Meet Simon Ha: An Architect and Social Engineer

Simon Ha is an artist of space and an engineer of behavior. He treats empty lots like blank canvases full of opportunities to build, design, and construct. He creates with steel and rebar and concrete and glass. As an architect, aestheticism is only half of his battle. He designs buildings like he is dreaming up new worlds. He creates structures with movement and people in mind. Ha’s art manipulates our behaviors. It creates community and forges relationships. It is an art of observation, creativity, and a profound understanding of human nature. 

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Ha is a Managing Partner for the Los Angeles branch of the Steinberg Hart architecture firm. His designs serve primarily to address housing shortages in Southern California. Outside of his work with Steinberg Hart, Ha is Chair of the Skid Row Housing Trust and participates in various community organizations aimed at preventing homelessness. 

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Last week, I had the privilege to speak with Ha about his design approach and past work. His buildings exhibit a high degree of intentionality and thoughtfulness for the people who will inhabit his spaces. His deep consideration for the context of buildings provokes reflection on the ways in which space can influence our behaviors. Ha’s body of work reveals the opportunity of architects to design structures that foster a strong sense of community. His design for 1317 Grand Avenue, a residential building currently under construction in Los Angeles, exemplifies this mission. With over 10,000 square feet of common space, 1317 Grand Avenue challenges traditional understandings of apartment living by encouraging residents to meet and connect with their neighbors. Like Ha’s other projects, this complex conveys the immense power that architects have over our lives. As social engineers, architects are tasked with the responsibility of designing structures conducive to productive and community-oriented living. 

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T: Why did you choose to pursue a career in architecture? 

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S:  I think as a little kid I was always interested in making things. I was constantly building models and legos. You can talk to any architect, and they will probably say that legos were their foundation for thinking about design. Back then, it wasn’t like you got a lego set made for a specific thing like a boat or a spaceship. Before, you just got a bucket and created whatever you created. There was a lot of freedom. You build something. You take it apart. You build something. You take it apart. In high school, I was thinking about what I would do when I got to college. I thought, initially, architecture was a path I wanted to try. 

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T: Could you give me a brief outline of your design process? Where do you begin when considering the construction of a new building? 

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There’s a lot of programming that goes into housing. We’re not just making boxes to put people in. We’re trying to create a community. That takes a lot of skill. You have to observe. You have to do projects. You have to see how it works. You have to do a lot of case studies. You have to interview property managers, developers, and understand best practices. You have to see what has and hasn’t worked. That’s part of your process. 

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T: In college, I have taken a few architectural history courses. We always learn that “form follows function,” or that everything in a building is designed to support that building’s mission. In your efforts to create more affordable housing in Los Angeles, are there specific details in your designs that help accomplish that function? 

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S: That quote, “form follows function,” comes from Modernism. There was this time in architecture when it really only existed for the aristocrats. As a reaction to that, there was this movement to make architecture for the masses. They came up with this principle of “pure form.” 

Though we consider the “form follows function” doctrine at Steinberg Hart, we really focus on designing for the people. Affordable housing has a lot of extra considerations. Since you’re designing for people who have been traumatized, you have to understand where they’re coming from. They are probably at the worst time of their lives. They have lost everything. They’re at the bottom, and we’re trying to figure out how to give them their dignity. We want things to be more exciting. For example, we consider what kinds of colors we want to use in playgrounds because color has a psychological impact. We also want to give people more opportunities for visual connection. If you live in a typical apartment, you have a hallway and doors on both sides. You never get to see your neighbor because your timing has to be just right in order for you to bump into each other. If we design it so that your front door opens out to a courtyard, then people in the courtyard see you coming in and out all the time. As an architect, you can use these design tools to become a social engineer. You have to build beautiful things, but you also have an opportunity to influence movement based on your design of a space. If you create more bumps, you’re creating more serendipitous opportunities for people to meet as neighbors. That’s how you create a community.  

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Do you live in a dorm? 

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T: Yes.

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S:  Student housing is very similar in that way. You have a group of people leaving the house for the first time. Your success, and the students’ success, depends heavily on the social structure of their spaces. The same goes for seniors. They’re typically alone. They’re retired. They don’t have much to do. My father-in-law and mother-in-law are in property management. In one of their senior complexes, they put in a community garden. It was great because seniors were out there gardening and other seniors came out to watch. The space created a purpose and event that allowed people to connect with different residents within the complex. 

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T: How would you describe or identify your firm’s style? Has it shifted or changed over time? 

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S: We draw from the context. We try to optimize views. We try to optimize other values that create larger rents or faster leases. We don’t really have a style. Our style is that we design for people and are contextual. We’re not like Frank Gehry or Richard Meier or people who have a “brand.” We don’t really do that kind of architecture. We’re really considerate about everything around us and the people that we’re serving with a building. 

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T: I noticed that you mentioned that your designs are contextual. Can you expand on that? How does the context of a neighborhood or community influence your projects?

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S: Contextual means that you’re considering everything on the site that you’re designing for. It’s very unique. No two sites are the same. No two sites have the same condition. They might have similar conditions, but they don’t have the same condition. So, you analyze everything around a site and that informs how you’re going to respond to where you’re building. Jane Jacobs is this author who makes observations about different types of communities and points out elements that work. Her famous quote is “Eyes on the street.” There’s a lot of different ways we can approach that. Safety is probably one of the biggest priorities in a community. As an architect, you can increase safety by intentionally placing anchors in areas that create more foot traffic. In a residential building, the lobby is one of those areas. You have to decide where to put the lobby by considering where you want to create foot traffic. You also want to minimize disruption to the pedestrians. Then, you have to consider whether it’s a corner or midblock site because retail is better on corner sites. If you want to bring in a tall building in an old or lower-scale neighborhood, you have to consider the shadows that your building will cast on the people around you. 

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T: In terms of career paths, what is the industry like? Is there a certain culture surrounding architecture? 

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S: When I went to school, being an architect was like being a monk. It was almost a religious thing. The first thing they tell you is: ‘You’re not going to make a lot of money and you’re going to work long hours.’ It’s somewhat true, but they make it seem like you have to dedicate your life to being an architect. Some people do. They drink the Kool-Aid and all start dressing the same. Black is the architect’s color. That’s what they teach you to believe. But, the architecture profession is very different. You can be a very small percentage of the overall profession who operates like a cult. However, the majority of the business is working with developers. It’s working with people who are trying to create value out of nothing. 

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T: What advice do you have for undergraduate students who are considering careers in architecture? Are there any specific skills or experiences that are valuable at the undergraduate level? 

S: Everyone goes in thinking you have to be creative or you have to be good at math. There’s a certain stereotype about architecture. In the TV show Seinfeld, George Costanza always wants to be an architect. Mike Brady in The Brady Bunch is an architect. In the media, there’s this romantic notion of what architects do. However, the industry is similar to film. In film, there are producers, directors, cinematographers, and writers. Architecture is very similar in that way. There are designers. There are more technical people. There are people interested in construction administration. There’s a business side. There are a lot of different parts. I wouldn’t discount it to say ‘hey, I’m not creative so I can’t be an architect’ or ‘hey, I’m not good at math so I can’t be an architect.’ You do need a lot of common sense, an open mind, and analytical skills. Architecture education is about teaching you how to think and solve problems.