Episode 98: Interview w/ Barton Myers, FAIA of Barton Myers Architecture & AIA Santa Barbara

This episode is sponsored by AIA Santa Barbara

Last December, I was invited to attend the AIA Santa Barbara Design Awards and interviewed architect Barton Myers, FAIA, in what would be one of his last interviews. Please give it a listen and look at his work, which will be in the accompanying blog: 

  https://inmawomanarchitect.blogspot.com/2026/10/interview-w-barton-myers-faia-of-barton.html

BARTON MYERS, FAIA of BARTON MYERS ASSOCIATES, INC

http://www.bartonmyers.com/Home.html

Born in Norfolk, Virginia, Barton Myers received his Master of Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania and subsequently worked with Louis I. Kahn. He established his practice in Toronto in 1968. In 1984, he opened an office in Los Angeles that is now the firm’s base.
In 1986, Mr. Myers was the recipient of the first Toronto Arts Award for Architecture in recognition of his contribution to that city, and in 1994, he received the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Gold Medal. In 2001 Mr. Myers was awarded the Rudy Bruner award for urban design and in 2002, he was awarded the American Institute of Architects / Los Angeles Chapter Gold Medal.
Barton Myers has taught architecture and planning at both the University of Toronto and Waterloo University. He has also served as the Thomas Jefferson Professor at the University of Virginia, the Graham Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and has been a Visiting Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Mr. Myers has held a continuing appointment as Professor of Architecture at UCLA’s School of Arts and Architecture since 1980 and lectures extensively throughout North America and abroad.

Link to MGHarchitect: MIchele Grace Hottel, Architect website for scheduling a consultation for an architecture and design project and guest and podcast sponsorship opportunities:

https://www.mgharchitect.com/

Transcript

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SPEAKER_02 0:00

Hi, welcome to I've Never Met a Woman Architect Before podcast with Michelle Grace Hoddle Architect. I'm Michelle Grace Hoddell, and I'm here today with Barton Myers. Today's episode is sponsored by AIA Santa Barbara with an in-kind sponsorship. Well, thank you. Welcome, Barton Myers. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 0:23

It's an honor.

SPEAKER_02 0:25

So we're here at the AIA Design Awards.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Yeah, this is a wonderful woman to have a party, isn't it? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 0:31

Yes, exactly. And um, and uh, what are your first recollections of experiencing architecture?

SPEAKER_00 0:38

Well, it it's hard to say. Yeah, I'm a Virginian. Uh-huh. And we Virginians go back to about 1600. So my family came to America in 1600, uh-huh. And we always built things. So I always thought I was an architect. My ancestors built things. So my family house is one of the first beautiful Georgian houses built in 1790 something. And my first Myers house is in the 1600s, first brick house in America. So I'm was raised on Thomas Jefferson. Uh-huh. And we know Thomas Jefferson is the greatest architect that ever lived in America, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:19

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:20

So I was at least one of the first jobs. I was in love with Jefferson and Monticello. And then I grew up in Williamsburg and all that great architecture. Yes. So architecture was always just generally a part of my life. And my um father was in the real estate, didn't do a whole lot of building, but my grandfather did a whole lot of building in Norfolk, Virginia. And he brought the the Navy there and the coal and shipping. So I was always uh interested in an architect on day one. But I went to Annapolis.

SPEAKER_02 1:56

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:58

And uh became an Air Force fighter pilot and spent five years flying jets around in Europe. And then I decided it's time to go back to school, so I went back to Penn, did a graduate degree in architecture. I love it ever since. I've done seven opera houses.

SPEAKER_02 2:15

I you said that. And which what seven?

SPEAKER_00 2:18

Well, the best one is one down in um Orlando, Florida.

SPEAKER_02 2:22

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:23

Called the Dr. Phillips Center. It's a beautiful opera house. And when you go down there, I'll get you a date with Mickey Mouse.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

Okay. And what are some of the other ones?

SPEAKER_00 2:36

Well, I've done um NJ Pack at New Jersey. It's a beautiful hall.

SPEAKER_02 2:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:41

And then I did one up in Toronto. Queens, I can't remember, but there's seven of them.

SPEAKER_02 2:47

Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So what three classic buildings do you like and why? And when I say classic, it's not like classical, but like iconic.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

Well, I'm a great Palladio fan.

SPEAKER_02 2:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:59

So Palladio really is the father of architecture of America, you know? And Thomas Jefferson was uh very attached to Palladio. So we were torn with the architecture of that port of Italy around Venice and Vincenzo and other places. And uh Jefferson was very caught by Jefferson went American on envoy to Paris, but he caught up with architecture, and it really inspired him. Uh huh. So all that time in Paris and so forth, he learned about Pladio. So I've been a great Palladio fan ever since.

SPEAKER_02 3:40

Uh huh. What other buildings?

SPEAKER_00 3:43

Well, all of Jefferson's work uh I love. Of course, I love Louis Khan.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:50

Yeah, I'm a very fan of the La Corzier. Uh who else in Europe do I like very much? I like a lot of the English architects. Sterling. Remember Sterling?

SPEAKER_02 4:02

Yes, James Sterling.

SPEAKER_00 4:03

James Sterling, yeah, yeah. So that's funny. Yeah. Sterling was great. It was a very good uh English. English architect. Sorry.

SPEAKER_02 4:14

Oh, what projects did you work on at uh Lewis Bond's office?

SPEAKER_00 4:18

I worked for the one in Pakistan.

SPEAKER_02 4:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 4:21

And I was the architect for the National Capitol Building. I did all the work. I saw Khan occasionally. And I never went there, but we sent an architect to be over there on the site. So the idea of working in in Dhaka and Pakistan and dung this architecture there, just really exciting.

SPEAKER_02 4:42

So did you ever go to see the finished project then? No, I've never been.

SPEAKER_01 4:46

You've never been? No. Oh my goodness. Never invited me. I never invited you. Oh were there any other were there any other projects?

SPEAKER_00 4:58

I'm thinking of Khan's. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I've forgotten there's so many.

SPEAKER_01 5:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:03

But Khan was an amazing guy to work for him. And he had some very good people working for him. And Penn, Penn was really great at that time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:15

I enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_02 5:16

So what do you like about being an architect?

SPEAKER_00 5:20

Well, you know, the idea of building something wonderful that people can use and enjoy. What can be better?

SPEAKER_01 5:29

I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 5:31

I don't know. Nothing can be building things, right?

SPEAKER_01 5:35

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:36

So I I I always so happy that I went to Arkansas. Then my family built things in Virginia, so it was natural that I would I would go to Penn and do something like that.

SPEAKER_02 5:47

My my family has a homestead in Tomsbrook, Virginia. In Tomsbrook? Tomsbrook, Virginia. Where is that? I think it's like North North uh Western. I've never been there.

SPEAKER_01 5:58

I've never been there. It was it was just it's muster. Big October for you.

SPEAKER_00 6:03

You must go and see W Williamsburg.

SPEAKER_02 6:05

Yes, I've been to Williamsburg when I was a girl scout, I think like in the 60s.

SPEAKER_00 6:09

So William Ray College. Um Reamer Semberry. Yeah. Reamery and Harvard are the first two educational systems in America. They're both under the same time. 16, 17, something like that. William Murray is where my ancestor first went. Samuel Myers went to Wilmerbury. And then he went to Harvard. So I've always been impressed with William Murray. I did go and teach and visit there. Williamsburg is spectacular. And then Charlottesville, Virginia, that Jemerson did, UVA is fantastic. Really fantastic.

SPEAKER_02 6:45

So when when you started your practice, when was that?

SPEAKER_00 6:49

Well, I started my practice and joined someone, and we went back up to Toronto. And I had a partner there, and then we eventually flipped up. So Toronto was my first place to go back and practice. Penn was where the Lilith went to school.

SPEAKER_02 7:07

Yes. Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:09

Have you ever been there for love there?

SPEAKER_02 7:11

Philadelphia? Yes. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you know what? I didn't go to Philadelphia. I grew up in Pittsburgh, but I didn't go to Philadelphia when I lived in Pittsburgh. I went for my daughter's uh eighth grade field trip. And so there's a picture of us in front of the Liberty Bell building.

SPEAKER_00 7:27

And then so I fell in love with it because the name Gressard.

SPEAKER_02 7:30

And uh at what projects did you uh how big was the office when you started? Did you start with the big project at first or were there smaller?

SPEAKER_00 7:38

We're real busy. My my ex-partner and I got solid. We went back to Toronto. Uh-huh. And we had some really really interesting projects.

unknown 7:46

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 7:47

So we we we were busy, we had a pretty good office, maybe twelve, fifteen people right away.

SPEAKER_02 7:53

Okay. Okay. And then uh what year was that? Sixty sixties. Yeah. When did you start the practice in Los Angeles? And then where was your practice in Los Angeles?

SPEAKER_00 8:08

Well, I I'm trying to remember it's first of all, I I went in the service.

SPEAKER_02 8:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:13

So I was a phytopolitan, and when that was all done, I started work in Cambridge in England.

SPEAKER_02 8:19

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 8:20

Which it's happening.

SPEAKER_02 8:21

Oh wow, yeah, yeah. I have been there.

SPEAKER_00 8:23

And K was amazing, yeah. Yes. So King's College, remember that? Oh.

SPEAKER_02 8:29

From the history books. I don't even know if I went and went there too.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

King's College sits right on the on the river there. Uh-huh. And Big Green, there's King's College. Oh, it was so so so wonderful.

SPEAKER_02 8:41

We we took a boat. One of my friends and I took a boat and you know, and rowed a boat down the river there. What is that called?

SPEAKER_00 8:49

The Tampa River. Landlord who was English, who kind of adopted me. Uh-huh. And he took me up around and got me into Cambridge. And didn't do bothering. He'd gone to Cambridge. And he'd gone to, I can't remember the college. Same college at the first college at Harvard.

SPEAKER_02 9:10

What would you like to say about the future of architecture?

SPEAKER_00 9:16

It can't get better, it can't get worse. Ain't gonna get better, it ain't gonna get worse. Architecture. Architecture will always be architecture. No, I think um it's so inspiring to see beautiful work in buildings. And see how that can have an impact on people.

SPEAKER_02 9:37

Yeah, yeah. What do you think is your is the best building in your eyes that you've done?

SPEAKER_00 9:44

The I think the performing arts centers I've done. I've done several of them.

SPEAKER_01 9:48

Yeah.

unknown 9:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:48

That's one down in Atlantlando is pretty good. The one um in in Newark, New Jersey is pretty good, too. So my my my performing arts centers are the most important ones. Okay. Then I've done the three got houses, which I like.

SPEAKER_02 10:03

Yes. Yes. And which house? I saw the the photograph of your house.

SPEAKER_00 10:08

Yeah, well, I I did a lot of steel steel houses.

SPEAKER_02 10:13

Yeah, so when did you do that house? I changed my house that you'd men. Yeah. Because I mean there's a lot of elements of that house that you see in in a lot of architecture today, as far as like the glass doors, the roll-up glass.

SPEAKER_00 10:29

Well, Toronto was pretty pretty inspiring place to work. And so I did that first townhouse in Toronto. Uh huh. Then I did a house called the Wolf House, which is really amazing. My first all sealed houses, all the little pan. So though those houses were pretty good for that time.

unknown 10:46

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 10:47

Very different from Khan.

SPEAKER_02 10:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:49

But but but I didn't love little Khan.

SPEAKER_02 10:52

Yeah, yeah. You should get work detailing. Detailing in the office.

SPEAKER_00 10:57

I worked for Khan, I worked for on a lot of important large campus buildings.

SPEAKER_01 11:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:03

And I worked a lot in Pakistan. Dhaka.

SPEAKER_01 11:06

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:08

Worked on the capital building at Dhaka. Yes. That's an amazing building. The main center has the theater wrapped around it all these buildings. It's an amazing place.

SPEAKER_02 11:20

Um, so is there anything that you would like to say? Did you submit something for an award tonight?

SPEAKER_00 11:25

I don't know. There was some awards? Yes. We did? And we didn't win, did we?

unknown 11:29

I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

I don't think we won. I want my prize back. But these are these are two of my architect stories.

SPEAKER_02 11:40

Yes, yes. And that and uh Susanna and Yana.

SPEAKER_00 11:45

Yana, Yana. Yeah, Yana's uh in Athens, though.

SPEAKER_02 11:48

Yes, and she's from Athens. You said that she uh that she designed the Acropolis.

SPEAKER_00 11:53

Yeah, she did, yes. We had to tear it down and rebuild it.

SPEAKER_02 12:01

Okay, is there anything else that you'd like to say?

SPEAKER_00 12:04

Yeah, I'm very honored that you're integrating me.

SPEAKER_02 12:06

Yeah, oh yeah, no, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 12:08

No, I've been very lucky, very lucky career.

SPEAKER_02 12:12

Yeah, definitely. Is there anything that you'd like to say about architects today, young architects today, because you had such a prolific career?

SPEAKER_00 12:21

Just knowing that what you do is so important and lasting and you can have such an impact on things. And to build well for PR is incredible, right?

SPEAKER_02 12:33

Yes. Yes. So and then what about like kind of recessions in the the economy and up and down and all that affects?

SPEAKER_00 12:41

Oh big recession. We're gonna make it anyway, right?

SPEAKER_01 12:48

And that's great. That's a that's that's great. That's some some wonderful uh advice.

SPEAKER_00 12:55

No, I don't I remember being uh uh impacted by uh a hungry session.

SPEAKER_02 13:00

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

So everybody I worked for, but we were busy and working with it whether in Pakistan or Europe wherever we're working, we were busy and we never thought about recessions.

SPEAKER_02 13:14

Uh-huh. Yeah. So diversify uh your practice locally and and worldwide.

SPEAKER_00 13:23

And fun. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:25

Okay, well thank you so much for thank you.

SPEAKER_00 13:27

Very nice very nice meeting you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:30

Yeah. And um uh thank you to AIA Santa Barbara.

SPEAKER_00 13:34

Well they're very nice to invite me, weren't they?