Established in 1975 by Glenn Togawa and Tim Smith, the Architecture and Planning Firm of Togawa Smith Martin, Inc (TSM) is prominent in the field of multi-family residential and mixed-use retail/residential design. Located in downtown Los Angeles, and with many of the nation’s premier developers and public housing agencies among its clients, TSM has designed over 25,000 housing units throughout the Western United States. Acclaimed for its unique ability to blend sensitive design with thoughtfully composed and cost effective planning, TSM has been recognized with numerous design awards from both governmental and professional organizations.
In 2005, Togawa & Smith, Inc. merged with AC Martin Partners (ACMP), the oldest continuously operating architectural firm in Los Angeles, creating Togawa Smith Martin, Inc. The merging of the two firms brings the quality residential design expertise of TSM together with the over 100 years of noteworthy commercial architectural experience of ACMP. Among AC Martin’s many credits is the historic Los Angeles City Hall and the Department of Water and Power Building, along with many of downtown Los Angeles’ high-rise buildings. This merging of firms provides a unique blend of professional expertise to TSM clients. TSM offers the personalized, hands-on, experienced service of a small firm with the depth of professional, technical, and political resources of a long standing architectural office.
Part of TSM’s success lies in the personal involvement of the firm’s principals in every project from inception to occupancy. The leadership of TSM is involved in all aspects of administration, design, and delivery of each project. They are:
Christopher C. Martin, FAIA
CEO
As the CEO, Chris oversees the financial, contractual, policy, and administrative aspects of TSM. The third generation leader of AC Martin as well as CEO of TSM, Chris brings his life-long experience as an architect, civic leader, and business skills to the firm.
Tim Smith, AIA
President
As the president of TSM, Tim is also the hands-on principal in charge of the firm’s projects. His expertise lies in two particular areas: technical quality of the office and project administration. Known for helping to develop the first Type III Modified building type in Southern California, Mr. Smith contributes his technical expertise to every project. Tim’s ability to coordinate consultants for complex projects is recognized throughout the industry.
Tom Hsieh, AIA, LEED AP
Principal / Design
In his capacity as the design principal of TSM, Tom provides consistency of design approach and solutions. During his career, Tom has been critically involved in design, development and construction of projects ranging from Class A High Rise Buildings to complex multi-family projects, as well as single-family detached homes. He brings to each project a sensitive balance of design, budget, and stakeholder interests.
Howard Kurushima, AIA, CSI, ICC
Principal / Director of Production
With over 40 years of experience from Type I to Type V construction in residential, retail, commercial and institutional projects, Howard is invaluable to the firm’s standard of quality. His primary responsibilities are the oversight of production documents, quality control and construction administration.
TSM is proud of its design reputation, as well as its history of blending creative design with cost efficient construction. Our firm is credited with designing the first five story wood framed structure in California and remains at the cutting edge of high density wood framing. Presently under the new International Building Code, TSM is pioneering the first 6 story Type III residential building in the City of Los Angeles.
With its expertise in wood framing the firm was selected by the Wood Products Council for developing standardized wood framing details for the construction industry. TSM is also consulting with Southern California Code Officials to develop graphic standards to be used by design firms to show code compliance in their construction documents. With 35 years of experience as a leader in the development of high density housing, Togawa Smith Martin, Inc. offers its clients successful, cost efficient and award winning projects.
TSM takes advantage of current computer technology, seeking out the best tools to develop, explore, present, and document our designs. Recently we have begun to use Building Information Modeling (BIM), which stores designs in a comprehensive database that can generate not only seamlessly coordinated construction documents, but also a wealth of non-graphic data such as area calculations and component schedules. This information is tied dynamically to the building model, and is automatically updated as the model is changed, enabling exploration of various design options at a level of detail never before possible.
BIM project list:
Duane Court Townhomes, Sunnyvale, CA
North Housing at Chapman University, Orange, CA
Washington & National Mixed-Use, Culver City, CA
CalArts Student Housing, Valencia, CA
TSM has been in the forefront of what has become a national initiative to assure the best possible energy and sustainability performance of new buildings. TSM is a member firm of the US Green Building Council, and many of our staff members are LEED Accredited Professionals. Sharing this commitment with AC Martin Partners, the combined firms have one Platinum, two Gold, eight Silver, and numerous other LEED certified projects to their credit.
LEED project list:
3rd & Woods, East Los Angeles, CA
Bundy Village, West Los Angeles, CA
CalArts Student Housing, Valencia, CA
Washington & National Mixed-Use, Culver City, CA
Virginia Street Mixed-Use, Vallejo, CA
CSU Chico Student Housing, Chico, CA
Pearl Lane Mixed-Use, Northridge, CA
Aqua Vista Condominiums, Studio City, CA
Emerald Gardens, San Gabriel, CA
The View, Downey, CA
One of TSM’s strengths is our ability to coordinate with the numerous consultants needed for complex projects. To provide our clients with additional support not offered by most architectural firms, TSM has formed affiliations with specialized consultants whose expertise reaches beyond the normal scope of work.
Senior Living Communities including Assisted Living Consultant:
Steinfeldt & Associates
Code Consultant:
Schirmer Engineering
Waterproofing Consultant:
Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
Acoustical Engineering Consultants:
Veneklasen Associates
Charles M. Salter Associates, Inc.