Chris Martin ’64


Invited to join the third generation of the firm by his father, uncle and cousin, Chris Martin continues the AC Martin legacy as Chairman and CEO. Recently, the addition of the Wilshire Grand building has had AC Martin in the news.


AC Martin has been an integral part of some of the most iconic buildings in the Los Angeles skyline from LA City hall in 1927 to the new Wilshire Grand, the tallest building in the western United States. What is it like to know that you’ve made such and impact on LA?
“It’s fulfilling to know you’re a contributor and we take great pride that we’ve made a contribution to society and the LA community.”

How does AC Martin stay relevant today?
AC Martin is a company that has grown to include architecture, interior design, construction management and project management in eight different companies across the country. This diversity allows AC Martin to provide services to a wide range of clients. In order to do really good work it must be designed for the people it serves. Staying true to our core values of craft, integrity and professional responsibility helps us stand apart from others.

Have any experiences from your time at Mayfield stayed with you as you’ve pursued your career?
While a young student at Mayfield, I remember watching the facilities/maintenance crew build a garden shed. I watched with great interest as the structure was created and put together. My interest in the way things worked was evident at Mayfield and has continued throughout my life. I’ve always been on the engineering and construction side of our business rather than the designing side. I enjoy helping our team find constructible solutions to challenges faced during the design and construction process.

What has been an example of innovation in your work?
While preparing for the construction of the Wilshire Grand building downtown, we knew the foundation needed to support a building of this size would be a major undertaking. Our team planned for the “grand pour” and orchestrated an 18 hour, 21,500 cubic yard pour of concrete that ultimately landed AC Martin in the Guinness Book of World Records for the world’s largest single, continuous concrete pour. It was important to us that we find a way to do our best work and insure the proper foundation set for the Wilshire Grand building. The foundation design also had to take into consideration the tremendous heat generated by the endothermic reaction of mass concrete. The design includes 9 miles of refrigeration piping in the foundation as the concrete core reached 156F during the curing process. It also required us to have 2,500 concrete trucks scheduled over 20 hours; all while taking into account for the busy downtown Los Angeles area freeway and local traffic. This, “concrete truck ballet” of trucks was queued and choreographed to arrive and pour continuously, ultimately laying a concrete foundation that weighs about 84 million pounds.

What advice have you received and continue to pass on?
My father always told us to “seek the truth in everything you do and always do your best work.”
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Mayfield Junior School

Located in Pasadena, California, Mayfield Junior School of the Holy Child Jesus is a K-8 Catholic coeducational private school. Our kindergarten, elementary school, and middle school experience best prepares students for high school education and beyond.