Stabilizing Practice: A Culture of Business at Daniel, Mann, Johnson, and Mendenhall (1960-1984)

This paper examines the early history of the Los Angelesbasedarchitecture firm Daniel, Mann, Johnson, andMendenhall (now AECOM) as it morphed into a latecapitalist architecture corporation between the 1960sand 1980s. The firm was in desperate need of managerialexpertise in 1950 to position it toward growthand profitability; by the 1960s, the demand turned toexpertise in engineering; in 1970 to real estate andtechnology; and in 1980 to managing mergers andacquisitions. Growing by acquiring and merging witha diverse array of firms, services, and resources to keepup with the demands of the urban political economy,the history of DMJM is one of a deft and highly responsivearchitectural practice. This was made possible by aslow separation of manual work from knowledge work,which allowed the scope of architectural work to bebroadened within the office to include the financial,technological, and social processes that undergirdedthe built environment and that could provide a widerbasis for practice.

Volume Editors
Luis Francisco Rico-Gutierrez & Martha Thorne

ISBN
978-1-944214-08-1