Herb Nadel

President, Chief Executive, Nadel Architects Inc.

West Los Angeles

Specialty: Office, industrial, retail, hotels, mixed-use projects

Herb Nadel is one of the most entrepreneurial of all Los Angeles-area architects. He is certainly one of the most prolific.

Nadel’s firm has designed literally hundreds of structures, including office buildings, industrial parks, shopping malls, museums, a rescue mission and hotels. The firm has designed 40 buildings in China alone, which Nadel claims is more than any other single firm.

Currently, Nadel has offices in Los Angeles, Orange County, Sacramento, Chicago, Las Vegas and Dalian, China. He employs a staff of 150, up from his recessionary low of 100, but still short of his pre-recession high of 215 employees.

His current projects include an office building and hotel in San Diego, a business park and a hotel in Las Vegas, and a residential mixed-use project in Hollywood. Another Las Vegas project is an unusual one for Nadel and for Las Vegas a museum of ancient history.

Nadel, a USC School of Architecture graduate who recently marked the 25th anniversary of his firm, said he is “extremely proud” of another recent project: renovation of the 1100 Glendon Building in Westwood, popularly known as the “Monty’s” building for its top-of-building signage and top-floor steakhouse.

Despite the many buildings he and his firm have designed, Nadel maintains a fresh perspective toward architecture and is committed to his vision.

“If he feels passionately about something in the design, he is not afraid to stand up and fight for it,” said Herbert L. Porter, vice president of construction and development for Arden Realty, owner of the 1100 Glendon building.

He describes Nadel as an “unconventional” designer who “thinks outside the box.”

“Herb wants to take the building into the 21st century,” Porter said. “He is thinking 10, 20, 30 years beyond today.”