AI911Truth stretches the credentials on another AIA member: Stephen Barasch

[BigAl]

Here's the announcement of a new AE911Twoof member. Being a "40-year architect " he could hardly been responsible for much in the Transamerica building which started construction in 1969. Ditto for the only "Mark Hopkins Hotel" I can find, built in 1893.

His justification paragraph is so full of things that DIDN'T apply to the WTC towers that he must have slept through Gage's presentation.

Can we come up with a "Fact Care Package" for new AE911 members when we can identify them?


Aug 24, 2009

High-Rise Architect with Transamerica Building design experience signs
AE911Truth petition

Featured Petitioner, 40-year architect Stephen Barasch, AIA

Among the nearly 800 architects and engineers who have signed our petition comes one architect formerly with William L. Pereira & Associates. One doesn't get much closer to the elements of high-rise design than with the pyramid-shaped Transamerica Building in San Francisco. Stephen Barasch, AIA, our Featured Petitioner, was a member of the architectural design team for that 48-floor structure. Barasch was also instrumental in the Mark Hopkins Hotel architectural design, also in San Francisco.

After leaving William L. Pereira & Associates, Barasch founded his own architectural firm, Barasch Architects & Associates, located in San Luis Obispo, CA, with an office in Pasadena, CA. The firm was contracted by the City of Los Angeles following the Northridge earthquake to characterize the seismic response of 27 buildings to the waves emanating from the Northridge epicenter.

Barasch made the following statement upon signing the AE911Truth Petition: "After reviewing the data presented by the Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth organization and through my independent assessment of the data I have reviewed, and based on my 40+ years of professional experience, I have concluded that it would be nearly impossible for any of the principal World Trade Center Towers to collapse in the manner or in the recorded time frame as a result of any fire or explosion caused solely by the impact of terrorist-guided aircraft alone. Braced steel frame buildings simply don't collapse in a symmetrical manner with a uniform plume of debris in 102 or 56 minutes respectively with modern structural design standards and state-of-the-art life-safety systems which must be continuously inspected by local building inspectors based on ever increasing performance standards centered on human survival."

http://www.ae911truth.org/

[BigAl]

Here's the announcement of a new AE911Twoof member. Being a "40-year architect " he could hardly been responsible for much in the Transamerica building which started construction in 1969. Ditto for the only "Mark Hopkins Hotel" I can find, built in 1893.

Can we come up with a "Fact Care Package" for new AE911 members when we can identify them?

It appears he got his license in 1977.

http://www2.dca.ca.gov/pls/wllpub/WLLQRYNA$LCEV2.QueryView?P_LICENSE_NUMBER=9505&P_LTE_ID=1010

or http://preview.tinyurl.com/lymarq

[Edx]

Surely theres more to this, can they really get it that wrong???

[carlitos]

According to their website, the InterContinental Mark Hopkins was refurbished in 2002, but that was likely after Mr. Barasch left the larger firm... Anyway, when they say "architectural design" for both of those structures, you think that maybe this guy, I dunno, designed them? Designing the Transamerica Pyramid would be a big deal.

I'm no expert, but Barasch Architects & Associates does not appear to have done any projects of note. They don't appear to have a website; rather googling them (http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=barasch+Architects+%26+Associates&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8) shows the typical listings for small or mid-sized businesses - industry profiles, yellow pages, local chamber of commerce listing etc.

That is not to say that this person does not have the experience he claims, but it does seem like they could offer a little more substantiation.

ETA - I just dialed up their office. It is after hours, but noodling around the voice mail got me two names: Steve Barasch and Janine Barasch. Maybe he used to work for the company that built the TransAmerica Pyramid, but his current enterprise is not on that scale.

[Mr.Herbert]

........They don't appear to have a website; rather googling them (http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=barasch+Architects+%26+Associates&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8) shows the typical listings for small or mid-sized businesses - industry profiles, yellow pages, local chamber of commerce listing etc.


mmm hmmmm...



http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/Barasch.Architects.And.Associates.626-449-7214

Customer Reviews MerchantCircle Yahoo! Local Citysearch Insider Pages Yellowpages.com

http://www.merchantcircle.com/static/imgs/icons/stars/1_0_sm.gif 911 Conspiracy Theorist (http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/Barasch.Architects.And.Associates.626-449-7214/review/read?cid=773048)

Mr. Barasch belongs to a group of conspiracy theorist that are accusing the government of blowing up the WTC. http://www.ae911truth.org/

[AJM8125]

I know the The Pyramid's lobby was renovated not too long ago as well. If Barasch was still employed by the original firm then it's possible he may have been consulted for this project. But on the original design team? Well, I have some contacts there and will be having a chat with them soon. I'm very confident the building owners and property management company would rather not have somebody else taking credit for Mr. Pereira's design nor would they want their landmark building associated with a scumbag like Richard Gage.

[Foolmewunz]

Barasch Architects & Assoc Business InformationIs this your company?Barasch Architects & Assoc is a private company categorized under Architects and located in Pasadena, CA. Current estimates show this company has an annual revenue of $500,000 to $1 million and employs a staff of approximately 1 to 4.
Also Does Business As
Barasch Architects & Associates Inc*
HQ, Branch or Single Location
Single Location
Annual Sales (Estimated)
$500,000 to $1 million
D&B: $380,000*
Employees (Estimated)
1 to 4
D&B: 6*

An extract of their D&B.

[LashL]

It is a bit difficult to reconcile the idea of Mr. Barasch as a "designer" of the Transamerica Pyramid with the reality that Mr. Barasch, in 2006, had such astounding projects as seeking to renovate a rental house by adding a few bedrooms (after being denied (http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:JM6eTQ2_3BYJ:https://slocity.org/communitydevelopment/plancom/Staff%2520Reports/0524061.pdf+%22Stephen+Barasch%22+architect+cv&cd=12&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca) because the proposed renovation did not meet the planning department's requirements wrt municipal standards and zoning and such, and subsequently amending (http://www.ci.san-luis-obispo.ca.us/cityclerk/agendas/2006/080106agn/ph2appeal520grandave.pdf) the plan for appeal purposes to get it approved - not by any stretch of the imagination a big project judging by the drawings and photos), and in 2005 was also attempting to gain approval for a couple of new single family residential houses, without initial success (http://slocity.org/communitydevelopment/archrev/Meeting%20Updates/030705.asp) (not sure if he ever ultimately got approval for these and I can't be bothered to look any further).

Oh, and he apparently renovated a restaurant (http://www.sanluisobispo.com/entertainment/dining/story/12248.html) in 2006, too.

I know the The Pyramid's lobby was renovated not too long ago as well. If Barasch was still employed by the original firm then it's possible he may have been consulted for this project. But on the original design team?

Mr. Pereira died in 1985 and it is not clear to me whether his firm, William L. Pereira & Associates, continued to exist after his death (there is some indication that it was taken over by two associates, but I haven't found anything in a cursory search that shows it continues to exist under the Pereira banner). In any event, according to this article (http://articles.latimes.com/1986-07-27/realestate/re-1631_1_church-planning) about a church expansion/renovation that Barasch worked on under his own firm name, it appears that he has been on his own since at least 1986. And since the Pyramid was built between 1969 and 1972, and Barasch was still in university in 1971 (http://www.e-yearbook.com/yearbooks/University_Arizona_Desert_Yearbook/1971/Page_442.html), it seems exceedingly unlikely that Barasch was involved in any way with its design.

[R.Mackey]

It's a good thing they put the word "Truth" in their name... otherwise, a casual observer would be hard pressed to see it.

Has any of those goons ever published a paper? Any of them??

[AJM8125]

It is a bit difficult to reconcile the idea of Mr. Barasch as a "designer" of the Transamerica Pyramid with the reality that Mr. Barasch, in 2006, had such astounding projects as seeking to renovate a rental house by adding a few bedrooms (after being denied (http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:JM6eTQ2_3BYJ:https://slocity.org/communitydevelopment/plancom/Staff%2520Reports/0524061.pdf+%22Stephen+Barasch%22+architect+cv&cd=12&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca) because the proposed renovation did not meet the planning department's requirements wrt municipal standards and zoning and such, and subsequently amending (http://www.ci.san-luis-obispo.ca.us/cityclerk/agendas/2006/080106agn/ph2appeal520grandave.pdf) the plan for appeal purposes to get it approved - not by any stretch of the imagination a big project judging by the drawings and photos), and in 2005 was also attempting to gain approval for a couple of new single family residential houses, without initial success (http://slocity.org/communitydevelopment/archrev/Meeting%20Updates/030705.asp) (not sure if he ever ultimately got approval for these and I can't be bothered to look any further).

Oh, and he apparently renovated a restaurant (http://www.sanluisobispo.com/entertainment/dining/story/12248.html) in 2006, too.



Mr. Pereira died in 1985 and it is not clear to me whether his firm, William L. Pereira & Associates, continued to exist after his death (there is some indication that it was taken over by two associates, but I haven't found anything in a cursory search that shows it continues to exist under the Pereira banner). In any event, according to this article (http://articles.latimes.com/1986-07-27/realestate/re-1631_1_church-planning) about a church expansion/renovation that Barasch worked on under his own firm name, it appears that he has been on his own since at least 1986. And since the Pyramid was built between 1969 and 1972, and Barasch was still in university in 1971 (http://www.e-yearbook.com/yearbooks/University_Arizona_Desert_Yearbook/1971/Page_442.html), it seems exceedingly unlikely that Barasch was involved in any way with its design.

Have you been told how amazing you are today?

And to think I just wasted this on Shemp over in community:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2mUHqXC1Vg

[Justin39640]

Mr. Pereira died in 1985 and it is not clear to me whether his firm, William L. Pereira & Associates, continued to exist after his death (there is some indication that it was taken over by two associates, but I haven't found anything in a cursory search that shows it continues to exist under the Pereira banner). In any event, according to this article (http://articles.latimes.com/1986-07-27/realestate/re-1631_1_church-planning) about a church expansion/renovation that Barasch worked on under his own firm name, it appears that he has been on his own since at least 1986. And since the Pyramid was built between 1969 and 1972, and Barasch was still in university in 1971 (http://www.e-yearbook.com/yearbooks/University_Arizona_Desert_Yearbook/1971/Page_442.html), it seems exceedingly unlikely that Barasch was involved in any way with its design.

found this
http://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=company&id=williamlpereiraassociates-losangeles-ca-usa&lng=3
looks like the last big building they did under that name was in 1982
and they changed the name of the company
One of California's most famous architects, Pereira is best known for his futuristic, space-age designs like the Transamerica Pyramid, Los Angeles Airport's Theme Building, and the Doha Sheraton in Qatar, as well as successfully masterplanning entire cities from the ground up, most notably the cities of Irvine and Newport Beach in California. By the time he died he had over 400 projects to his name. His company was inherited by architects Scott Johnson and Bill Fain upon his death in 1985, and exists today as Johnson Fain & Partners.
http://www.johnsonfain.com/

[sylvan8798]

Hell, he could have been drawing toilet partitions and still billed himself as one of the "designers". The little lackeys get to describe themselves as designers, even if they are just designing where to put the t-paper dispensers. It seems like he might have something to do with urban planning, since he is in the APA (American Planning Association?).

[alienentity]

I've contacted Johnson Fain and asked them to clarify or comment. Just curious to see if they'll respond.

btw, is David Chandler also presented as either an engineer or an architect?

The A&E Truth ad describes it's members as:

'100's of accredited professionals'
And, referring to Richard Gage 'he and nearly 600 of his colleagues'

Richard Gage talks about the organization using these phrases:
'this forensic evidence includes smoking guns that lead ALL 562 Architects and Engineers to realize that these buildings were brought down by explosive controlled demolition'

Clearly the organization presents itself as a collection of accredited architects and engineers. I fail to see how a high school physics teacher fits into that catagory....

[BigAl]

I've contacted Johnson Fain and asked them to clarify or comment. Just curious to see if they'll respond.

btw, is David Chandler also presented as either an engineer or an architect?


Is this him?
http://www.ae911truth.org/profile.php?uid=999083

[alienentity]

Is this him?
http://www.ae911truth.org/profile.php?uid=999083

Yup

[DGM]

Out of curiosity (I don't know why): Has AE 9/11 any requirements that would prove that it's signers are still supporters (if they understood and supported them to begin with)?

[deep]

Clearly the organization presents itself as a collection of accredited architects and engineers. I fail to see how a high school physics teacher fits into that catagory....


David Chandler is listed under Supporters and A&E Students, so he's not counted as one of the architectural/engineering professionals.

[triforcharity]

That is a good thing, as he isn't qualified (in my opinion) to build a doghouse.

[BigAl]

Someone posted a link to the CA license list that showed that Barasch got a license in 1971 (r was in 77). Is there any chance he was licensed in another state first or somehow got "relicensed" if that is possible.

[Architect]

Firstly, I wonder whether there's some sort of confusion over 40 years experience and 40 years of age, which would readily explain part of the OP's query. As for being on the original design team, well that looks liek complete bollocks.

As an aside, when I worked on the Beetham Tower, there were 14 of us on the in-house team including a year out student. That doesn't make him one of the designers in any meaningful sense; hell, the CAD monkeys did more technical stuff than he did.

[Lenbrazil]

Someone posted a link to the CA license list that showed that Barasch got a license in 1971 (r was in 77). Is there any chance he was licensed in another state first or somehow got "relicensed" if that is possible.

He is listed in the U of Arizona 1971 yearbook as being from LA. He was licensed in California in 1977 and listed as living in San Luis Obispo (close to LA). All the evidence turned up so far on this thread only shows him working on projects in CA. The only other state I could imagine him being licensed in would be AZ but he only got one there in 1986 and his address was still listed as San Luis Obispo. Since there is no evidence he ever lived, studied or worked anywhere but those 2 adjoining states I think it's rather safe to assume he wasn't licensed 1971 - 6 in a third one.



http://www.btr.state.az.us/listings/RegSearchResults.asp?LastName%20Like%20%22%25baras ch%25%22

[LashL]

It's a good thing they put the word "Truth" in their name... otherwise, a casual observer would be hard pressed to see it.


Heh. That is a great line. Nominated for the pith!

[LashL]

Firstly, I wonder whether there's some sort of confusion over 40 years experience and 40 years of age, which would readily explain part of the OP's query. As for being on the original design team, well that looks liek complete bollocks.


I do not see how it could be a matter of confusing 40 as his age vs. his years of experience, as neither seems plausible. He was in university in 1971 (38 years ago) so he has to be (considerably) more than 40 years old, and he cannot have 40 years of experience as an architect since he was still in school in 1971. So, yes, it does look like complete bollocks to say that he was on the original design team for the Pyramid, which was built between 1969-1972.

Rather, the blurb from AE sounds like more of the deliberate exaggeration and deliberate distortion of facts that we have come to expect from this merry band, who purport to be "truth" seekers. :rolleyes:

[deep]

He is listed in the U of Arizona 1971 yearbook as being from LA. He was licensed in California in 1977 and listed as living in San Luis Obispo (close to LA). All the evidence turned up so far on this thread only shows him working on projects in CA. The only other state I could imagine him being licensed in would be AZ but he only got one there in 1986 and his address was still listed as San Luis Obispo. Since there is no evidence he ever lived, studied or worked anywhere but those 2 adjoining states I think it's rather safe to assume he wasn't licensed 1971 - 6 in a third one.


In 1975, he was licensed in Texas (license #5514). Here's the search page:

http://www.tbae.state.tx.us/PublicSearch/
Exp Date: 05/31/2010
Cert Date: 02/11/1975

[LashL]

So, he had nothing to do with the design of the Pyramid building contrary to the assertions of AE "truth"ers; AE's "40-year architect" claim is still bogus; and the fellow continues to struggle with residential bedroom addition projects.

Good to know.

[Lenbrazil]

It turns out he got his first architecture license in Texas in 1975*. This fits with his claim to have gotten a masters from Rice** and explains the 6 year gap between graduation from UA and getting licensed in CA.

* http://www.tbae.state.tx.us/PublicSearch/
** http://www.ae911truth.org/profile.php?uid=996622

I have not been able to confirm AE911T’s claim he worked for William L. Pereira and Associates the firm that designed the TA Pyramid. This is quite doubtful because:

1) no one else not even the architect himself says this
2) according to a site citing Dun and Bradstreet he started Barasch Architects & Associates Inc in 1977* the same year he earned his license in California and he seems to have spent most of the six years following his graduation from UA getting his masters degree and architecture license in Texas.
3) his career since starting his own firm is hardly one of a prominent architect

Since UA is hundreds of miles from LA where Pereira was based at best he might have been a summer or on leave intern there.

His claim to have "over 40 years experience" indicates either he is
- bad at basic math
- prone to exaggeration an/or
- for some reason counts his undergraduate years as part of his "experience", I wonder if he would hire a freshly graduated architect who claimed to have "nearly 4 years experience"

*The current page says the company has been “in Business” for 32 years
http://www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_chgp1g while the cached version says it was started in 1977 http://tinyurl.com/n6afne. There are links to the actual D & B info is anyone is willing to pay or already has access.

[AZCat]

It turns out he got his first architecture license in Texas in 1975*. This fits with his claim to have gotten a masters from Rice** and explains the 6 year gap between graduation from UA and getting licensed in CA.

There would be a gap anyway, because of the experience requirement for licensing. I don't know what it was back then for architects, but 4-6 years is pretty typical (on top of a bachelor's degree). For example, mechanical engineers have to have 3 years of experience + a BS for California and 4 years + a BS for Arizona.

[Newtons Bit]

So, he had nothing to do with the design of the Pyramid building contrary to the assertions of AE "truth"ers; AE's "40-year architect" claim is still bogus; and the fellow continues to struggle with residential bedroom addition projects.

Good to know.

Maybe they meant 40-year old architect? :confused:

[LashL]

Maybe they meant 40-year old architect? :confused:

No. See post #23 above.

Gage is just making crap up.

[Newtons Bit]

No. See post #23 above.

Gage is just making crap up.

I realize that. I was trying to be funny :blush:

Edit: the only way this could even be remotely true is if the guy was interning at the firm during his college days. He very well may have worked on the project. But claiming to be part of the design team is an extreme stretch for someone who is just a summer intern.

[TruthersLie]

no they just suffer from the "we'll round it up and no one will notice" disease.

they have 660 people on their A&E Twoof petition and they say "nearly 700"

so 30ish years experince becomes "a 40 year experienced architect."

I'll leave the bad sexual innuendo jokes out...

[Justin39640]

I realize that. I was trying to be funny :blush:

Edit: the only way this could even be remotely true is if the guy was interning at the firm during his college days. He very well may have worked on the project. But claiming to be part of the design team is an extreme stretch for someone who is just a summer intern.

so he got coffee for the design team?
i dont drink coffee myself but i can see how that could be an integral part of a team lol

[nicepants]

no they just suffer from the "we'll round it up and no one will notice" disease.

they have 660 people on their A&E Twoof petition and they say "nearly 700"

so 30ish years experince becomes "a 40 year experienced architect."

I'll leave the bad sexual innuendo jokes out...

I could have sworn that the last time I heard him on the radio he was claiming 850.

[Bluesky]

I had another look at the ae911truth web site the other day.

I went through the petition list and counted 120 architects, and 80 structural/civil engineers... and a bunch of certified lawn engineers and the like. Has anyone been through their list recently?

[TruthersLie]

There was this blogpost on May 2 nd where someone went through their degreed and licensed list and found that less than half are degreed AND licensed.

http://www.ae911truth.info/tiki-view_blog.php?blogId=1

(I love this site btw, but would like to see it updated)

they state


A friend of this site recently went through their list of signees and discovered this total included architect and engineering students or other people that worked in the offices. When he eliminated everyone but those with licenses and/or degrees, he found the truth - 284 names. And this was being very generous with the degrees! Several landscape engineers are in this list. There are many electrical engineers and others whose specialty has nothing at all to do with structural engineering.

[Architect]

You know, it's actually against the law to call yourself an architect in the UK unless you are, in fact, actually on the Register of Architects.

Gage should come over here........