Archinect - News

New map highlights architectural contributions of LA’s Black community

2022-02-03T17:34:00-05:00

The “Black History Is LA History” map includes the Calvary Baptist Church of Pacoima, which was founded in 1955 by civil rights activists Rev. Hillery T. and Rosa L. Broadus, who moved from Arkansas to the San Fernando Valley. The two were involved in the local fair housing movement and helped organize the NAACP’s San Fernando Valley chapter.

The map, launched by Los Angeles Controller Ron Galperin, highlights key infrastructure like the Paul Revere Williams-designed Theme Building at LAX as well as cultural landmarks like Watts Towers Arts Center and the restored Crenshaw Wall.

The focus on sites that are publicly-owned and designated by Los Angeles as Historic-Cultural Monuments means that the list is not entirely exhaustive, according to the Controller’s office. Notably missing are some key flashpoints in the racist history of development schemes within the city such as the disputed Bruce’s Beach in Manhattan Beach. Other absences include almost all of the myriad Williams buildings that have managed to avoid demolition, Norma Merrick Sklarek’s contribution to the beautiful blue Pacific Design Center building in West Hollywood, and several contemporary designs like BASE Architecture’s new Dollarhide Community Center in Crenshaw.

GSAPP establishes $1 million Norma Merrick Sklarek Scholars Fund to support DEI in graduate study

2020-10-29T12:54:00-04:00

Dean Amale Andraos announced this month that GSAPP will commit $1 million to establish the Norma Merrick Sklarek '50 B.Arch Scholars Fund, intended to promote diversity, inclusion, and equity towards access for graduate study.

Sklarek was the first Black woman to become a registered architect in the State of New York. After graduating from Columbia University, she worked at the Department of Works for New York City and later accepted a position at SOM before moving to Los Angeles for a position at Gruen Associates.

While at Gruen, Sklarek was named the firm's Director in 1966 before transitioning to work at Welton Becket's firm as the organization's Vice President. Moreover, Sklarek became the first Black woman to receive a fellowship by the AIA in 1980 after which she founded Siegel, Sklarek, Diamond with Margot Siegal and Katherine Diamond.

According to Columbia University, "the Norma Merrick Sklarek ’50 B.Arch Scholars Fund will be used over the next three academic years to suppo...

First phase of Gensler's California Market Center overhaul in Los Angeles is complete

2020-03-17T12:36:00-04:00

A massive $170 million plan to overhaul the Gruen Associates-designed California Market Center (CMC) in Los Angeles has taken a step forward as developers Brookfield Properties have announced completion of the first phase of the project.

Views of the overall complex, which was originally designed by Norma Merrick Sklarek while she worked at Victor Gruen's office in the 1960s, (top) and of the renovated sky bridges linking the complex (bottom). Image courtesy of Brookfield Partners / Gensler.

In press release announcing the update to the 1.85 million-square-foot project, the developers write that a top-to-bottom overhaul of a 600,000-square-foot, 13-story building contained within the complex has been completed. The overhaul, which is designed by Gensler, will reposition the four-building, block-sized complex into a social and business node for fashion and technology companies. The complex was originally designed in the 1960s as a hub for clothing manufacturer based in Downtown Los A...

Norma Merrick Sklarek awarded posthumous 2019 AIA|LA Gold Medal

2019-07-18T18:57:00-04:00

Norma Merrick Sklarek, a pioneering 20th century architect, has been posthumously awarded the 2019 AIA|LA Gold Medal by the American Institute of Architects, Los Angeles chapter.

Born in 1926 in Harlem, New York City, Sklarek learned carpentry skills from her father during the Great Depression, and eventually studied at Barnard College and the Columbia University School of Architecture. She graduated with an architecture degree in 1950 and would go on to lead design teams for some of Los Angeles’s most impactful practices, where she worked on many of the most significant and innovative design projects of the time.

Sklarek led the design of the Pacific Design Center's Blue Whale building while at Gruen Associates. Image courtesy of Wikimedia user Gary Minnaert.

According to a press release announcing the award, Sklarek worked as the director of architecture at Gruen Associates, where she led the design of some of L.A.’s most iconic late-20th century buildings, including the Californ...