Comments on: Developer pours millions into downtown landmark but refuses to pay architect

By: Lori Pollard

Lori Pollard — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:14:09 +0000

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?

By: Paul Halajian, AIA, LEED AP

Paul Halajian, AIA, LEED AP — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:39:33 +0000

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.

By: danny

danny — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:43:10 +0000

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.

By: Lea McAndrews

Lea McAndrews — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:42:28 +0000

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.

By: james

james — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:09:18 +0000

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.

By: Cindy Wathen

Cindy Wathen — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:00:36 +0000

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.

By: Karana

Karana — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 02:19:59 +0000

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.

By: Danny

Danny — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:03:44 +0000

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.

By: kiel

kiel — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:25:50 +0000

Conlan, I do admit that all this information is word of mouth.

By: Conlan

Conlan — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:08:30 +0000

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.