2022. The first design cycle resets

In September 2022, Public Works returned to the Public Safety Committee with a project reset. The first design cycle, which began with the Donald MacDonald Architects contract in May 2019, had produced three vertical-barrier concepts and the full-scale mockups installed in March 2021.4,8 The committee had declined to recommend one in August 2021.9

Afterward, City staff and Pasadena Heritage looked for new design ideas through the Southern California chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. By September 2022, staff was preparing to remove the old mockups, restore the temporary fencing where they had stood, and hire a new design consultant. The report expected a new consultant by December 2022 or January 2023, followed by design work through June and a return to the committee around September 2023. 4

The next contract didn’t arrive in that window. The first request for proposals drew none, so the City reissued it. Pasadena awarded the new design contract to Apexx Architecture on April 14, 2023, several months after the schedule in the September report.13,24 Pasadena had ended one design cycle and was starting another.