Paperback
-
PICK UP IN STORECheck Availability at Nearby Stores
Available within 2 business hours
Related collections and offers
Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781496935861 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 09/30/2014 |
| Pages: | 226 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.52(d) |
Read an Excerpt
Leadership in Architecture
My Passion in Life
By MacDonald Becket
AuthorHouse LLC
Copyright © 2014 MacDonald Becket, FAIAAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4969-3586-1
CHAPTER 1
EARLY LESSONS LEARNED
At an early date, maybe while I was in junior high school, I learned some valuable lessons.
As the males in our family, my father, older brother, and I had to tend to the yard. As the youngest, I had to trim all the grass edges with hand clippers. As normal, my brother would push the lawn mower, and my dad would supervise, along with clipping the trees and bushes. I remember one Saturday in particular, after I thought I was done with my work, I took off running to play with my local friends. I heard my dad calling, "Wait, hold on a second, you did not do your job correctly." This repeated itself three times, and finally, my dad was laughing. He said, "If you had done it correctly in the first place, you could have saved yourself a lot of time."
Another time, one of my friends and I took our bikes early one Saturday morning to a small amusement park that as it turned out was still closed. There were no people present, but as we were walking by the shallow water of one of the rides, I spotted a shiny dime in the water and told my friend with a shout, "Look!" My friend retrieved the 10-cent piece, because I did not want to get my shirtsleeve wet reaching for it. I told the incident to my mother, who said simply, "You should have reached for the dime yourself. After all, your shirt would have dried out." A penny found really is a penny earned when you pick it up.
One afternoon, I was walking alone next to a park on the far side of our home when three young men, who made it very clear that they were going to beat me up for no apparent reason, approached me from the high side of a hill. On impulse, I attacked the biggest of the lot, striking him squarely on the nose with a very painful result. I grabbed the second boy by the arm and swung him over a convenient depression in the park and then turned to the third boy only to see him running away. I think from that experience, I learned to never back down from adversity, despite the odds.
I'm from Seattle, Washington, and I went to Lakeside High School – a boys' school at that time. It's been coed since 1973, which was after I graduated in '46. Even though I was senior class president and had done okay in school, I didn't know what to do, college-wise. I applied to several colleges but went to San Jose State just to go somewhere. Having been there once, I wanted to get to California. I went to San Jose and started by taking every class that I didn't know what it was because I did not know what I wanted to do, career-wise. The last quarter of my freshman year, I needed two more units, so I saw this one class that was titled "The Home." I had no idea what it was, and I just punched it in and had my 15 units that I needed. The class turned out to be taught by an architect, an older, retired gentleman. The first assignment was to design a residence. I spent many Friday afternoons on the wooden steps of that Quonset hut classroom, talking about architecture with that wonderful professor. I became interested right then in the field. There wasn't any other class in architecture at San Jose State, so I began thinking of other places to go to school. One big mistake I made was not to learn at an early age how to type. It was a big mistake, with computers coming just around the corner.
Unfortunately, at about the same time, my father was stricken with a cerebral hemorrhage, and I hitchhiked back to Seattle in order to be with him before he died. I made it and was able to say good-bye to him. Many of his friends, along with my mother and I, attended his simple funeral. I returned to San Jose to finish out the school year.
My dad had been a high school principal and later a senior vice president of the Metropolitan Building Company, which managed office, retail, and other such facilities in central downtown Seattle. When he died, my dad was in the theater business, a family-run, legitimate stage theater in Seattle called the Metropolitan Theater. I remembered that the San Jose State professor who taught "The Home" said, "Well, there's a great architecture school at the University of Washington." I knew I had to go back to Seattle anyway to help my mother with the theater, so I applied and went to the University of Washington and majored in architecture.
In 1946, another important lesson occurred. I was sent back to New York City by my mother to buy legitimate theater plays for the following year. I dutifully went to New York (my first visit there), stayed in the Algonquin Hotel, and proceeded to the nearby theater district. Fortunately, I met with people who remembered my father and made the buying of plays an easy deal. As I was walking across Time Square on one of my many trips, I spotted in the sea of people a high school friend from Seattle. We said hello and exchanged a few pleasantries and departed. What a strange, unexpected occurrence, particularly in those days. Right then I learned what a small world it was, and later in life would look back on that encounter as the first of many small-world experiences in my life. I also did not realize then that New York City would play such an important role in my future.
After I showed an interest in architecture, my mother introduced me to a fellow in Tacoma, Washington, who was some kind of cousin of ours and was an architect. I went to see his office, and I must say I nearly quit the dream of architecture right there and then. It was a terrible office - dusty and dirty. He was designing fire stations. That was his great claim to fame, and in my opinion, that was just awful. I got away from there as fast as I could, and only because I really liked architecture, continued with my studies at U of W.
My older brother, Hugh, came back from being in the Navy in World War II and really wanted to get into the theater business, which I was operating with my mother. I could go to school during the day, and my mother would be at the theater. Then I could do my studying at night at the theater and help with ticketing and programs and then close the theater at 11 PM or Midnight. So it all worked out very nicely, but I didn't have any real interest in the theater. I sold my brother my part of the theater, which my dad had left to me. So I used that money, $250 a month, toward paying for school.
With that money and the results of a stupid incident, which happened to me at the U of W School of Architecture, the handwriting was on the wall for me to head to southern California. Looking back, I think I realized how provincial Seattle was at that time and that Los Angeles really was where the action was after World War II. Also, the family had been down for a vacation on the beaches of Los Angeles a year earlier. I must say I enjoyed swimming in the ocean and the nice warm climate.
Back to the stupid incident. It was my fault, but it actually ended up changing the course of my life. I was in a sculpture class. The subject of the assignment was to do whatever we wanted. The following day, a junior professor looked at what I had sculpted, a one-foot high piece that I was very proud of. He said, "Have you ever thought about taking up commerce?" I don't generally get physical when I'm upset, but I grabbed him by the lapels, held him off the ground, and slammed him into a corner. After saying a few bad curse words, I dropped him into a crumpled pile. I walked away in a huff, and I thought, "You know, I shouldn't have done that." Needless to say, after a cup of coffee, I went to the office of the dean of the school, who knew my family. I wanted to tell him what I had done, but I had to wait for him for quite a while. He was trying to get out of his office without seeing me, but I kept waiting. He finally agreed to see me, and I told him what I had done to the junior professor and that I was very sorry. I told him also the comment the fellow had made, and he just smiled. I then asked him if he would mind writing a letter of recommendation for me to the University of Southern California School of Architecture. Apparently, his letter was very complimentary and, I think, was one of the reasons they let me in.
I was accepted to USC on a temporary basis, so I knew I was going to have to work hard so they could accept me as a permanent student. At that time, all the fellows came back from the war and could go to the school of their choosing for free because of the G.I. Bill. There were 65 total in my architecture graduating class. The G.I.s really made it tough for me to get through school. They were older and wiser with much more life experience. We all took courses and studied over a five year program, with the goal of taking the state board of exams for a license to practice architecture. The exams were seven days of tests – hour after hour after hour. One day might be the history of architecture, the next on structure, one for the business side of architecture, and another on design. I passed all but two the first time and then passed those the second time. That allowed me to get a state license.
There were 65 people, one of which I think was a woman, who graduated with me. The amazing thing to me, after all the time spent in school, was that there were only six of us, and that included me, that passed the state exams and became architects. Basically, that's a lot of people who didn't pass the tests. Whether they didn't take it, or didn't want to take it, or took it and didn't pass, I don't know, but there were only six of us who became architects, actual licensed architects. It was really surprising. Those other five men who came out of the military got all that education for free because of the G.I. Bill, and each one of those men at one time or another, worked with me. I knew the good ones from my class. One of them, Charles "Mac" McReynolds, became head of our New York office and did a great job back there. Robert Tyler was another superb one of them who became our chief of design.
Another one of life's lessons in the small-world category happened during the time I was at USC. One summer, when I was working for Wurdeman and Becket, my uncle Welton's firm at the time, one of my fraternity brothers from U of W, Ralph Swanson, came down to work in construction in L.A. and split the rent with me at a "Gower's Gulch" apartment in Hollywood. We decided one Saturday night to try Hollywood Boulevard, hearing that some pretty nice girls could be found there. The area was far more respectable in those days. Success! Two good looking ladies had drinks with us, but when the subject of getting together the following day arose, all four of us said we were busy. Ralph and I had been invited to my aunt and uncle's house in Malibu to swim. When we arrived at the beach house, my aunt wanted to introduce us to some people. Guess who? There they were - the two young ladies from Hollywood Boulevard from the night before, who also had been invited to swim. You never know what's around the corner, especially with only 2 million in population in L.A. at that time.
As I look back on my time at USC, I realize that I started from the absolute bottom. My grades were terrible. By the time I graduated, I was married with two sons and a straight "A" average. Sometimes it happens that you get married and you have to take responsibility. I hunkered down and did the right thing. And I knew exactly what I wanted to do. In 1952, I graduated after five years at the USC School of Architecture.
While going to USC, each summer I had a job at Wurdeman and Becket, which was located on Western Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. I worked there and at any other job I could find in order to help pay for the University of Southern California, which was pretty expensive even then. Besides my brother's $250 per month payment, I had no other support with my dad being gone.
At Wurdeman and Becket, I started out working the blueprint machine, doing simple drafting "on the boards," and putting titles and some details on the rendering border mats. I worked with Dan Morganelli, who was mainly doing interiors for department stores. He was very, very fast and could do a rendering before I could finish a mat. I was not a good mat cutter. It took me a lot of time. Progressively, I was given more detailed and interesting assignments: learning how the office ran, meeting the various characters and getting to know their talents and personalities, and mostly keeping my mouth shut.
I also became interested in the American Institute of Architecture, which I joined in the late 1950s. I attended a couple of their functions, learned who were the real leaders in the field, read endless books and articles on architecture, and basically became a junkie on the subject. I also listened to lectures, talked with professionals, working architects and university professors, and visited building sites and projects under construction. You name it - I was having the time of my life and realized that I had fallen in love with architecture.
Everyone thought I went into architecture because of my uncle, Welton. But, I really had not spent much time with him. I met him in Seattle when he came up from southern California at one Christmastime. I knew he had worked in the Philippines, designing the jai alai stadium. Haig Assidourian, an Egyptian developer living in the Philippines, wanted to introduce jai alai to the country and created an international competition to determine the architect. Wurdeman and Becket was awarded the project, and Welton and Haig became fast friends. Welton came back to the USA on the USS President Cleveland just before World War II started. Unfortunately, Haig was interred by the Japanese later in the war, and the stadium became a hospital. After the war, Haig had no money, moved to southern California, and contacted Welton, who hired him. I think Welton felt a certain obligation to Haig for the support he gave a young architect starting out. Haig worked with us in business development as essentially a salesman, but he was really a better promoter. He had some friends in Egypt, so he went there to try and get some projects. He helped to get the design of the Hilton Hotel in Cairo in the 1950s. Later, in fact, I asked him to go back to Cairo, where he thought he might be able to develop some additional work, but it just didn't happen. Timing is everything.
CHAPTER 2BULLOCK'S PASADENA
I started at Welton Becket and Associates (name changed from Wurdeman and Becket after Walt Wurdeman passed away) working after graduation as a project architect and was assigned a job, a pretty simple one. It was an addition to retail space and entryways at Bullock's Pasadena (now Macy's), located on Lake Avenue in Pasadena, California. They didn't have enough parking and wanted to take the parking lot that they had and turn it in to a parking structure. So that was my job, and it really wasn't a large one.
Bullock's Pasadena, the department store, was built in 1947 and was the first of its kind to be located outside a downtown area. In fact, this store and others like it built in the suburbs were reported to have helped bring on the decline of many downtowns across the United States. Bullock's Pasadena, "the store of tomorrow," was designed to attract the wealthy residents in the surrounding neighborhoods and those arriving by cars. The parking lot, sited on an unprecedented 6 acres, was located behind the store. This Bullock's was the first of at least 100 department stores designed by Welton Becket and Associates (WBA) and represented the firm's Total Design philosophy, which extended from the design of the building to all the interior details and included the landscaping. The president of Bullock's wanted the store to have the feeling of a high-end home or exclusive county club. There was even a mechanical system that sent shopper's packages from the individual departments to the parking lot where they could be picked up.
In department stores at that time, and Bullock's was no different, deliveries were made from manufacturers to a "checking and marking" section of the store. There, employees would check clothes sizes and price and tag each garment. Later, that space became too valuable and was put in a remote, inexpensive warehouse for the same operation. This warehouse then could serve many other stores in the vicinity.
When Bullock's Pasadena was being built, it was determined that special stones would be used on the facade of the new, "fancy" building. They were imported from Pennsylvania, along with the stone masons who traveled west by train. There was a shortage of skilled workmen during and after the war, and many new building products were developed and introduced.
Bullock's Pasadena really was the anchor for the boom in shops and restaurants going in on Lake Avenue, which acted as an early outdoor shopping mall, just with a street going down the center. It was a very popular part of town and attracted people from all over. Because of the automobile becoming more widely used after the war, the need for more parking became evident. Thus my first "big" assignment was to do a parking structure. We used white stone panels, about 10 feet long by 5 feet high by 4 inches thick, for the facade or the "face," which were used as an outside form to pour concrete for the wall structure. The stone panels produced a more interesting surface than just plain, grey concrete.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Leadership in Architecture by MacDonald Becket. Copyright © 2014 MacDonald Becket, FAIA. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
PREFACE, vii,ONE EARLY LESSONS LEARNED, 1,
TWO BULLOCK'S PASADENA, 9,
THREE MERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS, 15,
FOUR WELTON BECKET AND ASSOCIATES, 21,
FIVE GHOST HOUSE, 33,
SIX WBA AND CLIENT CHALLENGES, 39,
SEVEN EXPANSION OF OFFICES, 57,
EIGHT 10000 SANTA MONICA BOULEVARD AND OTHER WBA OFFICES, 81,
NINE WBA NEW YORK OFFICE, 93,
TEN NEW ZEALAND, 97,
ELEVEN SOLVING PROBLEMS, 101,
TWELVE MAKING SOLUTIONS FINANCIALLY FEASIBLE, 109,
THIRTEEN EISENHOWER HALL ROBERT "BOB" AHMANSON, 121,
FOURTEEN FOREIGN OFFICES, 129,
FIFTEEN KOREA, 141,
SIXTEEN MORE ADVENTURES, 153,
SEVENTEEN USSR – THE MOSCOW WORLD TRADE CENTER, 161,
EIGHTEEN CHINA, 181,
EPILOGUE, 203,
INDEX OF BUILDINGS, 205,
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, 213,
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, 215,