AIA 2009: Partying with the Firm of the Year
Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects celebrated their multiple awards this year with a Friday-night party in a penthouse suite at the Clift Hotel. It was a pleasure to partake in conversations with friends from the industry like John King, architecture critic at the San Francisco Chronicle, who has been covering the convention for his publication.
Chatting with Marlon Blackwell, Steve Dumez, Tom Kundig, David Jameson, Lorcan O'Herlihey, and folks from Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects about getting work in troubled economic times, the deeper meaning of sustainability, and catching up on who's doing what where was a relaxing and rich winding down to the convention for me.
We descended to the lobby of the hotel as the party concluded to find a packed, and mind-numbingly noisy scene in the lobby bar, which made some of us feel our age, as scantily clad ladies with thick makeup, tattoos, spiked heels, and tight short dresses slinked by. Walking home, Marlon Blackwell showed me the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Circle Gallery (now Xanadu Gallery), a tiny brick building on Maiden Lane off Union Square. Admiring its breath-taking simplicity and elegance made a perfect ending to the evening.
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