The Building Center

A Unique Professional Facility

THE WHITE slumpstone building located on 3rd r Street and Fairfax in Los Angeles is common meeting ground {or everyone in the building industry.

At this one location, architects, interior designers, contractors, and clients can see and compare all of the products required for the construction and finishing of a building.

Called the Building Center, the pavilion-like structure houses 200 exhibits, many of which are of lumber and related products. Every day of the week some 50 to I00 persons who are planning to build tour these exhibits.

Current designs by Southern California architects are displayed in a 160 ft. long Architectural Gallery, and the lush interior courtyard, landscaped by the American Institute of Landscape Architects, exhibits unusual arrangements of garden materials, including plants, paving, pools, raised planters, and screening.

Nothing is sold at the Center, although samples and complete information on each product are kept on file. The exhibits are geared to acquaint the profession and huring lrrrlrlic lrilh nerv ProrlLtcts itrrd interestills lls('s of establishctl Prorlrrls trnrl t'rlrrilrnrt'nt.

Intcrest in lrrrilrlirrg rnaterials an(l (lesign (:r('atc(l l)\ these educatiorral t'r,hihits is rt'llt'r'ttrl in the sale o{ llriltlirre products through r'('gular rltail orrtlels and nrilnufat'turer's dist li l,rrlols.

In additiorr tri trlrilrit sptrct'. thcrc arr' [acilities in lhr' \rlrnirristratilt' \\'irrg for lhe -qot'i:rl arrrl lrrrsinr'.s actir itit s oI lrrolessional tlt'sign gr'oul)s.

'l'[rt' Americtrrr Irrstitrrtc of Arlhitccts. \rntlican InstiIttlc of Irrterior I)r'sigrrt,rs. \ational Sot itti of Inlerior l)t'sigrrr'rs. Americarr Institute of Larrrlsc'trlrt' Ar-chitec:ts" ( lrlor (.onsLrltants. \\'onrt'n's Arr:hiteclulal Lt'agrre" \alional llomt' lmprort'nrt'rrl (,r'otrp of lhe Anrcrir.an IlLrilclirrg (.orrtractors Associaliorr" lnd lhe Arllrilt'r.trrlal Panel iln' arn()llg tlrt: groults llrll lrolrl mcctings urrrl sor.ill er ents irr I lrt' .{ rllrilt'r'ls' (llul,r,,,,rrr.

Buffet luncheon is served in the Clubroom every weekday to a hundred or Elore perions who work'in design, decoration, and site development. At lunch, manufacturers meet with these men whose use of their products is so important to thern.

The Los Angeles Building Center opened in December 1958. under the direction of Mary Louise Schmidt. Miss Schmidt had organized the first permanent exhibit of tects in California and over 500 in New York. Offices in New York are at l0 Rockefeller Plaza.

The idea for the service developed when a group of architects suggested to Mi:s Schmidt that an information and research service would save them and their personnel valuable time.

Originally, architects paid for the service. Soon it became a courtesy service sponsored by manufacturers of building materials and equipment. Through personal contact provided by the service, products of subscribing manufacturers are presented to architects for consideration on each of their projects.

Representatives of the service are recent college graduates, all young women with general educational backgrounds. They are

CAUFONNIA TU'YIBER MENCHANT

architect she goes over projects in the design stage, discussing with him the materials needed for each one. She locates hard-to-find materials, local representatives of national firms, or any other inforrnation building materials in existence over 30 years ago in downtown Los Angeles. She has developed the San Francisco Building Center, which occupies the ground floor of an historic build.ing at 40 Gold Street in the center of Jackson Square.

Both Centers, as well as a New York office, serve as a headquarters for the Architects and Engineers Service, a unique organization that aids architects in compiling data on building materials for individual projects.

The service is used bv over 2.000 archi- trained at the Center to work with architects in compiling data for projects in the design stage.

Each representative has a list of architects whom she sees regularly. She brings new literature from subscribing manufacturers to the Architectos office" discusses it with him and files it. Then. with the the architect needs concerning building products. If technical information is re' quired, she makes appointments for the architect with an engineer or salesman of the firm.

The subscribing manufacturer is assured that the architect has current information on his products and that his products are brought to the architect's attention at the time he is making decisions on materials.

The value of the service to manufacturers is in direct relation to the value of the service to architects. Manufacturers must have products acceptable to the profession in order to qualify for the service.

The Building Center and the Architects and Engineers Service augment each other, working together to provide a communication link between manufacturers, designers who specify their products, and the dealers who sell their products.

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