More on Obama and his Architecture Connection

Hot off our DnA show Tuesday, when we talked about Obama, his big city experience and what he might do for architecture and urban policy, come reports that his pick for Commerce Secretary is Penny Pritzker, she of the powerful Chicago family that awards the annual Pritzker Prize. In addition to chairing a number of corporations including and the Pritzker Realty Group, Penny Pritzker lists as her interests: fitness and family, improving the lives of young people, and "the arts and architecture." While I have some reservations about the Pritzker Prize and its role in the "starchitecture" culture of the last couple decades, there's no doubt that it has helped raise public awareness of innovative architecture. And, if she is the nominee (other reports say she is denying she is a contender), while Obama would doubtless have picked her for her business savvy (she was his national finance chairman for the campaign), she could whisper in his ear about the importance of good design as part of urban policy. Note that past Pritzker prize-winners are LA's own Thom Mayne of Morphosis and Frank Gehry .