First in a series.
Thomas Small is not.
Perched beneath an intellectual wing span that is global, a devotee of the fine arts, he is treading a career path that occupies “an unusual, kind of wonderful niche.
“I am a writer who works with architects,” Mr. Small said. “I help them to explain and to describe their approach and their philosophy about their projects.”
Eventually, over a casual outdoors dining table at Surfas, a fascinating conversation wended its way toward its main purpose, that – and why — this unique family man and 10-year resident of Culver City is running for the City Council in April.
All details in due time. Unlike other contenders in the dense field, Mr. Small will not formally launch his campaign until a month from yesterday or today.
He lately has come to citywide attention for the first time.
As an increasingly high-profile member of the Cultural Affairs Commission, Mr. Small, father of two young children, may be the least know member of the candidate field. But that is about to change.
During the recent and forthcoming debates about whether Culver City should have a poet(ess) laureate, Mr. Small stepped into the light a few weeks ago and explained the Cultural Affairs Commission’s posture. His sterling articulation was arresting.
He was equally compelling in introducing his little-known profession.
“I took a circuitous route to get where I am,” Mr. Small said. “But it has worked really well for me for the last 15, 20 years.
“I often work with architects on a team, often on large projects. Here is how it works. When there is a large project, all of them will write what is called a Creative Brief, a design narrative that holds the whole project together.”
Mr. Small said that recently he worked on competition for the new federal courthouse being built in downtown Los Angeles. “Six teams were invited on the short list to compete for the project,” he said, “and I worked with one of the teams. There were two sets of architects on the team, an executive architect and a design architect, and a contractor already in place. What I wrote, held the team together.”
(To be continued)
