynamic and nuanced. In January 2019, the County released an RFP for design-build proposals, which ultimately resulted in the selection of CannonDesign. CannonDesign plans to construct the development in a mostly modular fashion in collaboration with ModularDesign+.

During their time working on the project, the team at NAC was careful to slow down, listen, and learn about the issue they were tackling. It's an approach Michael encourages more designers to adopt, to take off the "hero hat" and approach these broader social issues at a human level. "As architects, we have to be careful that we don't get out of our lane. We have limited tools and awareness," he told Archinect. "But, that doesn't stop us from working with and scaffolding a conversation with people who know what's happening." Architects have essential skills to bring to the table, but it's in conjunction with those who are ultimately charged with addressing these kinds of public issues. It is a team effort the architect is one part of a much larger whole.

"For architects who want to get involved in a social issue like homelessness, I think it'd be a good idea to choose a nonprofit working in homelessness," said Helena Jubany, FAIA, Managing Principal at NAC Architecture Los Angeles in a conversation with Archinect. "They've done all of the homework, and so you don't have to reinvent the wheel. Volunteering and learning from those who've been studying this issue, I think, is the best approach." Helena has been on the board of A Community of Friends (ACOF) for 16 years. ACOF is a nonprofit developer whose mission is to end homelessness by providing quality permanent supportive housing for people with a focus on those with mental illness. The organization holds an extensive portfolio of full-service properties and is committed to the management and tenant support required to operate them.

Helena began as a volunteer serving food to the homeless and later began to consider how she might make a more significant impact. "Architects are well-positioned to help in this area. After some volunteer work, I wanted to expand my reach, and so over time, I moved to the board of ACOF," she explained. Helena is the only architect on the board at ACOF and collaborates with other board members in other areas of expertise to realize the nonprofit's mission. As an architect, Helena provides guidance, insight, and advice as it relates to the strategy and vision of the organization as it pertains to the architectural aspects of developing properties. That could be anything from helping to set up best practices to serving as an advisor for the nonprofits Housing Director on design-related issues. She went further to express the importance of understanding that a board position is not crucial for all architects who want to get involved. "Everyone has a gift. Some may want to volunteer on the ground, and others may feel more effective in a strategic role," she said.

In March 2017, Los Angeles voters approved Measure H, a percent increase to the County's sales tax that will provide an estimated $355 million per year for ten years to fund homeless services, rental subsidies, and housing. According to L.A. County, the measure is designed to support strategies in six primary areas:

Prevent homelessness

Subsidize housing

Increase income

Provide case management and services

Create a coordinated system

Increase affordable/homeless housing

This came about a year after the approval of Proposition HHH, a $1.2 billion bond intended to triple L.A.'s annual construction of supportive housing and build about 10,000 units for homeless Angelenos. But, while the city and County work on executing the permanent supportive housing, those living on the streets still suffer. In response, Mayor Eric Garcetti has introduced a new plan called A Bridge Home "to give homeless Angelenos in every neighborhood a refuge...until they can be connected with a permanent home." It was launched in 2018 after Garcetti and the City Council declared an "emergency shelter crisis."

The first site in response to Garcetti's initiative was El Puente, located in El Pueblo, the historic birthplace of Los Angeles. Teaming up with Gensler, Mayor Garcetti and Councilmember Jose Huizar led the group in realizing their effort in providing a site to serve the existing homeless population in the area. El Puente offers intensive case management services "that are carefully tailored to help homeless Angelenos stabilize, begin rebuilding their lives, and move into permanent housing as quickly as possible." Since the launch of A Bridge Home, there are a total of 29 sites open or in development across the city.

In this mission to address homelessness, many roadblocks stand in the way. NIMBYism, in particular, remains a recurring point of pushback. NIMBY stands for Not in My Backyard and refers to the tendency of locals to block homelessness initiatives in their communities. "A big part of our work at ACOF is educating communities on what we are bringing to an area. When people hear about permanent supportive housing in their neighborhood, they immediately think of it as an encampment," explained Jubany. "Often, our buildings are some of the nicest in a community. It's important to understand that permanent supportive housing is an organized and structured environment. We are looking to heighten the design quality of a neighborhood."

Michael Pinto elaborated on this point, explaining the common use of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to halt homelessness projects. "Much of the public is very humanitarian and want people to be housed, but they get concerned about their kids walking through tent villages, or any other number of anticipated outcomes," he said. Moreover, Carol Galante, faculty director of the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley, and a former assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under President BarackObamatold The San Francisco Chronicle:

"It (CEQA) has been abused in this state for 30 years by people who use it when it has nothing to do with an environmental reason...NIMBY-ism is connected to the fact that for everyone who owns their little piece of the dream, there's no reason to want development next door to them...CEQA gives them a tool to effectuate their interest. It's a sense of entitlement that comes with an incentive because it makes their property worth more money."

For organizations like ACOF, who sometimes face blockage of this kind, it's interesting to see the final product of their properties, beautifully designed housing developments that look nothing like the falsely expected "encampments" NIMBYists fight against. As well-intentioned and capable as some may be to tackle homelessness, there are those geared and motivated to stand in opposition. Even aside from NIMBYism, challenges in acquiring land to build housing remains a mounting obstacle. Add that to the backlash many communities express amid the introduction of developments in their communities coupled with the growing political pressure and public frustration, and you get a social grenade with the pin removed.

In a summary provided by the Los Angeles Almanac, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, in 2019, approximately 50,000 to 60,000 persons may be found homeless on any given night in Los Angeles County, more than 44,000 of them on the streets. Youth, from minors through age 24, make up 8,915 of the County's homeless population (8,072 in 2018).

9% are under age 18.

31% are female.

15% are in family units (often headed by a single mother}.

16% are physically disabled.

28% are chronically homeless.

15% of homeless population have substance abuse disorders.

25% of homeless population suffers from serious mental illness.

7% of homeless population were victims of domestic/intimate partner violence.

What the numbers don't communicate is the fact that we have housed more homeless people than ever, but housing affordability has arrived as the primary root cause of the rise in homelessness. The crisis, among many others, is one of affordable housing.

We've all likely heard it argued that architects shouldn't get involved in social issues, that we should focus on design and refrain from sticking our head where it doesn't belong. "When I was in undergrad, anytime someone brought up a project where they wanted to have an impact, you got your hand smacked. It was like, 'Hey, don't you remember the failures of modernism?' Pinto reminisced. "I have students who share their frustrations. They're getting their hands smacked also. I tell them that not only can we make a difference, but that we have an obligation to use what we're learning and think about how it interfaces with the larger needs of society."

It's reasonable to think that architects cannot impact a societal issue like homelessness. Not by themselves anyway. As both Helena and Michael advocate, tackling a broad social problem like this takes collaboration, it's about going in, becoming a student, and learning about the communities and the people who need help. It's about capitalizing on the years of dedication, research, and education that many organizations and individuals have undergone to address this crisis. And it ultimately becomes about stepping back and asking oneself, what can I contribute here? We aren't saviors with capes and a roll of drawings, here to save the day, but rather fellow citizens and human beings with an expertise that can profoundly aid in the mission to support our neighbors in attaining one of their most basic human needs.

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Considering the Architect's Role in Addressing Homelessness in Los Angeles - Archinect

This week we've hand-picked five of the most promising opportunities on Dezeen Jobs, including vacancies at interior architecture studio Johnson Naylor and architecture firm David Chipperfield Architects.

Senior designer at Johnson Naylor

Interior architecture firm Johnson Naylor is looking for an interior designer to join its studio in London. The practice recently converted a world war two pumping station into a holiday home on Dungeness beach in England's Kent.

Browse all roles for designers

3D visualiser at David Chipperfield Architects

David Chipperfield Architects has completed the London outpost of art gallery Bastien, featuring an exhibition space, private showroom and small office. The firm has a vacancy for a 3D visualiser to join its team in London.

View all visualisation jobs

Project architect at Coop Himmelb(l)au

Coop Himmelb(l)au is searching for a project architect to develop design concepts at its Vienna office in Austria. The studio completed the Museum of Contemporary Art and Planning Exhibition, a huge curved art complex in China's Shenzhen.

See more project architect opportunities

Architects at Allies and Morrison

Allies and Morrison has created a masterplan for Madinat Al Irfan, a new city in Oman which will be transformed from a desert valley into a 624-hectare urban centre. The studio is recruiting for architects at its London office with experience across the masterplanning, commercial, residential and mixed-use sectors.

View all architecture positions

Furniture/industrial designer at Starck Network Agency

Starck Network Agency has an opening for a furniture/industrial designer at its practice in London. French designer Philippe Starck has collaborated with luxury car brand Bently to create a smart power dock for the vehicle manufacturer's new Bentayga Hybrid model.

See more industrial design roles

See all the latest architecture and design roles on Dezeen Jobs

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The top architecture and design roles this week include positions at Johnson Naylor and David Chipperfield Architects - Dezeen

The four American men who played a key role in shaping the so-called Deal of the Century have a history of speaking the language of Israel's far-right, showing complete indifference toward the plight of Palestinians.

As US President Donald Trump announced the 'Deal of the Century' on the long-standing Israeli-Palestine conflict last week, the president - facing his own impeachment trial - failed to evoke any positive response both from Palestine and the international community.

The deal was doomed to fail for many reasons, ranging from its false premise to the absence of Palestinian leaders who snubbed the move outright. Another reason why the deal came across as a hoax was down to its key architects: Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner; pro-Zionist American casino mogul Sheldon Adelson; war hawk Mike Pence; and the US ambassador to Israel, David M. Friedman, a strong supporter of Israeli settlement construction.

With arbiters like those, the trajectory of US policy towards the Palestinians, already deferential to Israeli interests, lost whatever little semblance of partiality was left.

Here's a quick look at the deal's four architects Kushner, Adelson, Pence and Friedman and their controversial positions on the question of Palestine's future.

Jared Kushner

Born in 1981 in New Jersey, Kushner is the grandson of Joseph Kushner who was a Jewish Holocaust survivor from Novogrudok, Belarus.

He grew up in New Jersey's Orthodox Jewish community and attended Jewish schools that drew parallels between Judaism and Zionism.

Kushner's classmates were expected to draw maps of Israel without consulting any books or notes, just from memory, and they often identified West Bank by its biblical names, Judea and Samaria, an expression Zionist leaders use to lay claim to the Arab lands.

In 2003, Kushner graduated from Harvard University and reports emerged that his father donated $2.5 million to boost his son's chances, a charge his family denies.

He came under the spotlight in 2007, the year when he married Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump. By 2016, Kushner was helping his father-in-law to become the US president, managing his online campaign. Ever since he has played an important role in shaping America's foreign policy, taking a central role in 'resolving' the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Kushner has previously come under criticism over his murkybusiness dealings and links with far-right Christian evangelical groups. In 2017, 10 evangelical leaders issued statements in support of Kushner, describing him and his wife as an example of God to use a young Jewish couple to help Christians.

After Trump unveiled his notorious Palestine deal, Kushner defended it, disregarding underlying political questions of territorial control and Palestinian sovereignty. In a TV interview, he bragged about reading '25 books' on Israel and Palestine, a claim that came across as a desperate attempt to establish some kind of authority over the subject. He was also condescending and racist as per some observers towards Palestinians, as he claimed they are "going to screw up another opportunity, like theyve screwed up every other opportunity that theyve ever had in their existence.

As the US elections draw close, it seems Trump wants to keep enjoying Evangelicals support as he did before, when he received more than 80 percent of his votes from the group following his promise to become Israels best friend during his campaign.

Since the beginning of his presidency, Trump has taken several actions against Palestine. His Israel-centred policies are the combination of Christian supremacy and Evangelism, following his decision to appoint Kushner as the Senior Middle East Advisor tasked with creating a so-called peace plan between Israel and Palestine - a move overwhelmingly supported by the US evangelists.

Sheldon Adelson

Growing up in Boston, Adelson was the son of a cab driver with sixth-grade education. As his wife claims, he was beaten up for being Jewish when he was a child. He is an entrepreneur who started more than 50 businesses and lost his fortune in the late 1960s when he was in his thirties

In the mid-1990s, he became extraordinarily rich when in 1995 he sold the pioneering computer trade show Comdex to the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank for $800 million and started business in gambling by opening his Venetian casino resort in 1999 in Las Vegas.

He saw former president Barack Obama as a threat and spent $150 million in a futile attempt to unseat the socialist and anti-Israel president in the 2012 elections. It was not enough just to back Newt Gingrich.

However, in 2016, the Las Vegas billionaire donated $82m towards both Trumps and other Republican campaigns and his views, including his remarkably staunch support for Netanyahu has become the official US line.

His commitment allowed him to push for the appointment of Bolton as national security adviser which would be an important step towards killing the nuclear deal with Iran. As the New York Times reported, he became a member of shadow National Security Council.

Consequently, following Trumps announcement about the US decision to pull out of the Iran agreement, he was reported to have held a private meeting at the White House with Trump alongside Bolton and Pence.

He was also the man who pushed the US to move its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Adelson was vocally supportive of the move to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, he even offered to pay for a new US embassy there. He cheered on the president as details of the new proposal were read out.

Adelsons considerable support for Republicans is in no small part motivated by what he regards as their more reliable support for the policies of Netanyahu, which appear intent on preventing the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

Mike Pence

The vice president of the US, said: "Israel's enemies are our enemies, Israel's cause is our cause. If this world knows nothing else, let it know this: America stands with Israel".

Pence used to work as a lawyer and became governor of the Hoosier State in 2013. He describes himself as a pretty ordinary Christian, a conservative and a Republican. He also said: "I made a commitment to Christ. I'm a born-again, evangelical Catholic."

He grew up in an Irish Catholic family and he and his family attended Grace Evangelical Church in the 1990s.

Trump chose him as the vice president as he believed that Pence has a strong pro-Israel sentiment which would help him strengthen his relations with Jewish voters.

In 2009, he stated his support for Israel and said: "Let me say emphatically, like the overwhelming majority of my constituents, my Christian faith compels me to cherish the state of Israel."

David M. Friedman

Prior to becoming the US ambassador to Israel, Friedman, 60, was Trumps top bankruptcy lawyer. He's well known for supporting the illegal Israeli settlements on the Palestinian lands, a position that makes him radically tilted in favour of Israel and blemishes his role as an independent arbitor in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Unlike previous American ambassadors, who avoided making public appearances in East Jerusalem, Friedman attended a business conference held at an illegal Jewish settlement in the West Bank, an act that was seen as a major diplomatic transgression by a top American official.

Friedman has even shown his disregard toward the Oslo Accords, an agreement that leaves Jerusalem to be negotiated by Palestinians and Israel, strongly rejecting any unilateral move on the future of the city.

Source: TRT World

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Why the architects of Trump's Palestine deal were inherently biased - TRT World

The following is republished from The Paul R. Williams Project. For an expanded timeline complete with events from material history and society happening concurrent to milestones in the architect's life, refer to the extended version here.

Learn more about the remarkable life of Paul R. Williams on "Hollywood's Architect"

In the course of his five-decade career, Paul Revere Williams, an African American architect born in Los Angeles on February 18, 1894, overcame prejudice and designed thousands of buildings; served on many municipal, state and federal commissions; was active in political and social organizations; and earned the admiration and respect of his peers. In 1957, he was the first African American elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. The path he has forged has served as an inspiration for young architects to this day. Learn more about the man and events that shaped his life in this timeline.

Paul Williams' father, Chester Stanley Williams, works at the original Peabody Hotel at the corner of Main and Monroe as a waiter from 1884 through 1893.

Chester S. Williams, Paul R. Williams' father, opens a confectionery shop with John Brame at 163 Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. A confectionery store sells sweet foods, including candy, cakes, pastries, candy fruits and ice cream.

Today Abe Schwab's, a dry goods store, is located at 163 Beale Street.

That same year Chester Stanley Williams and Lila A. Wright are married on February 25 in Avery Chapel, A.M.E. Church, Memphis.

Paul R. Williams' parents, Chester and Lila, move to Los Angeles with Paul's older brother, Chester Stanley Williams, Jr. His parents open a fruit stand on Olvera Street. (L.A. Times, February 28, 1993) Olvera Street is one of the oldest sections of downtown Los Angeles.

A view down Olvera Street | Security Pacific National Bank Photo Collection, the Los Angeles Public Library

Chester S. Williams is listed in the Los Angeles city directory as a waiter living at 842 Santee Street. Paul R. Williams is born at the Santee Street home on February 18, 1894.

Chester S. Williams, Paul's father, dies in 1896 when Williams is two years old. His mother dies two years later in 1898, leaving Williams and his brother orphans.

The 1898 Los Angeles city directory lists Lila Williams as living at 1405 Silver Street and working as a dressmaker.

When he is six years old, Williams attends Sentous Avenue Grammar School on Pico Boulevard. He writes about this school later in his life and says that he is the only African American student in his class.

In the 1900 U.S. Census, Los Angeles is ranked 36th in the nation based on population. Slightly more than 102,000 residents live in Los Angeles, and of that number, only 3,131 are Negroes.

As a comparison, Neyland Stadium at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, seats 102,000.

The 1910 census data lists Paul R. Williams living with Emily P. Clarkson at 784 E. 15th Street in Los Angeles. Clarkson is later variously described as Williams' foster mother, godmother or guardian.

In a 1970 interview with Maggie Savoy, L.A. Times' Women's Editor, Williams describes Charles Clarkson as his foster father. The First A.M.E. Church dedication stone (Williams is a life-long member of the church) lists "C. I. Clarkson" as a trustee in 1903. This church elder may be the same Clarkson who fosters the orphaned, four-year-old Paul R. Williams.

In 1963, Williams contributes design plans for a new building for the church at 25th and LaSalle.

First A.M.E. Church of Los Angeles | Laurie Avocado / Wikicommons

A young Paul Revere Williams | Security Pacific National Bank Collection, Los Angeles Public Library

In June 1912, Paul R. Williams graduates with a class of 174 students from Polytechnic High School, Los Angeles. Polytechnic High School is described in a June 21 Los Angeles Times (1912) article as "the acme of present-day high school educational results."

For the next four years, he pursues a self-directed education studying architecture and improving his skills. As a member of the Los Angeles Architectural Club, he participates in the training and competitions offered through the Society of Beaux-Arts Architects (1913-1916); he studies architecture at the University of Southern California (1916-1919); he works as an apprentice in the offices of local architects and landscape designers.

By 1913, Paul R. Williams is working in the firm of landscape architect/city planner Wilbur D. Cook, Jr. where he gains experience in integrating house and garden design plans. Cook's ideas influence Williams' designs and are evident in the extensive landscaping for the 1926 Baird/Stewart/Garza House.

Cook is known for his landscaping work in Southern California, including the original gardens at the Beverly Hills Hotel, the City Park in Anaheim now Pearson Park and Irving Gill's Dodge House. Cook recognizes Williams' superior drafting and drawing skills when he assigns him the task of creating the hand-drawn perspective sketches for the park in Anaheim.

Baird/Stewart/Garza House, Glendale, CA. 2010 | David Horan for the Paul R. Williams Project at the Art Museum of the University of Memphis

After working with Cook, Williams writes that he works for Reginald Davis Johnson from 1914 to 1917. (1942 AIA document) Johnson, a Pasadena architect, is noted for designing luxury homes. His revival residential designs with patios, loggias and courtyards aim to create a "true California style" appropriate to the climate and way of life. (California Southland, Sept. 26, 1926) Williams' work is influenced by these ideas.

In an interview, Williams remembers his early career with Johnson. "The first thing he did was put me on a $100,000 home in Santa Barbara. I'd never been in a house that cost more than $10,000. I couldn't guess how a person could spend that much money. I soon found out." (Los Angeles Times, October 11, 1970)

Williams is certified as a building contractor in 1915 and can build small projects. The California State Board of Architectural Examiners is the agency that maintains these records today, but the agency existed under a different name and mission in 1915. (Wesley Howard Henderson's unpublished research)

William studies architectural engineering at the University of Southern California from 1916 through 1919.

Designs Commercial Building

In the March 30 issue of Los Angeles Builder and Contractor (later known as Southwest Builder and Contractor), Williams is listed as the designer for a two-story commercial building on South Los Angeles Street. Louis M. Blodgett, a successful African American millionaire, is the builder. Paul Williams later builds both of Blodgett's homes in 1922 and 1953.

Registers for the Draft

On June 5, 1917, Williams registers for the U.S. military draft. He self-reports that he is an architectural draftsman working for Reginald Johnson.

Marries and Begins Work for Arthur Kelly

Williams marries Della Mae Givens on June 27, 1917. Della supports his career by "providing him with a comfortable setting in which he could visualize, create and turn his ideas into structures." (Los Angeles Sentinel, August 8, 1996) The Williams become a "power" couple on the social and philanthropic scene of Los Angeles.

He begins working with Arthur Kelly, whose design practice specializes in hotels, residences and public buildings. Williams works for Kelly from 1917 to 1921. (AIA papers) An example of Kelly's work is the dormitory at Westlake School for Girls in Los Angeles. Playboy Mansion West, Hugh Hefner's Los Angeles residence, is another of Kelly's designs.

Enters 2nd White Pine Architectural Competition

Williams submits an entry to a national competition sponsored by the influential White Pine Monograph Series to design a house for $12,500. He doesn't win a prize, but his entry is published in an issue of The Independent, one of the first national publications to reproduce his work. Williams' design entry is described in the article as an "unsymmetrical plan ... with picturesque exterior ... Practicability has not been sacrificed to make the design interesting."

White Pine Architectural Competition

Williams wins a Mention in 1918 for his design for a Lakeside Home in a national competition sponsored by the White Pine Series of Architectural Monographs. In 1919, he enters the same competition with plans for a Community Centre Building. This design receives Special Mention by the panel of judges. "... it is an expression of a Community Center Group, has the charm of a New England town, and the Community Building is unmistakably a wooden structure."

Renderings for both winning entries are published in the Monograph Series and can be seen in the Gallery.

Paul R. Williams' simple, compact and "well thought out" entry for the Hollow Tile House Competition is awarded first place by a panel of important regional architects, including John C. Austin. The judges write that Williams' superior renderings, tasteful exterior treatment and lack of "useless ornaments" contribute to the ease and economy of construction. His landscape design fits with Southern California conditions and extends the usable living space.

At 25 years of age, Williams lives at 784 E. 15th in Los Angeles with wife Della and Emily P. Clarkson, who is listed as his godmother in the 1920 U.S. census. Williams describes his occupation as "draftsman at an architect's office." He soon moves to 1271 West 35th Street a modest home in the black community of South Central Los Angeles where he lives for 30 years.

In 1920, he is appointed to the L.A. City Planning Commission by the 23rd Mayor of Los Angeles (Meredith P. Snyder) and serves on the commission until 1928. The city is changing dramatically with the railroads connecting Los Angeles to the rest of the nation. Land is cheap and abundant. Unlike cities in the East that accommodate growth with taller buildings, Los Angeles can spread out. The L.A. leaders want to plan for the city's future growth with a planning commission.

In January 1921, the Southern Chapter of AIA names the periodical Southwest Builder & Contractor as the official publication for public announcements. The June 1921 issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor lists Paul R. Williams's official certification to practice architecture in California. Williams later becomes a registered architect in the District of Columbia, New York and Tennessee. (AIA Directory 1960)

Also in 1921, Williams begins work in John C. Austin's architectural firm where he works until 1924. Austin's firm is known for large public and commercial projects. The Shrine Civic Auditorium and Hollywood Masonic Temple (1922 Timeline Architecture) are projects in Austin's firm during the years of Williams' employment. Williams describes his position in Austin's office as draftsman.

Shrine Civic Auditorium exterior. 1939 | Works Progress Administration Collection, Los Angeles Public Library

Early commissions for wealthy clients

Flintridge, named for and developed by Senator Frank Putnam Flint, is a wealthy, segregated suburb near Pasadena. Williams designs scores of homes in this upscale community, including this house for Katherine Flint, the Senator's widow. (It is a smaller version of the couple's original residence.) In later interviews, Williams remembers his professional relationship with the Senator, I got my start doing better homes ... from him." (Los Angeles Times. October 11, 1970) Eventually, he designs at least ten spec homes in the Flintridge area, and "the development has one of the greatest concentrations of Paul Williams' houses" in the region. (Personal communications, Tim Gregory, noted regional architectural historian, 2013)

The Louis Cass residence in Flintridge is typically described as Williams' first significant residential project for a wealthy white client. His biographies link the two men as high school classmates, but current research does not support this. Williams attended Polytechnic High School and graduated in 1912. Cass was an athletic star at Los Angeles High School, according to local newspaper accounts. After two years at Stanford University, he was named captain of the football team. (Los Angeles Times, November 27, 1911, and August 8, 1913) Cass becomes a successful insurance executive and is one of the founders of the Automobile Club of Southern California. In 1954, Williams designs a ranch house for Cass and his wife Virginia in Temecula, California.

Despite warnings that the African American community is not large or wealthy enough to support an architect, Williams finds work in this growing segment of society. After acquiring his architectural license, he begins to make important connections, including African American businessman Louis M. Blodgett. Blodgett, a Los Angeles entrepreneur with interests in construction, real estate, insurance and the funeral industry, hires the young architect to design a home in 1922 (and later in 1953). In 1924 Williams designs the Second Baptist Church one of the first major construction projects in the Central Ave area of Los Angeles.

Wins Special Mention in Small House Competition

In 1923, the Community Arts Association of Santa Barbara sponsors one of the earliest small house competitions in the United States. The cost to build the house could not exceed $5,000. Williams receives a "Special Mention" for his meritorious design. The judges note his creative placement of a fireplace on the outside terrace. Eight years later, Williams' entry is published in a catalog available nationwide of small house plans.

Williams joins AIA and opens an office

In 1923, Williams is notified by the Executive Secretary of American Institute of Architects (AIA), the national organization, of his election to membership. The Southern California Chapter of AIA elects Williams as an Associate member on September 30, 1922 a prerequisite for National AIA membership. He is the first known African American member in AIA.

In the 1962 AIA Directory, Williams writes that he opens Paul R. Williams & Associates in the Stock Exchange Building in downtown Los Angeles. He continues working for John C. Austin until he establishes his own client base.

Monrovia, California Administrative Group

Williams' and Milton W. Nigg's proposal for a group of administrative buildings is selected by the Monrovia Trustees from a number of competing proposals. Their winning rendering illustrates a complex of mission-style buildings with red tile roofs and stucco walls set in a park of mature oak trees covering a half block. (This particular architectural style is a popular choice for public buildings and private residences in Southern California throughout the 1920s.) The Monrovia Administrative Group is one of Williams' earliest successes for a large scale public complex.

The initial phase of the Administrative Group (Fire Department and Hall of Justice/Police Department/Jail buildings) is completed in February 1925. The swimming pool, bathhouse, tennis courts and athletic fields open later in the same year.

Second Baptist Church, Los Angeles

The Second Baptist Church, the first African American Baptist church in Los Angeles, opens its new facility in L.A.'s Central Avenue area. The building is designed by Williams and Norman F. Marsh, the official architect of the Southern Baptist Convention. The church pastor insists that all workmen constructing the church are from African American-owned businesses.

Second Baptist Church, Los Angeles, CA. 2010 | David Horan for the Paul R. Williams Project at the Art Museum of the University of Memphis

Designs for a Small Brick House Published

In 1925, the American Face Brick Association publishes the sixth edition of their The Home of Beauty: Designs for a Small Brick House. The book is a collection of "well rendered" and "meritorious" small house designs the professional group hopes will inspire and educate consumers and contractors to improve the quality of new American single-family homes. They also hope the competition and their publication will encourage a growing middle-class consumer to consider brick when building a residence.

A panel of well-known architects selects the best design ideas from a field of 400 entries submitted for competition by architects and architectural draftsmen from across the country. (The competition is coordinated by the professional journal Architectural Forum, formerly The Brickbuilder and the Committee on Competitions of the American Institute of Architects.) Though Williams' entry for a "simple cottage" is not selected as one of the finalists, his rendering for House, No. 150 is deemed worthy of inclusion in the 1925 publication. The editor's description of the Williams design recommends clients and builders chose a northeast-facing site "thereby providing morning sun in the dining room and a pleasant exposure for the living room and garden."

A note in the book's introduction states that working drawings/specifications and a list of materials are available to anyone for a $25 fee with proof that a "competent builder or contractor" had been secured.

Designs a Public School

It is announced in the Los Angeles Times that Williams is preparing plans for a two-story brick grammar school. This school at 1314 South Dacotah Street opens in 1926.

28th Street YMCA is completed

Williams' design for the 28th Street YMCA in the Central Avenue area of Los Angeles includes Spanish Colonial red clay roof tiles, a row of arched windows on the second-floor and smooth stucco finish. Bas-relief panels with busts of African American heroes, including Booker T. Washington and Frederick Douglass provide decorative detail in terra cotta with vines and scrolls. In 2011, it was decided by the Coalition for Responsible Community Development and Clifford Beers Housing that the building would receive a badly-needed renovation from Koning Eizenberg Architecture. The building rechristened as the 28th Street Apartments now has 49 affordable housing units and a 5-story addition behind the original structure. Williams design was preserved as much as possible, but a few elements were added to honor it, such as a figure of Williams himself on the first floor, a nod to the buildings original bas-reliefs of notable African Americans on the fourth-floor windows. The renovation has earned several awards for its environmentally-friendly design and commitment to preserving the original structure.

The 28th Street Apartments | Courtesy of Eric Staudenmaier/Koning Eizenberg Architecture

Home designs in L.A. duplicated elsewhere

In an article in the Los Angeles Times (July 24, 1927), Williams describes instances where visitors to the city see his home designs and want to build a duplicate home. "The Spanish homes built here are usually a wonderful improvement on their prototypes in Europe, a thing that is generally admitted by visitors here from Spain."

Williams is known throughout his professional career as one of the best California practitioners of revival-styling. His residential architecture in the Spanish Colonial style, as reflected in the Baird/Stewart/Garza house, is highly prized by upscale modern homebuyers in Los Angeles.

Continues to receive commissions for Flintridge estates

John Bishop Green hires Williams to design a large weekend home, including the latest "modern" conveniences electric refrigeration and automatic water heaters.

Los Angeles Times (June 5, 1927) describes this new residence in Flintridge as a project by "Paul Williams, one of Southern California's best-known architects."

Hollywood YMCA

Williams' firm is hired in 1927 to expand and improve the Hollywood YMCA. Williams' building opens in 1928. Similar to the 28th Street YMCA, this building is considered a Spanish Colonial Revival with ceramic and terra-cotta interior decorative details. Unlike 28th Street Y, there is only one main entrance. Williams reconsiders the users circulation within the building allowing the managers more flexibility and encouraging members to participate in different activities.

YMCA Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA. 2010 | David Horan for the Paul R. Williams Project at the Art Museum of the University of Memphis

Williams continues to design homes for wealthy during the Great Depression

Katherine Peachy hires Williams to design her house in Hancock Park a development for wealthy Angelenos. Some of Williams' original design details could not be executed until 1933. Many building projects are down-sized because of the Great Depression.

Atkin Residence

Jack P. Atkin moves into his luxurious 12,000 square-foot home, designed by Williams, in 1929 on the eve of the Great Depression. Atkin asks the architect to design a castle on a hill that would bring back "memories of his childhood in England." The 16-room Tudor Revival-style residence in Pasadena is built of brick with a slate roof. Williams utilizes expensive materials including oak, marble, custom-designed stained and leaded glass, and "In-Vis-O" Roller Screens for windows all at Atkin's request.

Atkin rents the property to movie studios and the house is the setting for the movies Topper (1937) and The Bells of St. Mary's (1937). The famous residence is destroyed in a 2005 fire.

Atkin Residence | Still from "Hollywood's Architect"

Williams designs for Hollywood elite

Hollywood is "depression proof." During the Great Depression, the public goes to the movies to forget their problems and enjoy the luxury of air conditioning. The famous Hollywood sign is erected in 1924 to promote a neighborhood development Hollywood Land. The sign becomes a symbol of glamorous Hollywood.

The Depression slows work for many architects, but Williams' office remains busy. By 1934, Williams completes over 36 residential estates. Many of his clients are important in the movie industry directors, movie stars, producers, set designers, even make-up artists including Otto Preminger, Corrine Griffith, Burt Wheeler, Lon Chaney, Bill (Bojangles) Robinson, Charles Correll and Jacob Paley.

Paley Residence exterior with curving driveway. c. 1938 | Courtesy of California State Library, Mott-Merge Collection

In addition to his work on residential estates, Williams designs many of his most memorable commercial projects in this decade: Angelus Funeral Home, Music Corporation of America (MCA) headquarters, Saks Fifth Avenue and Sunset Plaza Apartments. He also begins a life-long relationship with Howard University.

Saks Fifth Avenue on Wilshire Blvd. c. 1938 | Courtesy of California State Library, Mott-Merge Collection

Thoughts on the Role of Interior Decorators

In an interview in 1970 with the Los Angeles Times' Maggy Savoy, Williams discusses his philosophy of design: "...know when to quit ... People don't always know what they want. It is the architect's job to help them find it, and keep within the bounds of grace."

When starting a project, Williams prefers to employ the ideas of an interior designer early in the process. In his career, Williams works with many important designers and design companies: Harriet Shellenberger, Bullocks of Los Angeles, Frank Baden of Webber Spaulding, Dorothy Draper, Edward F. White, Paul Laszlo & John Luccareni.

Small House Plan Service publishes winning design

In 1923, Paul R. Williams wins honorable mention for his design of a small house entered in a competition sponsored by the Community Arts Association of Santa Barbara. The Community Arts Association is a pioneer in the movement to develop "better standards of small house architecture." Eight years later, his winning entry is included in a catalog of designs published by Theodore A. Koetzil, director of the Small House Plan Service. Koetzil selects the Williams' design for publication in his catalog because "on studying the design today it is found still to hold its position in the first rank...the design is unquestionably good architecture of today." (Los Angeles Times, December 6, 1931)

Williams is active in the community

In 1933, Williams is appointed to the first Los Angeles Housing Commission by Los Angeles Mayor Shaw. He serves on this municipal commission until 1941.

Throughout his life, Williams continues to be active in the community. In 1942, for example, he is named to Citizens' School Committee, a group that "has no other purpose than to bring about the election to the Board of Education the best possible timber." (Los Angeles Times, April 19, 1942) Later in 1942, Williams, along with 43 leading architects, opens an advice service at Mary Louise Schmidt's Architects Building-Materials Exhibit to foster a closer relationship between architects, owners and manufacturers. (Los Angeles Times, November 6, 1942)

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Visual Timeline: The Remarkable Life of Paul Revere Williams - KCET