I'm thinking of moving to St. Louis but do not know much about the work scene there. I know there's HOK (large) and Studio Durham (small) and a bunch of mediocre firms in the middle. But is there anyone doing smart, edgy work around there? Or is STL the desert I think it is.
well, if you think it's such a desert, why are you thinking of moving here?
some other firms you may want to look at are Cannon Design, Mackey Mitchell, Lawrence Group. It's a bit hit or miss, but all three have managed to do some good work that (at times) can be smart and "edgy" -- though opinions on the latter vary.
There's also a cast of characters teaching at WashU who are also doing some interesting things practice-wise, including: Adrian Luchini, Gia Daskalakis, Sung-Ho Kim, and others. Jobs from these are a bit hard to come by though.
there is also UIC -- uiconglomerate.com -- who are friends of mine doing some great developer-design-build stuff.
but again, you seem to have such a low and negative (defeatist) initial opinion, I'm not sure you'd be happy here.
I would agree wholeheartedly with db's evaluation of the design scene in STL.
I'd also add that you should check out Trivers, a midsized local firm headed by a Wash U alum, as well as HKW Architects. While they may not be groundbreaking, I have heard that Mackey Mitchell and Lawrence Group are great places to work.
For a mid-major city, St. Louis is an exciting place to be. There is a ton of work going on to revitalize the city. There are also tons of cool neighborhoods and places to live. And rent/cost of living is ridiculously cheap.
I would look into a design firm called Axi:Ome LLC headed up by Sung Ho Kim. They had an exhibit where I went to grad school and were showing some really interesting and innovative projects and ideas.
He is a former director of the Rural Studio at Auburn. He should be great for the school and seems to have some great ideas for where the school should go.
Thanks for the scoop everyone. I appologize for the elitist overtone in my post. I guess my last comment did come off pretty snobish. Sorry about that. I appreciate you all giving me the benifit of the doubt.
I love STL as a city ...I have spent lots of time there over the years. Hence the reason I am perplexed about the current Architecture scene there. So far my meager attempt to listen in hasn't produced much to review. So, thanks for the leads.
If you are still hanging with this thread, would anyone care to expand a little? Are there any little known works I should visit while i'm there?
Cut to the chase... what would be the top five works in STL (done by STL Architects) that you wish everyone knew about but have little recognition outside STL?
The Zinc Building by a young Gyo Obata -- and which is now part of the Drury Hotel at Broadway and Market. I inexplicably love this building.
Lots of Harris Armstrong stuff -- the most accessible of which is the Ethical Society in Ladue. Check out Andy Raimist's blog for more info. The UHaul building at I-44 and Kingshighway is his as well (though altered quite a bit since then) complete with a sculpted ceiling by Noguchi.
Adrian Luchini's parking garage in Grand Center or his Metro Center in Clayton are worth a look as regards his current work. Some older stuff of his is here too and worth seeking out.
This is a strange thing, but I find it SO facinating, there's a little utility screen that was built for no reason other than to hide some ac units just west of Jefferson on Olive that I love. Very nice serpentine walls in a really unexpected context. I really can't explain it more than that.
And though I am biased having worked there, the new Research Builing at SLU by Cannon Design is pretty nice. And given there was a feature in AR this month on that building type, I'm disappointed it wasn't included -- as I think it better than some of those in there.
Thanks db! That's what I'm talking about. You have single-handedly added about 10 sites to my favorites list. I'll try to check this stuff out next time i'm in town.
I've seen the mid-century stuff by Armstrong on the web before...love it. I wonder if there is still a market for modernist houses like Armstrong's in STL? I would almost do that for free.
What's it like to work at Cannon? Yazdani's studio is hiring...too bad they're in LA.
oh...and here's a cool one you may or may not know about...the old barn at Foust Park in Chesterfield. I have no idea who designed/built it. We found it on a hike and it just happened to be open. It is a wood lamella structure, very cool. I love finding little gems like that under the radar.
St. Louis Design Firms
I'm thinking of moving to St. Louis but do not know much about the work scene there. I know there's HOK (large) and Studio Durham (small) and a bunch of mediocre firms in the middle. But is there anyone doing smart, edgy work around there? Or is STL the desert I think it is.
well, if you think it's such a desert, why are you thinking of moving here?
some other firms you may want to look at are Cannon Design, Mackey Mitchell, Lawrence Group. It's a bit hit or miss, but all three have managed to do some good work that (at times) can be smart and "edgy" -- though opinions on the latter vary.
There's also a cast of characters teaching at WashU who are also doing some interesting things practice-wise, including: Adrian Luchini, Gia Daskalakis, Sung-Ho Kim, and others. Jobs from these are a bit hard to come by though.
there is also UIC -- uiconglomerate.com -- who are friends of mine doing some great developer-design-build stuff.
but again, you seem to have such a low and negative (defeatist) initial opinion, I'm not sure you'd be happy here.
...and welcome to STL, 3Rs!
I would agree wholeheartedly with db's evaluation of the design scene in STL.
I'd also add that you should check out Trivers, a midsized local firm headed by a Wash U alum, as well as HKW Architects. While they may not be groundbreaking, I have heard that Mackey Mitchell and Lawrence Group are great places to work.
For a mid-major city, St. Louis is an exciting place to be. There is a ton of work going on to revitalize the city. There are also tons of cool neighborhoods and places to live. And rent/cost of living is ridiculously cheap.
I would look into a design firm called Axi:Ome LLC headed up by Sung Ho Kim. They had an exhibit where I went to grad school and were showing some really interesting and innovative projects and ideas.
Yeah i am a STL booster. Love it..
Have thought about going back to school as SLU or Wash U...
Didn't one of them get a new dean at the design school recently? Asian perhaps?
Wash U just got a new dean, Bruce Lindsay.
http://www.arch.wustl.edu/index.lasso?pgID=241
He is a former director of the Rural Studio at Auburn. He should be great for the school and seems to have some great ideas for where the school should go.
Thanks for the scoop everyone. I appologize for the elitist overtone in my post. I guess my last comment did come off pretty snobish. Sorry about that. I appreciate you all giving me the benifit of the doubt.
I love STL as a city ...I have spent lots of time there over the years. Hence the reason I am perplexed about the current Architecture scene there. So far my meager attempt to listen in hasn't produced much to review. So, thanks for the leads.
If you are still hanging with this thread, would anyone care to expand a little? Are there any little known works I should visit while i'm there?
Cut to the chase... what would be the top five works in STL (done by STL Architects) that you wish everyone knew about but have little recognition outside STL?
Thanks again!
3Rs
The Zinc Building by a young Gyo Obata -- and which is now part of the Drury Hotel at Broadway and Market. I inexplicably love this building.
Lots of Harris Armstrong stuff -- the most accessible of which is the Ethical Society in Ladue. Check out Andy Raimist's blog for more info. The UHaul building at I-44 and Kingshighway is his as well (though altered quite a bit since then) complete with a sculpted ceiling by Noguchi.
Adrian Luchini's parking garage in Grand Center or his Metro Center in Clayton are worth a look as regards his current work. Some older stuff of his is here too and worth seeking out.
This is a strange thing, but I find it SO facinating, there's a little utility screen that was built for no reason other than to hide some ac units just west of Jefferson on Olive that I love. Very nice serpentine walls in a really unexpected context. I really can't explain it more than that.
And though I am biased having worked there, the new Research Builing at SLU by Cannon Design is pretty nice. And given there was a feature in AR this month on that building type, I'm disappointed it wasn't included -- as I think it better than some of those in there.
Thanks db! That's what I'm talking about. You have single-handedly added about 10 sites to my favorites list. I'll try to check this stuff out next time i'm in town.
found the American Zinc Building here...
http://stlcin.missouri.org/history/structdetail.cfm?Master_ID=1607
very nice...
I've seen the mid-century stuff by Armstrong on the web before...love it. I wonder if there is still a market for modernist houses like Armstrong's in STL? I would almost do that for free.
What's it like to work at Cannon? Yazdani's studio is hiring...too bad they're in LA.
oh...and here's a cool one you may or may not know about...the old barn at Foust Park in Chesterfield. I have no idea who designed/built it. We found it on a hike and it just happened to be open. It is a wood lamella structure, very cool. I love finding little gems like that under the radar.
3Rs -- I believe CannonSTL is hiring. I think they even posted on the job board here recently.
And while George Nikolajevich and Merdad Yazdani are quite different, both have succeeded at pushing high design within a corporate environment.
I (mostly) enjoyed working there and would return if I ever decided to go back to that scale of practice. I'd recommend it.
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