About

One purpose of this website is to recognize the people, particularly the architects, who helped create the embassy project.  This has never happened until now, and some of them are no longer with us.  Fred Bassetti was fairly generous about sharing credit, but tradition and industry practice dictated that only his name has ever been associated with the project.

After more than 45 years of practice, I am still amazed that architects receive so little credit, especially within their own profession.  Architects choose their career because of their love of design, yet even the few that actually design important projects are rarely recognized.  They create designs and spend years nurturing them to reality, only to remain anonymous while sole credit is given to the firm or to a senior partner.  The primary role of many senior partners is to get jobs- critical to be sure, and they deserve marketing awards.  (An ironic twist is that, because actual project designers are seldom officially recognized, design credit for projects is often later claimed by multiple architects and firms.)

Contrast this with other creative fields which also involve many people, big egos, and unique and expensive projects.  The movie and TV industries give top billing to star actors and directors, but also credit all of the actors, and everyone else who has even a tiny role in a production, listing scores of people including costume managers, bookkeepers, gaffers, caterers, and best boy grips.  Orchestras credit their musicians, not just the composer and conductor.  Authors often name co-authors, editors, and others who assist with their publications.  Scientific research papers credit everyone from the principal investigator down to young post-docs.  Etc.