Flora Chou, LEED AP
“To my younger self in school, I would say it is okay to not know what you want to do. There is a lot of opportunity out there, more than you may imagine. The best way to figure out what you want to do is to try different things, decide what you like, and determine which ones will take you to your next opportunity.”
#WomenWhoBuild meet Flora Chou,
Flora’s creative approaches to preserving historic sites range from mid-19th century adobe structures to mid-20th century modern buildings, such as the Glendale Masonic Temple and Griffith Park’s famed Greek Theatre, among many others. She is an associate principal, architectural historian/cultural resources planner with Page & Turnbull, where she integrates preservation principles with urban planning, sustainable design, and community development. Flora encourages an amplified recognition of the cultural diversity within the architect and design profession. Flora also is invested in dialogues that examine the historic foundations and progress of built environments, including recognizing patterns, reviews of overlooked communities, discussions on urban planning, and studies on city-wide initiatives.
We sat down with Flora to discuss her career journey and what drew her to a career in historic preservation, what her day to day looks like in the role, the most impactful project she has worked on, and her advice for her younger self.
Tell us a little bit about your own experience in the built environment and what drew you to wanting to have a career in it?
I grew up in Southern California and like many 18-years-olds, didn’t know what I wanted to do as a career. I had many different interests but nothing specific. When I got into Claremont McKenna College, I was interested in history, but I didn’t want to teach or go to law school, which were the only career paths I thought were available to a history major. This was in the late 90’s when there was a lot happening in downtown Los Angeles that were focused on adaptive reuse of buildings in the historic core. I was very interested in that and thought it was a great way to give these beautiful historic buildings a new life. I didn’t know much about what historic preservation involved, so I started looking at local nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles focused on historic preservation for a better understanding.
What I discovered is that historic preservation combines history with local politics, economics, architecture, and design – all things that interest me. This was a few years after I came out of college. After school, I started working for a large corporation doing international trade. Then, I worked for an affordable housing consultant that spoke to my interest in real estate, as I was getting to know the preservation field. I decided to go back to graduate school for historic preservation and joined the Class of 2004 at the Graduate School of Architecture, Preservation and Planning (GSAPP) at Columbia University in New York City.
Can you tell us a little bit about historic presentation and what that means?
The field of historic preservation emerged in the 1960’s as a reaction to the urban renewal and urban redevelopment that was demolishing older buildings and neighborhoods for newer contemporary developments. At that time, people were becoming active to oppose that – there was Jane Jacobs and the demolition of New York’s Penn Station, along with others across the country that helped to raise awareness that these places were worthy of being saved and of being preserved as a part of our history. This advocacy basis has grown to tie into architecture and design, urban planning, and more generally about the heritage of the built environment.
My personal interest in the field is on the preservation planning side, which relates more to land use laws and regulations, and to how to reuse historic buildings so they can continue to function.
Mid-Century Monster// Oakland, California// Photo by: Emily Wilson
What does your day to day look like?
I am an associate principal at Page & Turnbull, an architecture, preservation, and planning firm with four offices in California. Our headquarters is in San Francisco; I am based in Los Angeles, and we have offices in Sacramento and San Jose.
My title is cultural resource planner, which generally includes architectural history and preservation planning. Much of what I do is evaluations for properties to determine if they meet the criteria to be considered historic because not every aged building is historically or architecturally important. We do the research to confirm dates of construction, ownership, and history, and identify the developer, designer, and contractor. We also determine if any significant historic events occurred there or if any patterns important to history are tied to this property. If the property is historic, we also determine how it can be updated or changed, while keeping its historic character.
With a greater focus on the actual environment and a greater focus on LEED and sustainability, how do you see this field changing? If at all?
Even though our focus is on history and preservation, the field continually evolves and it has changed quite a bit. Generally, the field has been driven by design.
Many people think you can tell something is historic just by looking at it. But much of preservation occurs once a building is determined historic – how its historic status can be retained as changes are being made. Because all properties change over time, it’s a matter of how the changes are managed in a way that preserves the historic elements. The architecture and design standpoint is less about pretty buildings becoming historic and more about the historical context tied to them. A lot of people think that if they see something and recognize it, it must be historic and that is not necessarily the case. Each building must be evaluated individually.
There are certainly buildings that many would consider not very pretty that can be important historically, perhaps for their design and architecture, or events associated with the building. And more and more, there’s growing recognition for intangible history and sites that are significant for their association with communities that haven’t been studied or recognized for their contributions. For instance, even though a site may be modest, it may still be significant because of the institutions tied to the building that became important for how these communities started or did their work.
Juneteenth event in Santa Barbara, Calif., on June 22, 2022, including the Santa Barbara African American Historic Context Statement // Photo Credit: Rod Rolle
For example, we have been working on several historic context statements (HCS), which are technical documents that help us understand the history of a place so we can determine if a property can be historic under certain topics related to the development of that place. Our most recent work has been on a HCS for the Asian American Pacific Islander communities in California focused on their experiences in the state. We also completed a HCS for the City of Santa Barbara for its African American and Black community. Recognizing the sites that are important to these communities by designating them in local, state, or national historic registers moves us toward recognizing the full experience of the country and the people who live in it.
LEED and Green Buildings have also been pushed to the forefront for their focus on sustainability. One of the things that is important with historic preservation is to preserve what’s there and reuse the materials as much as we can. So inherently the field is sustainable. Most of our role is as stewards of these sites, including the impact of sustainable advances, such as solar panels, in historic preservation.
We are looking at time frames that are not typical for real estate proformas and encourage investments which will allow the buildings to continue to be useful and effective for another 50-100 years.
Once a building has been designated, is there continued oversight to make sure that developers or owners don’t act in a way that is counter to that mission?
It depends on the level at which the building was designated. Usually, the strongest protections are at the local city or even county level, depending on the jurisdiction and if it has a preservation ordinance that allows for historic designation and protection. Often, through that process, reviews of proposed major alterations would be involved as part of obtaining a building permit. Primarily, the review would be for the exterior work, which ensures what is proposed is compatible with the historic nature of the building. Specific guidelines and standards often direct city planners’ review and confirmation before a building permit is issued. In addition to that regulatory side, incentives can be available for maintaining historic buildings can result in tax savings or flexibility in some development requirements.
What has been the most impactful project you worked on?
The Asian American and Pacific Islander in California context statement. We have completed Part 1 and I am currently working on Part 2. The context statement makes it easier for important sites associated with these communities to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Recently, I noticed that four or five places in California have been designated in the last two or three years, resulting from this context statement. That brings the number up to about 10 sites have been registered since the document was completed, which probably would not have been added to the National Register otherwise. Because this document existed, people who designated these sites had an easier path of getting it done.
Asian American & Pacific Islanders MPDF
What is one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?
To my younger self in school, I would say it is okay to not know what you want to do. There is a lot of opportunity out there, more than you may imagine. The best way to figure out what you want to do is to try different things, decide what you like, and determine which ones will take you to your next opportunity. There is not a wrong choice in what you are doing, so don’t worry. Make a choice and see what opportunities will come from it. You can always change your choice.
Speaking of opportunities, what do you think were the best opportunities you pursued in your own career?
I have had some great mentors throughout my professional career who offered guidance and introduced me to many great opportunities. One of those opportunities was working for a historic preservation organization focused on preserving the Modern Movement as an intern in graduate school. I was not particularly interested or familiar with modern design at the time, but through that I started learning more about modern architecture and all the people who were involved. It shifted my thinking and my interest.
I am now on the board of that organization, Docomomo US. When I started in the early 2000’s, Mid-Century Modern was not necessarily something people though was worth preserving. It has become a period and design style that people embrace at this point. Much of what I do now revolves largely on evaluating buildings from that period. We will see how that shifts as we start looking at the next era, postmodern buildings.
What do you see for the future of your career?
There are exciting and interesting parts of this field that I would like to continue to do, including these context statements, and looking at communities that haven’t been as well represented in history books. There are also parts of sustainability that I think are important and will continue to be important moving forward, like embracing a mindset that buildings are not disposable, and I want to be a part of that discussion.
The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture in Riverside, Calif. // Photo Credit: Eric Staudenmaier