Designer Danielian Associates Brings on 'New Urbanists'

Orange County Business Journal, Jul 19-Jul 25, 2004 by Padilla, Mathew

Lawsuits Could Mark Start of Runoff Battle; Ameriquest Enlists New CEO for Expansion Push

REAL ESTATE

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Irvine-based Danielian Associates has hired a couple of seasoned architects to help the company diversify beyond just designing pretty homes.

Danielian said it hopes to do more commercial work as well as projects that mix offices, shops and homes.

In the past couple of months, Danielian hired Jorge Sciupac as director of planning and urban design and brought on Michael Heinrich as director of design.

In May, Sciupac left the Los Angeles office of Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn, where he served as director. At Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn, he worked with New York-based Trizec Properties Inc. on planning for its Hollywood & Highland and Paseo Colorado projects.

Sciupac's background in projects that mix housing with other uses is what he plans to utilize at Danielian.

The architect, 53, grew up in Argentina. In 1979, at the age of 29, he left his Buenos Aires practice and came with his family to the U.S.

At the time, Argentina was in the grip of the country's so-called "Dirty War," which saw tens of thousands of people killed or driven into exile.

Sciupac said he came here, like so many others, for freedom both "social and also in terms of mental freedom and creativity."

Along with other architects these days, Sciupac works on projects that are part of a movement called "new urbanism." In reality, though, new urbanism isn't new at all. It relates to how cities sprung up in Europe and elsewhere with shops on the ground floor and apartments above, as well as a greater blend of homes with other uses.

Ironically, some European cities are moving away from their traditional models. In Madrid, where I lived for nearly three years, the Spanish are buying homes and condominiums in small, planned neighborhoods outside the city as fast as developers can build them.

In some suburbs of Madrid, the rows of cookie-cutter, pastel-colored condos would make a visitor from Orange County feel at home. People have to drive to the supermarket and spend an hour in the morning and another in the afternoon commuting from their suburban homes and the capital's office districts.

Still, with a land shortage in California's urban areas, many city planners are embracing new urbanism as the best solution.

Sciupac said he emphasizes safety in designing his mixed communities. He does this by avoiding small, dark, enclosed spaces such as alleys. He designs open, well-lighted areas where people can congregate and feel safety in numbers.

The architect received a master's degree in business and history from Pepperdine University, a master's degree in urban design and development from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a doctorate in urban and regional planning from Buenos Aires University.

Heinrich is set to lead design work on a variety of buildings, including housing, shops and offices. He has some 20 years of experience, including work in design, planning and construction management.

Some of his past projects: renovation and master planning for the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum in Los Angeles; renovation and tenant improvements to a historic high-rise in downtown Los Angeles; and work on hotels, malls and movie theater complexes.

Runoff: Next Big Issue

Some developers have been telling me for months that water runoff from new projects is the next big issue threatening the industry. Environmentalists say the runoff tends to be heavily polluted.

The issue promises to be every bit as contentions as fights over endangered species habitats, developers have said.

Well, earlier this month, I received a press release that stated two environmental groups, Natural Resources Defense Council and Waterkeeper Alliance, intend to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for "failing to set standards controlling storm-water pollution from strip malls, subdivisions and other new development."

The two activist groups claim the EPA's unwillingness to control pollution from runoff will lead to more beach closings, waterborne diseases, flooding, fish deaths and contaminated drinking water supplies.

The groups said the EPA has 60 days to establish standards to avoid the lawsuit.

RESIDENTIAL

Kirk Langs last month retired as chief executive of Orange-based subprime lender Ameriquest Mortgage Co., the retail arm of parent company Ameriquest Capital Corp.

Wayne Lee has replaced him.

Lee also retains his title as president of Argent Mortgage Co., a division of Ameriquest Capital that deals with mortgage brokers.

Ameriquest is expanding into more traditional lending and has been investing in a big marketing drive that includes big sponsorships of Major League Baseball events and stadiums.

"Ameriquest and Argent have entered a new era, expanding their markets and their mortgage services as they move to become full-service wholesale and retail lenders," Lee said in a statement.

Lee has been part of Ameriquest's management for 15 years, according to the company. He began as an area manager and later became responsible for Ameriquest's retail branch production as executive vice president of sales.