Clairbourn project is another project I take pride in when I worked with Pica+Sullivan Architect- such great platform to work on. Say thank you to Joe and Maureen to get us such great client to work with. This group of clients are professional and flexible, show lots of respect on our recommendations and make the sign off process so efficient. I love working with this school. Dr. Amy is such an efficient and target oriented leader who understands priority, making full use her human resource. Great team leader and manager in my mind.

Back to this project – I worked on it during 2023-2024 July, starting from needs assessment, program test fit, plan, site plan drafting, feasibility study, all the way to schematic design and entitlement approval. During which time I was be able to work closely with the client, and the consultant team: surveyor, planning department, landscape, meet the milestones that I set in the project schedule with no obstacles. Feels so good.

My manager ( yes, 5 workers with 2 bosses, seeing each other under one 1200sqft roof, everyone talks to the boss everyday, and there is a manager…) had a hard time with her personal life during that time – her mom was sick from December 2023, then her house got robbed off, then she cut her hand tendon and had being going to physical therapy two days a week. She’s not in the office a lot, then I was be able to take the lead on above tasks and push the project efficiently with no obstacles during that time.

I worked full speed on this project while also pushing progress on other projects in house. I was so proud of what I have achieved. I feel happy for Clairbourn too.

Standard school project, starting from figuring out needs and what to build. In this step. We help client to figure out their objectives and define scope within their budget. Series of meetings are conducted with various groups: school leaders, teachers, parent representatives and staffs. Questionnaires are spread out to parents in various format to interview them so we get to know where the problems are. Then we figure out what the school need. Then we use ROM number and sit down with the client to set priorities. ROM numbers are rough construction budgets that we get from real time construction world from current projects on the plate.

In this step, I work with Joe Pica, who is the leader at Pica+ Sullivan. An architect who loves architecture. Some people may not love what they are doing. He is not one of them. That wins him X10000 respect. Joe brainstorms ideas on different possibilities of plan options and draft it on paper. I help him to formalize it into architectural plans. These are no brainers process if you received 10 years of architectural education.

After we have the plan options, we will present them to the school. Dr. Amy and her team will make decisions base on the programs and $$$ that comes with each plan. With school’s comments, we recommend our professional recommendations. School like it, then we enter schematic process.

This project, our client request specifically colonial style architecture. I took their current campus old drawings of each building, carefully look at campus photos on each building, and took vocabulary that matters to my project and start to design with sketch up!

I worked out three options and showed it to Scot and Joe. We will discuss styles and form of the building, do some mix match, pick one that we like the most and start to ask my manager to schedule meeting with client. Then I compiled a schematic design booklet that detailly listed the spatial arrangement, in door outdoor condition, ideas for each classrooms, power plan layout with a reference to the equipment lists and wall space requirement I collect from the school, lighting, interior ideas. I delivered it to Clairbourn before Christmas. School signed off our schematic design.

Then here comes the entitlement. Current campus sits on a R1 lot that has a current CUP exhibit A that dates back to 1970s with multiple TI, building addition and renovations. Our project is considered as part of this CUP exhibit A and we are required by county planning for an entitlement process.

Lucky we are not triggering CEQA process – It is not considered as a CEQA project. We are providing the same amount of classroom as we are removing a trailer classroom building of similar sqft and same number of classrooms. Thus no extra parking requirement. I did the whole entitlement drawing package myself.

At the same time, I was also researching on the building materials – clap boards, class A fire rated roof shingles, doors, colors schemes that align with current context. Scot showed me how important alignments/ divisions/ proportions are, and great design manifest themselves in details. Great people identify similar type from the crowd easily, because details click.

I worked on the whole architectural drawings and models again, talked to MEP for equipment suggestions and planned spaces for equipment and ducts, refining my design with a greater level of details with the information I collected during this process, developed the package into a comprehensive package with floor plan, RCP, lighting plan, power plan, elevations, roof plan, door/window schedule, interior elevations including restroom elevations. Normally in a design development package we do not need this level of detail. But I want to plan everything ahead and push the project forward, and get ready for building and safety ASAP.

My contribution to Clairbourn stopped there. ( July 2024)

In July 2024, our part time single mom came back to the office and asked for more work from the office. At first our boss Maureen said there’s no more work for her. But then after the office party mid July, the mom came to our party and mingled with my manager. This project then is moved away from me somehow. My manager loves calling her. It is up to the manager’s decision. It’s ok she wants to lead this project. I follow their lead. I lost track of the project ever since and they had being drawing CD for a year till I left in August 2025. (It still looks the same as what I drew last year – more details definitely with so many labor hours)

3 months after my project was taken away, I passed all six architectural registration exams in 3 months without a single fail. I had being studying early in the morning from 5am to 8 am without letting my manager notice, even we see each other everyday sitting 3 ft from each other, and she walks to my desk every hour from 8am -7pm. I didn’t know how I made it. I earned myself the title “architect” that no one can take away. I am so proud of what I scored. No regret in life. I did what my manager wasn’t be able to do in the span of her 25 years career in three months.

Back to my question: 5 workers with 2 bosses, seeing each other under one 1200sqft roof, everyone talks to the boss everyday, and there is a manager. Why need a manager? who is she managing? Now I know the answer. She was managing me to make her feel good.

For years, all my communications to my boss has to filter through her, my boss never know what I can achieve and what I can do. They never saw my previous projects done and they are not interested in expanding business or even scared about liabilities that comes with extra projects. I was enjoying my life and never cared about money, riding my Mercedes with my birkins, having fun with my Bentley and Maserati girlfriends. I never fought for professional reputations or connections, and never had cared about what my boss thought what I could offer. I was even ok with them calling me their dog’s name. Fine, we all love that dog. It’s adorable.

Things changed after I had the kid in 2022. I realized I have to rely on my career now. I need to show my company my qualifications and prove them through my achievements. The dynamic changed. I can’t afford a kid working under my manager. I really used my opportunity to show my boss what I can contribute and what I can achieve. It turns out my work and direct communication with the boss really speed up project schedules and get faster client sign offs.

My male boss is really happy with my back ups. And I did never failed to help him win clients’ heart.

But my bosses are in a stage that they are thinking of retiring. The wife wants to stop while the husband loves to work. There is also no way to go above my manager. Not only I had to deal with the situation where I am focusing on working hard moving forward while someone is constantly there looking for troubles, making things even harder than it could be, but also what I’ve done make her look useless. I struggled a lot but I never failed to deliver quality work because I care.

Di duty description: Di works on the SD-DD as the lead architect, pushing the project from initial feasibility study to SD sign off, to entitlement approval. Di closely works with client, land use attorney, surveyor, consultants and cost estimator, achieved sign off and entitlement efficiently. Di was the one who draw, who coordinate, who provide options, who sets schedules, targets, pushes and gets things move.

Clairbourn school project is a traditional waterfall design-bid-build project. It is a new 9000sf single slab on grade building that has six classrooms served by a double loaded corridor, each accessible by outdoor teaching space, replacing an existing classroom building and a single family residence on street dedications. The entire campus sits on a R-1 land with an existing 1977 CUP and variance with specific parking, setbacks, building height requirements. The proposed new design is approved under an entitlement respecting this CUP.

She makes sure that client requirements are reflected in design deliverables and makes sure that the product is up to local code, and within client’s budget with consideration of current escalation rate in today’s construction industry climate.

While the project was affected by the potential of losing donors due to Eaton fire, she participated in the negotiations on revisiting the scope and phasing of the project.
This project went through CD, and will be constructed 2026.

consented reference professionals:
Dr. Amy Patzlaff, Head of School, Clairbourn School
Edward Rojas, AICP, Assist Deputy Director, LA County