With 90+ categories and 300+ jurors, the Architizer A+Awards is the world’s definitive architectural awards program. In anticipation of the Awards Gala and Phaidon book launch on May 14, we are pleased to share the stories behind the winners of the 2015 Awards program — see all of them here.
EHDD won the 2015 A+Awards, Popular Choice, for the Architecture + Workspace Category with The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. This office building was designed to serve as a catalyst for broader organizational sustainability initiatives by achieving Net-Zero Energy use and LEED-Platinum certification.
Your name: Marc L’Italien, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C
Firm name: EHDD
Location: San Francisco
Education: University of Michigan, Bachelor of Science in Architecture, and Yale University, Masters in Architecture
When did you decide that you wanted to be an architect?
When I was about 10.
First architecture/design job:
I built a model of a memorial garden for a local Episcopal church when I was about 19 for family friends.
Design hero and/or favorite building (and why):
My early mentors were Alan Buchsbaum and Frederic Schwartz. Louis Kahn, Alvar Aalto, Gunnar Asplund, and Bernard Maybeck all usually float to the top of the list. The real answer, though, is that I’ve been influenced by too many architects and too many projects to list.
What do you find exciting about architecture and design right now?
That design and architecture appears to be more part of the public awareness than it has been at any time in my career.
Tell us something that people might not know about your A+Award submission:
That its most popular space is actually outdoors.
Which jurors do you find most compelling and why?
I find any juror compelling who is willing to commit the time it takes to elevate good design, despite their busy schedules.
Among your fellow A+Award winners, what is/are your favorite(s)?
Rebuild by Design because it is a broad-thinking, collaborative effort that looks to solve a major global problem, locally … and it’s magnificently delineated.
Other than your computer (or phone), what is your most important tool?
I still draw a lot, so I would have to say my left hand! It facilitates that wonderfully messy transition between what I’m thinking and the final evolution of a design. It’s necessary at every step of the way. The sketch is my way of seeing if the crazy idea I was thinking makes any sense.
Outside of architecture, where do you look for inspiration?
I look to music, theater, and dance. I’m also continuously moved by all natural processes, the outdoors, and animals.
© EHDD
Who would be your dream client, and why?
An organization that hires architects based on talent, chemistry, and faith. A client that doesn’t require their architect to have designed several of the same buildings before. An organization that wanted what’s best for its people, a client with a clearly stated budget that would allow us to have some freedom with the design.
What is the most important quality in an architect?
Modesty, though very few have it.
See all of the 2015 A+Award Winners here and all of the Winner Q+As here — and preorder the book from Phaidon here.