David C Martin

History and Career

David Martin is the third generation of architects to join A.C. Martin Partners, founded in 1906 by his grandfather, Albert C. Martin. David became a member of the family firm after completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Southern California School of Architecture in 1966 and his master's degree at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture a year later. According to the Los Angeles Times, A.C. Martin Partners is responsible for more than half of all major buildings erected in downtown Los Angeles since World War II, including landmark corporate headquarters, civic buildings, theaters, churches and more.

Many of the firm’s projects were erected in the period following World War II, when growth and confidence typified Southern California, says David Martin in an interview for the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.: “The work the firm created at the time — for TRW, the Department of Water and Power, and more — expressed a faith in the future.” As of 2016, A.C. Martin Partners’ chief executive officer is David’s cousin and fellow architect, Christopher C. Martin. Christopher is a founding member of the Los Angeles Business Improvement District, which has championed the area’s economic vitality while improving its friendliness and safety, according to the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. Among other honors, David and Christopher were named USC Distinguished Alumni in 2006.

Often accompanying David Martin’s designs are public art installations, including works by leading artists Mark di Suvero, Bruce Nauman, Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg, and Michael Heizer in the plaza of the former Wells Fargo Headquarters at 444 South Flower. The Architect’s Newspaper called the plaza “an inspiration for the rest of the city.”

The interiors of David Martin’s designs also feature artists. The Fish Interfaith Center at Chapman University, in Orange, California, uses the works of Lita Albuquerque, Richard Turner, William Tunberg, Norie Sato, and Susan Nardulli to evoke a spiritual journey. “In ecclesiastical design, architecture orchestrates a path from the material to the spiritual,” says Martin in an article in Interior Design magazine. According to the article, visitors pass by a minaret-like tower and a garden of herbs and grasses before entering the building via a colonnade and stainless-steel-and-glass doors. Once inside the sanctuary, they see a gold-colored anodized-aluminum altarpiece depicting the sun and moon and brightly colored art-glass windows, among other works. In comparing the Fish Interfaith Center to Le Corbusier’s Nôtre Dame du Haut, in Ronchamp, France, Interior Design called the correspondence “divine inspiration.”

Martin is a self-described artist and craftsman who watercolors and fabricates furniture, lamps, and other objects. He also teaches furniture design classes at USC’s School of Architecture. He has long partnered with his wife, Mary Klaus Martin, to make many contributions to their city. David is on the board of Los Angeles Conservancy, while Mary has been board chairperson of the Cultural Heritage Commission, among other posts. The American Institute of Architects recognized her civic involvement with its Good Government Award in 2008. Mary is also a member of the Kennedy Center’s National Committee for the Performing Arts, in Washington, D.C., and she and David are supporters of New York City–based dance company Ballets with a Twist.