Architect Biographies
Architects listed alphabetically by last name or firm name.
A – C
A. C. Martin and Associates
Heirs to one of Los Angeles’ earliest architecture firms, the decedents of Albert C. Martin, Sr. built A. C. Martin and Associates into one of the region’s most prominent firms of the twentieth century.
Gregory Ain
Gregory Ain was as much a social activist as a visionary architect. Ain’s designs were fueled by the belief that Modern architecture could improve people’s lives.
Armet and Davis
One of the most prominent practitioners of Googie architecture, the firm of Armet and Davis created many of Los Angeles’ most innovative postwar commercial structures, gaining international acclaim for their restaurants and coffee shops.
Austin, Field & Fry
Not only was the architecture firm of Austin, Field & Fry responsible for several of Los Angeles’ most important public postwar buildings, its history includes some of the most distinguished architects in twentieth-century California.
Welton Becket
As the go-to architects known for their attention to detail and the client’s needs, Welton Becket, FAIA and his associates designed some of Los Angeles’ most iconic buildings.
Claud Beelman
One of the leading architects of the Art Deco and Moderne movements on the West Coast, Claud Beelman helped bring L.A. from the Beaux-Arts styling of the previous century to the forefront of twentieth-century design.
Buff, Straub & Hensman
Buff, Straub & Hensman created hundreds of contemporary homes during the postwar housing boom in Southern California.
D – G
DMJM
Founded in 1946 by Phillip Daniel, Arthur Mann, S. Johnson, and Irvan Mendenhall, DMJM (pronounced Dim-Jim) literally changed the face of corporate architecture in the late twentieth century.
Richard Dorman
Richard Dorman helped shape the mid-century modern landscape of Los Angeles, from homes for wealthy clients to commercial and industrial buildings.
Garrett Eckbo
Widely regarded as the father of Modern landscape architecture, Garrett Eckbo saw landscape design as a vehicle for social change. His seminal 1950 book Landscape for Living essentially defined Modern landscape architecture, and his influence on generations of designers continues today.
Sidney Eisenshtat
Sidney Eisenshtat was a renowned L.A. architect perhaps best known for his innovative designs for Modern synagogues.
Craig Ellwood
Craig Ellwood perhaps was as well known for his personal life as his architecture. He married four times, had a penchant for exotic sports cars, and was a natural in public relations.
Edward Fickett
Edward Fickett was remarkably prolific in postwar Southern California, attributed with designing 50,000 homes or more. Yet because much of his work was for large tract-home developments, his talents were largely unheralded until recently.
Helen Fong
Helen Fong was a true pioneer. Very few women, let alone Chinese-American women, were practicing architects in postwar America. Yet by 1951, Helen Fong had cemented an integral role for herself at the renowned firm of Armet and Davis.
Frank Gehry
Frank Gehry has been awarded countless accolades for his work, including the AIA Gold Medal, National Medal of Arts, National Design Award, and 1989’s Pritzker Prize, widely considered architecture’s highest honor.
Gibbs and Gibbs
In addition to being at the forefront of Modern architecture in Southern California, the father-and-son team of Gibbs and Gibbs was instrumental in creating the postwar aesthetic for the city of Long Beach.
Bruce Goff
Largely self-educated and known for organic, bold, and avant-garde designs, Goff created one-of-a-kind structures uniquely tailored to a client’s personality and lifestyle.
Greta Grossman
One of Modernism’s unsung heroes, Greta Magnusson Grossman was one of the few female professionals to play an integral role in the Los Angeles Modern movement. From the 1940s to the 1960s, she was the city’s only female architect to own an independent practice.
H – L
Lawrence Halprin
One of the most influential landscape architects of the latter twentieth century, Lawrence Halprin brought nature into urban spaces in unprecedented ways. His designs sought to impart positive social impact and user experience, as well as convey artistic expression.
Ray Kappe
Ray Kappe is one of the great innovators and educators in Modern architecture. His lifelong love of nature and the environment took form in designs that remain visionary to this day, and he continues to inspire new generations of architects.
Killingsworth, Brady & Smith
Based in Long Beach, the firm of Killingsworth, Brady & Smith was responsible for some of the greatest mid-twentieth century structures in Southern California.
Pierre Koenig
Pierre Koenig is one of the most recognizable names in California Modernism. He designed one of the most iconic and photographed houses in the world, yet he and his work went far beyond that single house, helping to define Modern architecture as we know it.
William Krisel
William Krisel is one of the few architects to fully realize the postwar dream of bringing Modernism to the masses. By his own account, Krisel was responsible for designing over 40,000 Modern homes in the U.S., 30,000 in Southern California alone.
John Lautner
John Lautner was one of the most important American architects of the twentieth century, and perhaps one of the most misunderstood. His career spanned fifty-five years and left an indelible mark on the built environment of Southern California.
S. Charles Lee
As the motion picture capital of the world, Los Angeles was the perfect place for architect S. Charles Lee to launch one of the most celebrated and prolific careers in theatre design.
Charles Luckman
“I am firm in my belief that architecture is a business and not an art,” Charles Luckman once told a writer for The New Yorker.
Anthony Lumsden
Many of the sleek glass buildings that make up the skyline of Los Angeles—and major cities worldwide—exist in large part because of the innovative developments of Anthony J. Lumsden.
M – O
Albert C. Martin, Sr.
Patriarch of one of the oldest and most prolific architecture firms in Southern California, Albert C. Martin saw opportunity in the open fields of a fledgling city.
Cliff May
Widely considered the father of the California ranch house, May made an indelible mark on the landscape and lifestyle of postwar Southern California.
Morgan, Walls, and Clements
Morgan, Walls & Clements played a leading role in creating the architectural landscape of early Los Angeles. One of the oldest and most prolific firms in the city, the company designed many of Los Angeles’ landmark buildings dating back to the late 1800s.
Eric Owen Moss
Eric Owen Moss is widely recognized for his visionary designs around the world. Yet arguably his most prominent work is concentrated in Culver City.
Richard Neutra
One of the most influential architects of the twentieth century, Richard Neutra helped define modernism in Southern California and around the world.
P – T
John Parkinson
Along with son Donald Parkinson and partner Edwin Bergstrom, John Parkinson helped defined the look of pre-World War II Los Angeles.
William Pereira
The handsome, charismatic William Pereira was one of the few architects to appear on the cover of Time magazine.
R. M. Schindler
Rudolph Michael Schindler was one of the seminal master architects who defined Modern architecture in Southern California.
Millard Sheets
Millard Sheets was a highly influential artist, designer, and educator who made an indelible impression on the Southern California landscape.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
The work of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) represents some of the finest design achievements of the Modern era.
Edward Durell Stone
Edward Durell Stone was an early pioneer of the New Formalist style. A highly prolific architect who designed buildings across the globe, by 1958 Stone was one of the best-known architects in America.
U – Z
Victor Gruen Associates
Austrian-born architect Victor Gruen burst onto the Los Angeles scene in 1949 with the design of Milliron’s Department Store in Westchester. Its grand opening was a huge event that showcased the elegance and efficiency of postwar Modernism.
Paul Revere Williams
By any measure, the accomplishments of trailblazing architect Paul Williams are astounding. In a career spanning almost six decades, Williams designed more than 3,000 structures and mastered a range of architectural styles.
Gin Wong
Gin D. Wong, FAIA was one of a unique group of Chinese-American architects who helped define the postwar architecture of Los Angeles. Against seemingly insurmountable odds, including racial covenants in mid-century Los Angeles, Wong persevered to forge a distinguished career.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright is one of the most legendary figures in American architecture. Known for coining the term organic architecture, Wright based his work on the harmonious relationship between the structure, occupant, and the natural landscape.
Lloyd Wright
As an architect, Lloyd Wright couldn’t have been under a longer shadow. Yet the son of the legendary Frank Lloyd Wright was highly accomplished in his own right, designing some of Southern California’s most innovative structures and landscapes.