When the commission to retrofit San Francisco's 50 UN Plaza--designed by Arthur Brown Jr.--was won by a team of Berkley's ELS and London's Foter + Partners, it caused considerable outcry from the losing firms, which included SOM, HOK, Architectural Resources Group, Hornberger + Worstell, and William McDonough. The reason for their frustration (arguably) had less to do with missing out on much-needed work than the fact that a British firm would be a big winner in a project receiving $130 million in stimulus fund. Talk about buying American.


When the commission to retrofit San Francisco's 50 UN Plaza--designed by Arthur Brown Jr.--was won by a team of Berkley's ELS and London's Foter + Partners, it caused considerable outcry from the losing firms, which included SOM, HOK, Architectural Resources Group, Hornberger + Worstell, and William McDonough. The reason for their frustration (arguably) had less to do with missing out on much-needed work than the fact that a British firm would be a big winner in a project receiving $130 million in stimulus fund. Talk about buying American. The Architect's Newspaper