Design Dialogue: Allison Sumner

In our most recent Design Dialogue, we hear from Allison Sumner, a Senior Project Manager working on our Multifamily projects including Affordable Housing, in Los Angeles.  Allison recently completed Las Dahlias, a transit-oriented affordable housing project in East Los Angeles, and is currently working on Together California: A Village for Brothers & Sisters in Palmdale, CA. Together California is a revolutionary concept for foster care aimed at keeping siblings together and thriving in foster care. 

At AC Martin, we believe that our team's passion, creativity, and professionalism are what truly set us apart. To give you a closer look at the people behind our projects, we bring you Design Dialogues, a new blog series where we'll be interviewing members of our team. Through these interviews, you'll get to know the individuals who bring our vision to life—learning about their unique perspectives, professional journeys, and what inspires them every day. Join us as we dive into the stories behind the faces at AC Martin.

Discuss a housing project you worked on that had a significant impact on you, either personally or professionally?

Any time I have the opportunity to work on affordable housing, I finish the project with my faith in humanity and in architecture renewed. Affordable housing requires extra effort, consideration, and coordination on the part of the whole team. Going beyond the basics of housing to create beautiful affordable housing requires commitment to something bigger, something that isn’t seen but is felt in the finished product. Architecture in all of its various forms can change and impact lives. But creating a home that is secure, enjoyable, and comfortable for someone who has not had that present in their life for various reasons, is particularly inspiring. At grand openings, I have met with residents who beam with pride in their new surroundings, showing off their new home and ultimately, their new life. I am proud to be able to tell them that I was part of the team who contributed.

Las Dahlias Affordable Housing in East Los Angeles, CA.

Where do you call home?

My heart is on the West Side of Los Angeles with the ocean weather! Originally from Maryland, I spent 4 years in Phoenix then moved to Vence, CA in 2000. From there I moved to West LA, then Culver City, Windsor Hills, Marina del Rey and now I live in Hawthorne/Manhattan Beach area. I love the transition from overcast to bright sunny days with a beautiful breeze and stunning sunsets. Strangely enough, I don’t make it to the beach more than a couple of times a year.

Is there an AC Martin designed project in your neighborhood?

I live near Northrup Grumman Space Park and I found out that the park and many of the buildings in the development were designed by AC Martin between 1960 and 1967. At the time, it was the first group of space science facilities designed specifically for the spacecraft production and testing. The building that originally caught my eye driving to my local grocery store is the E2 Building. It’s a typical glass curtain wall building but with a concrete exoskeleton in a hexagonal pattern. Very unique!

Northrup Gruman E2 Building designed by AC Martin in 1967

How do you spend your weekends / holidays / time off?

My significant other and I spend probably 1 or 2 nights a month going to see live music, comedy or DJs. We also have a group of friends who go camping 3-4 times a year, usually in a remote desert location. If it’s Moto GP season, we will spend a few hours on weekends watching the races happening around the world. Our last vacation was to Chicago. It was much cleaner and greener than I expected!

Recent Visit to Chicago

Something You couldn’t live without?

Pets! I have always lived with some kind of pet: dogs, cats, fish, birds, hamsters. We currently have two small Chihuahua mixes (Trent and DJ) and a calico cat (Eve).