On the front page of Saturday’s (1/29/10) Fresno Bee there ran another success story of downtown revitalization. However, after I read through the story, there were a few key details that were left out regarding the San Joaquin Light & Power Corporation Building aka International Trade Center.
Both in the article and at the State of the Downtown Breakfast earlier that week, Cliff Tutelian was praised for the investment he’s done over the years in downtown Fresno. Specifically, according the the Fresno Bee, he “invested more than $10 million in the landmark International Trade Center in downtown Fresno, preserving what original 1920s-era architectural features he could and replicating those he couldn’t.”
However, not mentioned in the article is the architect whose specialization in historic preservation made the project a reality, Chis Johnson AIA. It is common for Fresno news to forget to mention the architect, so that is to be expected. But the thing that caught me more off guard is that other key facts of the story were glossed over by the Fresno Bee and mayor Ashley Swearengin in their praise of Cliff Tutilian and the beautiful International Trade Center.
The fact is that Tutilian refused to pay the Johnson Architecture fees for completing the design and construction documents for the renovation. It had even gotten the the point that Johnson Architecture had to fill suit against Tutilian & Company for non payment of fees.
In classic litigation fashion, Tutilain filed a counter suit against Johnson for failing to complete services. If you have been in the building, you’d be hard pressed to argue that it is incomplete or that there were any aspect of the design that the architect didn’t execute with expertise.
So you can see that I was simple baffled hearing all this praise while knowing a little more of the truth. In Fresno, I dream of the day when there is a level of respect for our architects and accountability of our developers.
I’d like to call on Cliff Tutilian to accept the praise that you received for the International Trade Center as a sign that your architect did a fantastic job, drop you lawsuit and pay your fees in full.
*due to ongoing litigation, I did not try to reach either party for comment.
“I’d like to call on Cliff Tutelian to accept the praise that you received for the International Trade Center as a sign that your architect did a fantastic job, drop your lawsuit and pay your fees in full.” Well put. Unbeknownst to many, this is a common theme (non-payment to architects) in the industry, especially with developers (clients as well). There are many reasons for this, not least of which are a project that is over budget (no funds ‘left’ for architect), and disagreement about the architect’s role in the project (blaming architect for things not under architect’s control). Any others come to mind?
Thanks for bringing light to this dark little secret.
Classy.
I’m not doubting this, but a link to some other, corroborating source for this info would make a stronger point. Or even just a mention of where your info comes from.
Keep up the good work.
Conlan, I do admit that all this information is word of mouth.
Unfortunate. I was very impressed after reading the article about the trade center, especially with the fact that Tutelian seemed to be willing to risk money to make something special and of high quality. It’s too bad this happened, with the success of the trade center we should hope these two could work together in the future.
Also, good point on how the Bee didn’t give mention to the architect was in the article…it is a good example of the developer/business bias that is often apparent in the Bee. I wonder to what degree this bias is intentional, or if it’s just ingrained.
Alas, the non payment to architects seems to be a common theme in downtown revitalization. The former owner of the J.C. Penney’s building as well as the Bank of Italy also failed to pay several consultants and firms.
Chris Johnson is a local gem. He did a fantastic job on the downtown Rowell Building renovation for my father. He deserves both credit and payment for his work. Thank you for bringing this matter to light.
Danny, I’d point the finger at a lack of awareness or understanding as opposed to bias; that’s been my experience with other areas of news/expertise, at least. Unless they’re avid readers of this blog (or should I say, “until”), they may not be well versed in the complexities of the architecture and development industries.
I agree with the person who said this is about word of mouth. We don’t know the extent to which the work may not have been completed according to the original contract. That the building looks “fine” on the surface, there may be much more that isn’t seen. So, let’s wait for all facts to be presented before we vilify anyone.
James- I wasn’t implying that the BEE should have given a more detailed architectural evaluation of any kind, even though they should. I just think the lack of even mentioning the gifted architect whose special knowledge made the work possible reflects a certain bias towards developers. It does not take any expertise or special understanding to ask who the architect was and give him some credit in the article. If this had been written on a blog by an amateur that would be one thing, but it is a professional journalists job to understand the complexities of certain facets of the world and explain them to the public. I assert that the architect not being mentioned in the article is a good example of some overarching issues with our local news. There is a narrative here if you look for it.
I find it curious that the local media credits their reporters and photographers for their individual work but does not seem to extend that level of respect to other creative professions. Writing about a building and not mentioning the Architect is like writing an article and not crediting the reporter or photographer. The notion of authorship goes beyond journalism.
Well said Paul. I think planning,and making an idea come to fruition by funding it is a wonderful, innovative thing, but the artist who implements the concept and brings it to life….that’s simply beautiful, talent. How can this be overlooked?