Perkiomen X-Day: Typologies and Process

MCTIGUE Architecture on September 23, 2022
In 2020, Perkiomen, a preparatory school north of Philadelphia, PA, began offering weekly, virtual “X-period” classes. Known as “X-Day”,  the classes bring together an array of speakers— some alumni and some community friends—to share their experiences and insights into their professional work. A graduate from 1976, Drew Pedrick was honored to participate. 

At MCTIGUE, Drew and his team spend a lot of time listening, developing a relationship with the client and the team, and learning as much as possible about a project to create design solutions to meet their needs.

In this excerpt, Drew shares the story of his most challenging project when he moved to Los Angeles in 2006 to join a new firm. His first project was LA Police Headquarters, where he took over as principal. The building needed to create a sense of community, place, and value, to help reconnect the LA police with its constituents. The building creates an atypical civic architecture and is open, public, and organized so people can move through the entire site.

It was a large and controversial project, where Drew managed a complex team over the course of five years. The LAPD Headquarters was built on time and in budget, winning AIALA’s Building Team of the Year Award, among others.

About Drew Pedrick
At an early age, Drew understood his passions were to design buildings and spaces and do so with care for the planet. Drew began his architecture career as a lighting designer, then worked in the construction phase of architecture, gaining detailed, and practical knowledge. His work quickly grew to include design phases, ultimately leading design, leading teams, and establishing client relations. Today Drew finds his work coming equally from his many long-standing relationships and the new ones he and his team build.