well, if you're interested in wHY, then I would probably include Paul Tang Architecture as well. The principals at those two firms used to be Hakimori/Tang, and they split up a few years ago, so there's a lot of common ground between their work.

Wow that's a great list. But I take it your not interested in larger firms that might actually be hiring? Like Johnson Fain or DMJM?

gnuform is no longer in existence. Jason Payne now runs Hirsuta, and Heather has her own office. David left servo and now has DavidClovers with Clover Lee.

also, George Yu passed away last year. I'm not sure if his office still works under that name, changed the name, or even is still an office

Behnisch has an LA office.

GLFORM

From your initial list, I think these might interest you:

Angélil/Graham/Pfenninger/Scholl Architecture
Tolkin Associates
anyone from the Hedge Design Collective
Techentin Buckingham

and Chu + Gooding

mry

agps does some nice work, though i feel like it's only the zuerich office (marc's)

Sweet....lots of good responses so far.

About the passing of George Yu...I remember hearing and reading about it, but I guess I never put a name to the face and the work. That's terrible, He seems to have had a lot of talent.

Also, thanks for the info on Gnuform and Servo...its hard to keep tabs on who is still around sometimes.

I'm alright with larger firms (i've only worked for one office, which had between 3 and 6 people at any time), so it's a little intimidating, especially since most of my friends at larger places (>50) are very pigeonholed, and I tend to get bored quickly. I do need to try a different sized office soon, though.

I forgot about Behnisch, I've always loved their work. Thanks for the reminder!

Behnisch's office is like two blocks form the beach in Venice, too.

Alice Kimm and her hubby's firm.

I'm liking what I see from Techentin Buckingham, thanks for the link.


I know Archinect isn't a place to brag about or bemoan past experiences, but does anyone have "friends" who have had great or terrible experiences at any of these places?

It's a little weird not having any connections at all, and no first hand knowledge of personalities, work conditions, etc. Other than Hernan and Thom Mayne, I've never met any of these people or heard them speak.
Thoughts?

Mister TT,
Also Steven Ehrlich's firm and MRT (Moore, Yudell...). Both solid, high profile and mature firms.

Richard Meier has an LA office as does Vinoly...maybe not your taste given who you've listed, but solid nonetheless. I'm in the process of doing the same thing you are and am looking at a lot of the same places. However, I'm tending to shy away from the ueber-boutique firms figuring I'd need an inside connection (plus I need a salary and health insurance), and throwing in your Gensler's and RTKL's, etc.

i know that make is hiring

you should really decide what part of LA you want to live in and think about firms in the area...living in Pasadena and working in Culver City is only fun for so long.

Why not do the opposite and choose where you live according to where you can get a job? It seems that the majority of firms are either downtown, Culver City, or Santa Monica. Is that right?

gehry just laid off 25 or more peeps, so wouldn't suggest applying there. i'd suggest applying to a firm that's working in asia or the middle east. that's where all the money is. i would not want to be graduating this year.

I'm thinking that guppy is on the right track...nearly all of the decent firms are between downtown and the beach, just north or just south, so its kind of a given that i'll need to live in there somewhere. The other factor is that my girlfriend is going to be working for a corporate firm downtown, so we need to look in a 35-minute radius from there, and hope that I can find a job with a more or less equal commute.


I can't imagine living in Pasadena and working in Culver City would be fun for more than one day!

... "I know Archinect isn't a place to brag about or bemoan past experiences"

Just how long have you been reading Archinect?

misterTT

I would look in the Hyperion Corridor in Silverlake....MAKE, Maltzan, Lehrer, Barbra Bestor, Unruh Boyer (my office) amoung others. It is 20min from Downtown...you and your GF could live in Echo Park, Sliverlake, etc...

Thanks Mdler....it seems like the Echo Park/Silver Lake area is a good bet, and one of the few areas I might be able to afford that could be enjoyable on a daily basis. Stupid socal rental market.
At least in NYC you know that even if you are paying $2000+ for a studio, that you couldn't hope to have a mortgage for the same price. it takes the sting off of it just a tad to know that you have no other option. In LA, it seems *almost* feasible to have a $2000 mortgage on a piece of crap fixer upper. If only I had a down payment . . .

msiterTT

there are deals in LA now...people are losing thier shit

Yeah, a couple of friends of mine just bought a place for $250,000 in Echo Park. That's basically what the land cost, and the house had a demo permit on it....Haven't seen it yet, but they're living there and it hasn't fallen down yet.

SPF also just laid people off... I would guess most of the smaller firms on the eastside are not hiring - jittery about the market now.
I think Maltzan is hiring. I worked for Warren Techentin first job out of school and he's a great guy and designer as well.

guppy

I know of a place in Echo Park for $150,000

Mdler
How many steps up from camping does that get you?

If I had to camp in any major city, it seems like LA would be a pretty good candidate. Maybe i'll just set up a tent on the beach like the people in Rio...

misterTT

I dont think that you are the 1st person to have that idea...its called Venice Beach

why did gehry lay off 25 people? not enough new jobs coming in? or were they subpar employees, to be replaced by new meat?

Do people actually get away with camping out on the beach there? I know the homeless population is really high, but figured that the LAPD would keep the beaches clear of 'undesirables'

My friend is a consultant working with Gehry's office and he heard that they are moving and looking to add staff. But this is 3rd hand info...

servo is still alive and well.

Gehry's office had some big projects that are on hold etc because of the economy - overstaffed & decided to cut for business reasons, shoring up just in case.

also Denari was looking for someone with rendering skills to help on a temporary assignment (But that may have been filled). WHY has been looking for a technical person, someone with at least a few years experience detailing. Anecdotally it seems like firms are still hiring good people with experience, might be tougher for new grads, but there's usually work at more corporate firms which might be a safe way to go right now. No fun going to work for design firms only to be laid off 9 months later (happened to me twice in a row back in the 'recession' of 2001).

What a fun discussion. Is it weird that talking about other firms just makes me want my own more?

MASS Architecture & Design is in Silverlake too. I visited, it looks like they do some good stuff.

http://www.mass-arch.com/

Alright i'm getting some really good information from this thread, so lets milk it for all it's worth!

next request, TACO TRUCKS

where are your favorite taco trucks? I've got a Jones for Carnitas Tacos and a Horchata; where's a guy gotta go to get his fix?

I will also accept answers in the form of "best cheap Mexican hole in the wall" restaurants. Again, excellent Carnitas and Horchata are a must. Bonus points for good Chile Colorado.

I get the feeling I'm going to like it out there

it depends on which neighborhood. they're everywhere. i can never remember the exact names/locations as a friend or my hubs navigates (i have the worst sense of direction).

this blog is pretty comprehensive:
http://tacohunt.blogspot.com/

dapotato:
you've just made my month. Seriously. I've been through a lot of crap so far in April and you just TOTALLY redeemed it. You are the man. I will sing the praises of dapotato to my children and my children's children, so that your name will forever live on as the taco redeemer.

ah, i finally found one of my favorites for al pastor that is carnita-like (as i usually prefer carne asada and al pastor to carnitas).

http://tacohunt.blogspot.com/2006/03/la-estrella.html

yeah, i'm no good for LA firms since everyone above has covered it all, but i'm the [wo]man for tacos for now, i guess.

FOG-A has been a revolving door for a long time. I was part of a 10 person firing in '94 only to hear that they turned around and hired new folks the next day (and it wasn't cause bilboa was finished).

the other cluster or architectural talent is in '*gasp*, irvine!

misterTT

what kind of work do you like doing????

mdler:
interesting and varied: that's pretty much my only requirement. I don't know if i'm yet willing or or experienced enough to work at a large, institutional scale, and I would prefer to get more experience with new construction. I have *slight* moral issues with doing super-expensive single family homes for the wealthy, but I also realize that's pretty much the only way to make a name for yourself in soCal.

I've got a modernist/hyper-sustainable streak that's constantly at battle with an emergent/digital/super fashionable side, and who knows which one will win. I'm hoping that the two will some day mix harmoniously.

My personal architecture hero is Francois Roche, if that clarifies things.

what about you? it's kind of an interesting question that doesn't seem to get asked enough.

im a classically trained modernist...

you should look at MAKE

god knows we need the help right now

randar82:

who is we?

we = the guys over at MAKE

randar82

tell bill I say hi