Architectural Exaggeration

As a director of business development, honesty, integrity and continuity are essential for getting my job done. While my firm, the Landau Partnership Inc., is not into heavy promotion, we do not like to see our 29-year practice “de-promoted,” which was what happened in one of your profiles in this year’s “Who’s Who in Commercial Real Estate” (June 16).

The truth is that the Landau Partnership was the architect of record for the Rubin Postaer & Associates advertising agency building (1333 2nd St., Santa Monica) and the Milken Foundation building. These two buildings, as well as many others in Santa Monica, were designed, produced, and nurtured through construction by teamwork. That team consisted of several professional disciplines, and the regulatory agencies of the city of Santa Monica during this process. There is no “secret code” that we know of, only positive, fair interaction with the city and community leaders.

Mr. (David) Hibbert was an employee of the Landau Partnership for nearly 15 years, and while it is true that he has managed to walk away with, among other things, a few of our clients, we think it wholly irresponsible, unethical, and unprofessional to imply or express to anyone that he was the “architect” for projects for which the record proves he was not. To seduce a writer under time pressure, who is unfamiliar with the nuances of how our profession works, is unforgivable. Thus, we think that Mr. Hibbert owes a public apology to Business Journal contributor Bob Howard, who was merely doing his job.

HOLLY BAILHE MORSE

Director of Business Development

The Landau Partnership