Best Of

I know the Indy tries to avoid the impression (not always successfully) that the Winners sometimes seem to be strangely gaming the system. Not necessarily your fault.

In this year’s “Housing” section you may have been led into a serious error. Under the “Architect” category the Best Architect in town was named by the Indy as Bildsten Architecture and Planning.

The write-up about Ellen Bildsten and her team makes some curious omissions.

•  There’s no reference to a single local project planned and brought to fruition by Bildsten Architecture.

•  There is no acknowledgement that, from the Indy’s own excellent reporting by Christina McDermott, and common knowledge, that Bildsten Architecture and Planning is involved with both universally reviled “builders remedy” projects at 505 East Los Olivos Street and Grand Avenue.

•  Is the Independent unaware that Bildsten A&P employs both principals of Strong Towns Santa Barbara, Sullivan Israel, and Friends of State Street, Paul Rupp? I can say with some certainty that this is known in your newsroom.  Could the Strong Towns relentless letter writing machine have been behind the Best Of campaign?

In case you wonder if I’m exaggerating take a look at the photo of the Strong Towns crew at a monthly meeting — Bildsten (third from left), Rupp (fourth from right), Israel (sixth from left) in attendance.

Just something I thought you should know. Publicly honoring the architect and the firm behind the 505 East Los Olivos Street and Grand Avenue projects is not a good look.

Editor’s Note: The Best of Santa Barbara® comes from our readers, who nominate and vote for the contenders; the Indy runs the result of those votes.