David C. gets a new friend! Effective February 1, Feiner—well-known among his AIA colleagues for his exuberant defense of design excellence, as well as his signature Western boots—will take on a new position in the private sector as director of office operations for the Washington, D.C., office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. AIA architect reports
7 Comments
this will force som to....
a] start designing 'excellence' a word that long gone from the firm's partnership today
or
b] have a consistant attitude to sustainbility, not just treat it as a fashion or market sector when they can get it. SOM no longer has a building service partner and has no plans to replace him. only keeps a few m+e engineers around to finish the current service workload.
Lets all crap on SOM.
Everybody now: "I HATE SOM!"
Feel better?
Now fuck off.
testy. arent we?
why not just say something good about the firm than piss all?
The SOM's KPF's etc. are the offices that are ACTUALLY MAKING THE LARGE BUILDINGS THAT PEOPLE SEE AND USE EVERYDAY. The good ones anyway. HEre in the US and abroad. You want "eveyday" architecture? That's it.
Problems? Sure! Every goddamn office has its problems. But it seems that somehow these firms have become "the enemy" for people who either couldn't cut it there, or who don't have a clue what goes on there.
hey, i worked there for decades, in multiple offices and countries and have the most respect for the people and the projects they do. i know i consider the +/- 15-20mil sf i had built while i was there better than average.
i think the partnership today [if you want to call it that considering about half are non-equity] very much a lack of leadership and a group that does not have clear focus and wants 'safe' architecture, still following 'who ever come through the door'. its not their history and brilliance they wish to carry on, only their true greed which drives the firm. the people who work there asses off in that place, deserve much better. walking away from engineering is beyond me when they had the opportunity [not saying the had the right guys as chief] to be leaders in the field.
Point taken.
Thanks for the insight into the firm. Didnt know that there were non-equity partners (WTF??).
I just get a little bitter when folks who have no first hand knowledge of the goings on in places like this start refering to the firm as "the man", "the enemy", the "status quo"... pretty much a ignorant position considering the amount of hard work and good ideas floating around in a place like this.
Thats not to say that most of the good ideas don't get VE'ed or that most of the hard work goes unrewarded... but there are small victories now and again =).
I cut my teeth with the SOM Chicago office back in the 1980's and it was the best continuance of my formal education I could have ever experienced....the best projects, the best clients, the best budgets and the best architecture being produced at that time!
I have only the highest respect for them and always have thoughts of going back someday.
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