Good Faces Make Good Neighbors Forum

The past two years brought many uprisings in response to social injustice and discrimination. Coupled with the turmoil of the global pandemic and the drastic change of lifestyle we experienced — lockdown, remote work, social distancing — we are all confronted by an unshakable need for self-reflection. Design firms look inward to assess what we can all do to be on the right side of history, and to improve the way we work and interact with one another.

It seems timely then to reflect on the relationship between our two allied professions… to think of ways to elevate both the architecture and interior design communities by improving on aspects of diversity, equity and inclusion. This is the goal of our forum: to reflect on our past and present, and to design our futures together. A timely gathering of distinctive and community-minded architects and interior designers sharing awareness and ideas:

The emergence of both professions

The focus of our education

Our past relationships

Our present relationships

Our possible allied futures

Annie Chu, FAIA, NCIDQ, WELL AP, is an architect, interior designer, educator, and a founding principal of the award-winning Chu–Gooding in Los Angeles. In her four decades in practice, Annie has worked extensively with world-renowned museums, cultural facilities, and educational institutions, including MOCA, Hammer Museum, The Huntington, Autry Museum of the American West, Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association.

Leveraging her design reputation, Annie champions Interior Architecture as a distinct and emerging discipline, advancing design excellence through teaching, public speaking, and her leadership in the civic and professional realms, including her role on the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Commission, the Mayor’s Design Advisory Panel, and Contract Magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board. Annie served as a Vice President of the IIDA International Board of Directors from 2017-18 as well as on numerous design juries, such as the AIA COTE Top Ten Awards, AIA Honor Awards in Architecture and Interior Architecture, and the Prix de Rome in Architecture and Design.

Annie earned her Bachelor of Architecture at the Southern California Institute of Architecture and her Master of Science in Advanced Building Design from Columbia University.