Almost 200 people attended the 40 under 40 symposium event at Pacific Design Center, and the Los Angeles, CA, debut of the book of the same title by author Beverly Russell. Six California designers in the book, Victoria Casasco, Kim Coleman, Robin Donaldson, Mark Rios, Michele Saee and Clark Stevens, took the platform with guest speaker Russell to explore the younger generation's views about architecture and design. Both women, Casasco and Coleman, said they owed a debt to Palladio for inspiration. Casasco also named Robert A.M. Stern as an important mentor. Donaldson and Stevens referred to their working partnerships (Donaldson with Russell Shubin and Stevens with Michael Rotondi) as pivotal in their career development. Iranian-born Michele Saee, who studied in Italy, was evasive about the influences in his life, but spoke of the great transition that he believes the design profession is going through at this moment.

Most interesting among the projects shown by the West Coast contingent was the Sinte Gleska University campus buildings currently underway by Stevens and Rotondi for the Lakota Native American nation in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The planning, siting and design of the structures are being driven by the formal characteristics of the Lakota culture, expressed in ritual, dance and shelters such as the tipi and yuwipi. Much of the construction for the 60,000 square feet of new building is being done hands-on by students.

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