June 20, 2019 by CallisonRTKL

Future of Los Angeles – Part One

This is the first part of an Interview with Kelly M. Farrell AIA, President and CEO of international architecture practice CallisonRTKL.

Prior to participating in the Architecture and Design Summit on the future of Los Angeles, Kelly Farrell AIA, CRTKL’s new CEO, sat down with Bisnow’s Joe Pimentel for a discussion on her recent appointment and the company’s role in reshaping the city.

You were named President and CEO of CallisonRTKL just over one month ago. Tell us about the company and your goals for the organization.

CallisonRTKL is a global architecture, planning and design practice. Over the last 70 years, we’ve created some of the world’s most memorable and successful environments for developers, retailers, investors, institutions and public entities.

While we’re known as the number one retail design firm in the world, we work in a variety of markets throughout the world. We have a broad profile here in Los Angeles, which is a microcosm of our global portfolio. We are the planners and architects for LA Live, for example, which speaks to the roots of the practice. And have no fewer than 2,500 multi-family residential units under design or in construction in downtown Los Angeles. We’re active in healthcare—at UC San Diego and other academic institutions in the region—as well as workplace and corporate work. So, CRTKL is a diverse and complex organism, which is just the way we like it.

Our diversity is our strength—it broadens our sphere of influence, it allows us to address the larger challenges facing our world, like climate change, infrastructure, even public transit. It allows us to touch and improve the lives of more people in more places. And that’s a responsibility we take very seriously.

I took over as CEO on May 10^th, so it’s still early in the process, but my aim is to build on the diversity I just described. Our diversity is our strength—it broadens our sphere of influence, it allows us to address the larger challenges facing our world, like climate change, infrastructure, even public transit. It allows us to touch and improve the lives of more people in more places. And that’s a responsibility we take very seriously.

I also want us to play a bigger role here in Los Angeles and our local community. Not just doing more work here, but playing an active role in the business community, in our neighborhoods and as corporate citizens. Yes, we love working here, more importantly we also love living here. And what is an architect and designer other than someone who genuinely wants to improve the quality of life for his or her neighbors.

Finally, ours is a people business. And even though I believe we have the best talent in the business, I’m focused on making CRTKL the employer of choice for students coming out of school, allied creatives and the disruptive thinkers who always manage push the ball down the field.

So, that’s it. People, clients and the quality of the work. We get those right and everything else follows.

Generally speaking, what is the state of architecture in Los Angeles/SoCal?

I think the bar has never been higher in Los Angeles. What’s great about LA and the SoCal area generally is that it’s truly a first-tier, international capital that is as local as it gets. I know that sounds like a contradiction, but LA has some of the best architecture in the world executed by some of the best architects in the world. Look at The Broad, the new Courthouse, the Lucas Museum. Show me a city that can offer that from the last few years. We have the big names and the big firms but we also have some of the best smaller practitioners who are reshaping the contours of the skyline…and the profession.

LA has always embraced architecture, and I think a lot of this has to do with the quality of the schools, the mix and diversity of the talent, and the unique culture that is LA—from arts to fashion to movies. It’s all creative and it’s reflected in our architecture.

You mentioned the word “disruption” earlier. How is architecture disrupting today’s developments? Could you provide some examples of your or your company’s work?

As consumers we have more choice than ever when it comes to almost everything:

For housing you can rent, buy, sublet, short-term rent on Airbnb;

For lodging you can stay at a national or international flag, a local boutique or grab a flat from a landlord in a different building;

For shopping you can find a star boutique, a department store, or have things delivered the same day via drone; and

When it comes to working, well, that’s everywhere and anywhere at any time for most of us.

This shift in itself is disruptive.

At CRTKL, we’re tapping into new technologies that are changing the way we think about design, how we solve problems and even how we collaborate with our clients and consultants.

There’s disruption in process, too. At CRTKL, we’re tapping into new technologies that are changing the way we think about design, how we solve problems and even how we collaborate with our clients and consultants. The pen hasn’t quite given way to the headset yet, but we’re closer than we have ever been. And we’re relying on that technology to tell us things early in the process, especially operational things we used to not know until the building was opened.

As a matter of ease, we model reduced energy and water use based on a site plan. Shift walls to maximize efficiency and productivity. We can not only count but can reduce the steps a nurse takes between her station and a patient bedside or turn unused meeting spaces into active work environments. All before a shovel hits the dirt. A few years ago that would be incomprehensible. And that’s what disruptive technology has done.

Kelly M. Farrell AIA is the President and CEO of CallisonRTKL, the global architecture, planning and design firm. Joseph Pimentel is a business reporter for Bisnow, a multi-platform digital media company that produces news and live events relevant to the local business community. Portions of this interview appeared in ‘The Bar Has Never Been Higher’: As LA Changes, Architects Need to Step Up Their Game, Bisnow, June 10, 2019.

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CallisonRTKL

For more than five decades, Callison and RTKL have created some of the world’s most memorable and successful environments for developers, retailers, investors, institutions and public entities. In 2015, our two practices came together under the Arcadis umbrella, expanding our sphere of influence and the depth and breadth of our resources. Our team is comprised of nearly 2,000 creative, innovative professionals throughout the world who are committed to advancing our client’s businesses and enhancing quality of life.