Architects

* I am writing in response to “The Dream of a Central City” (Opinion, June 11). As an architect and president of the American Institute of Architects, Los Angeles Chapter, I am discouraged to find that the architects for the featured project were not mentioned anywhere in the article.

Architects are trained professionals who work to shape and enhance the quality of the built environment and can serve as a resource for educating the public. Their creative skills produce safe and enjoyable buildings in which we work and live. Beyond the creative design of a building, architects provide technical skills and solutions for environmental issues, energy efficiency, seismic safety, systems of transportation, urban planning and more.

The architectural team for Union Station Gateway East Portal, Bus Plaza Structures includes Ehrenkrantz & Eckstut Partners, architect; RAW Architecture, associate architect; and HNA/California, consulting architect. The architect for the MTA Headquarters Building is McLarand-Vasquez Partners.

On behalf of the AIA and the profession, I encourage you to utilize architects as a resource and would like to remind you that every building has an architect.

LANCE BIRD

Los Angeles