In this issue: Schoolhouse Texas 71 O North St. Paul Space in the Woods Designing a First-Name College Architect Glimpses: Annual Meeting 73 Plus regular columns. See contents. NUMBER 6 VOLUME 23 NOV/DEC 1973 Contents O fficial P11blicalloa of Editorial ...... 3 The TuaJ ',oclel) o f A rchlleth
lSA 1s 1he othc,al orsan1ta1tun ol 1hc 1 uas Re1100 Schoolhouse ...... 5 of lhe American ln~lluh., nt Arch11cc1, L.1rr) Paul l·ullcr • . . . • . . • . . • •• !l.1anag1n1 hhwr Convenrioneers at the annual meeting of fames D. Ptluacr. AIA •.• , • . •.•....•.•• fd11or the Tuas Associations of School Adminis Ra) Reece . . • . . . • • • . • • • • fd11or11I A,s1sion1 trators and School Boards (San Antonio, Sept. 30- 710 North St. Paul ...... 9 THI lfX·\\ .\RCIIIII( T "puhhWtcd \1~ 11mcs An old Dallas c·otton-gruding building, )CUii) h) 1hc le,.,. 'ic..:1t1, ot ,\"h1lnh. MIO Perry llroob llu1ld1ng, 121 I a" lilh '-lrccl, ,\usun, lc,a, rmpty a11d iilent for 15 yr<1rf, geH a """' 7117111 Suh..:r11>1111n prise Is i4 110 per )Car 1n u,t. lease ot1 life Jrom the ~u11e gruup of pri:e ,unce, tor addrnKs ,.,,hm 1he cc,n111~n11I lln11c,J wmmng arcllllrcu whu h,we chosen to 01/1 SliilC>, CUCJlHIII! IIM\\MII nnJ 1\IHla ( <>p)fll!hl l\17) it hot11t. b) 1hc Ion, \ii<:tcl) of \r.h11c,u I <1,wr1al conu1but1uns, currcsponJcn.:c, and ad.er• ,,.. ng malcrial m\llcJ h) 1he cd1111r Due lo the Space in the Woods ...... 12 n.tlurc.· ol lhe puhl"auun, cd,wrial c,,n1r1hut1nns can• 001 he purcha\cJ Puhh,hcr 11-c, pcrnu,,mn tor A new recreation center near Houston, rcpruducllun ul all or parl ol cd11c111al maicrial "·hilt nestled in the woods, takes on a form herein and rcqucsis pul>l1ca1ion crcd11 he 11vcn reminiscent of the rockers and landing Tl XA'> AH.( IIITH'l and aulhor ut ma1cr11I ,.hen modules circlmg through the spheres over 1nJm,1cJ Puhhcat11>n, v.h,ch normal!) r•> lor cJ1- 1ura;II material arc rcque\lcd In &1>c cnn\1Jcra11vn Ill head. th<" aulhnr ol reproduced h)hnc tnturc m,uerial \PrCaranu:, ul n•mc, and piclUrc, ut pre.Ju,!\ and Designing a Kl' 1 l'\A o nt('.RS f()R l97J Glimpses: Annual Meeting 73 ••• • •• • • 18 J•> \\ . 11.trnn. Aui.un . • • • • • . • • . , .•• Pres1Jcn1 llcn I· llrev.er, Huu\lnn ••••••••.• Prn1dcn1,flcc1 l)a-.d llraden. D.tlla\ .. , , \ 1cc-Pres1Jen1 I cd \blt1n Jr Palc,une.. . .•• \. 1te · Pre,,Jen1 Glass Fire Station ...... 20 11111 Parrl\h ..,.n An1on111 ,. . . . \. 1cc Pre\lJenl H.ohcrl Chamh.:" h•fl ~orlh Sccrc1uy John 01,.,n, C'orpu, ( hri,11 . . Treasurer l),rn1cl llcN>nC, Ah1lcne . • AIA Rc1mn1t D1rcc1or New England Comes Tom llullc..:k, llou,1on . . .• AIA Rc11e1nal Oirc,1or l'rc1>1un \1 (,(rcn Jr., to Houston ...... 22 f·url \\orlh ••. P.t\l Pres1dcn1 Dt, h) lnr, \u,1,n •. I ,c,ul IH" Oireclor fSA ( IIArHR OIRH'TORS t OR 197J All the Store's Jamn llllk • Ah1lene a Stage ...... 27 ( hud \t•hl ..••.••. •...•.• Au,hn Concepts of theater design, incorporated John () (,rccr Bra,"' On the Cover into a new department store in Knoxville, Jack Sulka . • . . Corpu\ C'hrl\11 Donald J.trvl\ • . • . . • . . • . . . .. Dallas /Iris month's wi·a is Lurry Paul Fullers Tennesstt, help untie some perennial knots (,(orse !.1.t1en • • l I Pa«, adaptution of a crayon sketch do11e in J 968 of maintenance and merchandise display. P,1ul \\harh,n ..• , • . . . • . . • • . • . • . . • . f·nrl Worlh h> a student at Austin 's Barton Springs lhrr) Ciolcm,,n . . • • . • • . • • • Houslon Uc•mentan -~ lrllol following Ard1itt·c1 Jim (,enc Hoharl • • • • • • • • I ov.cr R111 (,randc Valley Pfluger's i·itit Y,ith the class. The sketc/1. In the News ...... 30 Hoh M cucnn111h . . L uhbctt k "lurl, hm been filed with a packet from the Cieurae Rnd&cl\ • . /'lmlhca,1 Tc.ai, "hole elms, hears the followinl( clue to the I d Mok . • • '>.In Anwnio original artill't identit)·. ''Siney, Brion:· \1,hon Bell ',,1u1 hca\l T cxa, J Ril) Daniel I uu Panhandle Letters to the Editor ...... 32 Dou, tlnrn Waco D.tr) le lluhcn, We.a Te~.. , Joe Ro~rh \\ 1chll.t I all\ i\hr1hu lknncn AU<>e1a1e \luden1 <1'•pten AIA Au,11n 2 Texas Architect Further Down the Road These are difficult times. The energy crisis, material shortages, conservation of our natural resources, policies regulating growth - all are major concerns. Our priorities, our very ways of life, are being questioned. During this period of evaluation and assessment, our profession must be an active participant in this public debate. The questions loom before us: In shaping our buildings and cities, what design solutions will provide continuing contributions to the cause of energy conservation? How can energy requirements be reduced during the construction process itself through innovative materials specification and building techniques? How can we as architects assume the role of communicators in behalf of resourceful response to our environment? And what planning processes will permit citizens to have a part in determining the ways in which their state shall develop? The answers lie further down the road. But after this year of service as your president, I am convinced that we can get there. The most direct path, as I see it, is through widespread and active participation in our own professional development program. We must develop our own proficiency and potential to its fullest; we must find out where we are. And then, having something to say, we must speak. We must make our voice be heard - across our own desks, in community forums, through effective public awareness campaigns, and in the halls of our state capitol. I These are difficult times. But the challenge is ours to make them r' better. / Jay W. Barnes President Texas Society of Architects November/December 1973 3 PERMANENT MATERIAL TO PRESERVE PERMANENT RECORDS What else but ELGIN-BUTLER CERAMIC GLAZED BRICK could be more suitable for and synonymous with the beautiful and solid look of permanence in the design of the Natural and Cultural History Museum for this great university? Brick for permanence, rough texture for ruggedness and glazed finish to resist dirt, stain and weathering. Natural and Cultural History Museum Texas Technological University - Lubbock, Texas Stiles, Roberts & Messersmith, Architects, Lubbock McMurphy & Craig, Architects, Lubbock Area Builders, General Contractors, Odessa, Texas Smith & Sweet, Masonry Contractors uibbock Brick & Tile Company, Lubbock, Texas Elgin-Butler Glazed Brick, Shade 180S, Acapulco Texture ELGIN-BUTLER BRICK COMPANY AUSTIN, TEXAS BRANCH OFFICES HOUSTON • DALLAS • SAN ANTONIO • BATON ROUGE WITH REPRESENTATIVES IN PRINCIPAL CITIES Ebbco- 7379 SCHOOLHOUSE San Antonio exhibit highlights the newest and best in Texas schools, more and more "a product of give-and-take communication between educator and architect." By Larry Paul Fuller They hadn't thought much about bricks, facilities planning On September 30- rates may soon be affecting enrollment in or roonincs, or even building locations. 0ctober I , when three thousand school lower grades, Klein's immediate problem But this much they knew for sure Dun administrators and board members was to provide for a projected high canville needed an aud1tor1um. gathered 1n San Antonio for their Joint school enrollment increase of I 00 per annual convention, they were exposed to cent in two years. As part of the needed So 11 was that School Superintendent what 1s new in everything from books to expansion program, Kl em H 1gh School Wilham Hugh Bird and members of the buses But perhaps the best-attended Homemaking Center was constructed as schoolboard began the exchange of ideas exhibit of all was the display of outstand a self-contained building on campus, with architect E. Hamilton Guice that re ing school architecture. Herc was shown thereby accommodating domestic arts ac- sulted in a new auditorium for Dun the results of Duncanv1lle's careful plan 11v111es while releasing space within the canville, tailored to meet the specific ning. along with eighteen additional proJ existing high school for other in needs of the community ccts selected from forty entries A jury of structional purposes "We couldn't sec architects and school officials Judged the tacking on again and again to the main And similar accounts could be told of prOJCCtS in relation to local program ob building," Collins said "And providing a school proJects across the state School jectives and financial limitations. The fa separate slle helped achieve the res1dcn officials and architects arc collaborating cilities varied widely in function and t1al character we were looking for in a in the planning of educational facilities cost, but all were the product of a give design." which arc most conducive to effective and-takc process of commun1cat1on be learning within the educational frame tween educator and architect work of their own communities The Wyatt C. Hedrick Architects & Engi challenges are many. New educat1onal Several school officials associated with neers. Inc. broke the bu1ld1ng down into philosophies, rising construction costs, winning proJects were asked to talk about four hip-roofed masses, with a colon unpredictable population patterns and their new fac1lit1es and the planning pro naded porch 1dent1fying the entry Six impending shortages in energy and mate cess that preceded them Their accounts teaching laboratories arc grouped around rials al I increase the complexity of the outline many of the problems most a central core containing administrative planning process. school systems face and reveal solutions offices and a combined living dining/ which rcncct nationwide trends Klein style show area with fireplace, carpeted In recent years, the Texas Society of Ar Schools Superintendent Dr Donald C noor and furniture selected to create a chitects has Joined the educators of the Collins, for example, works wllh a system residential feel The center provides edu state in recognmng those districts which forced to accommodate a rapidly-grow cational facilities for domestic cooking, have best met the challenges of effective ing community While declining birth sewing, home nursing, child care and November/December 1973 5 Klein Homemaking Center home arts. But, in addition, Klein acknowledged the increasing need for career education by incorporating facili ties for commercial foods preparation training. "There's a lot of difference be tween cook mg 2 or 3 pancakes in a skillet and preparing 40 fried eggs at one lime," Collins mused. "We've at tempted to incorporate into the center the same types of equipment used in large commercial kitchens." With Department of Labor predictions that only 20 percent of all U.S. jobs will require college de grees in the I 980's, this stronger em phasis upon vocational education is be coming a nation-wide trend. Another tendency in educational facili ties planning is reflected in the approach taken by Superintendent Bird and the Duncanville School Board toward func tionalizing their new auditorium. Origi nally conceived to be a part of Duncan ville High School with a seating capacity of 1600, the structure ultimately was bu i It as a separate entity to serve all the schools of the district and citizens of the community as well. This concept of "space sharing" is being looked to na tionally as one answer to spiraling con struction costs and decreasing energy supplies. Architect Guice was able to provide a 2200-seat auditorium utilizing continental seating design at a cost wet I below the budgeted funds available. The building is constructed so as to blend harmoniously with the existing high school and junior high school structures in one master educational complex. Yet 6 Texas Architect spaciousness and detachment of the final site allows for better accommodations in its role as a public auditorium. Many of the winning projects echo the widely practiced, yet controversial, con cept of "open space" education. Educa tors have decried the closed classroom as an inhibition to learning and a barrier to methods such as team teaching. And ar chitects, attempting to work within a budget, are all too happy to eliminate costly classroom doors and walls in favor of more elaborate heating, cooling and communications systems. Collaboration of the Alief School board and Superinten dent Dr. John Bowser with the architec tural firm of McKittrick Drennan Richardson Wallace resulted in one such open-space project honored in the exhibit - Douglas Smith Elementary School. This innovative design, providing for grades K-5, utilizes a theme in the round. Learning activities are situated in one continuous space wrapped around an In Duncanville Auditorium structional Materials Center and central circular courtyard. The concept of "con tinuous space for continuous progress" 1s, Bowser says, well-received by students and teachers alike. Inherent in the design is a high degree of flexibility for team teaching, group activity and individ ualized instruction. And the compactness of the plan, when compared to rambling, rectangular structures, makes for a less formidable, more human scale. Another consideration, one that is in creasingly important in all building proj ects, was energy conservation. Architect 0. E. Peck Drennan pointed out that tioning systems, some architects foresee a lighting levels in the school were reduced return to natural ventilation and lighting on the basis of recent findings that ceiling as a result of the energy crisis. But such illumination is often too bright. Reports measures are seen as last resorts by most indicate that increasing light beyond cer educators, including Bird and Bowser, tain levels does not improve the ability to who are convinced that little learning see. Indeed, some specialists point to takes place in a hot, sultry classroom. bright, uniform lighting as a cause of fa. Bowser also says the pro-window argu tigue, advocating instead the use of ment that children should be able to view varied intensities to define different areas nature from the classroom is weakened within a single space. The capacity to by the reality that the schoolyard is full house ductwork within the core of the of distractions. And as a former teacher building also proved to be an economy of mathematics, he was impressed with factor. And, as is rapidly becoming gen the folly of installing expensive windows William Hugh Bird, Superintendent eral practice, life-cycle costing, instead which, at additional cost for curtains or of initial cost, was made the measure for blinds, must repeatedly be made opaque awarding contracts for electrical and me to eliminate glare from chalkboards or to chanical systems. achieve darkness for visual aids. Bird maintained that students needn't feel Though the economical advantage of the confined within windowless structures if windowless wal I was an important factor the buildings have interesting interiors in the Smith School, and has often been and added that the windowless wall is a utilized to defray expense of air condi- deterrant to vandalism. November/December 1973 7 Douglas Smith Elementary Dr. John Bowser, Superintendent Robert Cummings, School Board President Schools Exhibited Additional proj ects on display: A lvin Vocational Sch., Engberg Simmons Douglas Smith Elementary, Duncanville Cavill Mc Knight Weymouth, Houston. process from teachers and selected stu Arlington, Floyd M. Gunn Middle Sch., Pres Auditorium, Klein Homemaking Center dents. Superintendent Bird of Duncan ton M. Geren, Fl. Worth. Clenl 1111 d High, - all of the projects on display - re ville says the interaction includes a feel Denny & Ray, Ho uston. Dripping Springs, flected cooperation and input from many ing of being "in good hands" with an ar Lake Travis Elem., Barnes, Landes, Goodman different sources. And the mention of this chitect. That is, throughout the planning & Youngblood, Austin. Euless, Lakewood Elem., Woodward Associates, Hurst. Garland, interaction between architects and citi stages, there is the assurance that the hir W.J. Sellers Middle Sch., Wright-Rich, Dallas. zens of the community elicited varying ing of professional competence is money Houston· Clear Lake High , Keller, Tharp & comments and descriptions from differ well spent. And architect Drennan speaks Cowell; Forest Brook High, McKillrick, Dren ent individuals. Aliefs Schoolboard Pre of the process in terms of role playing. nan, Richardson & Wallace; Spring Branch sident Robert Cummings, who personally "Some of our most fruitful planning Career Center, McKillrick, Drennan. Richard son & Wallace. Humble Middle Sch., Wya11 sees school construction through from sessions occur when we play a little C. Hedrick, Houston. Irving: Admin./Bus. start to finish, points to a good working game," Drennan says. "The school ad Com plex Addition, Jerry Q. Jeffery; Chester relationship with architects as a source of ministrator attempts to think as an archi W. Nimitz High, Fine Arts Complex, Grogan, success in their building programs. "We tect, and the architect as an administra Scoggins. Lubbock, George H. Mahon Elem., don't expect architects to have all the an Brasher, Goye11e, Rapier. San Antonio, Clear tor. Soon we begin to understand each Spring Elem., Hesson & May. Somerset Elem., swers," he says. " But rather we feel that a other." Johnson-Dempsey, San Antonio. Wichita mutual exchange of ideas will produce a Falls, Northwest Jr. High, Wingler & Sharp. better product." Klein's Dr. Collins also Though the interactions of the planning views the process as a collaboration. He process were illustrated in different ways, Jurors believes the final design should be a com it was agreed that both architect and edu Mrs. Tess Morris, Executive Commillee, posite of many ideas, from those who will cator learn from a mutual exchange, and TASB; Ned Burns, TASB; A nd y A nderson, Texas Education Agency; Jim Pnuger, Ar use the building day-to-day as well as that, after all, learning is what school chitect (Pnuger & Polkinghorn, Austin); Bill from school officials and architects. He building is all about. Martin, Architect (Wilson , Stoellje, & Martin, therefore seeks input into the planning Austin). 8 Texas Architect :c ~ 0 z There 1t sat for 15 )ears at 710 North St. Paul, un occupied, unused except for groundtloor parking - gathering dust and fading through the seasons while busy Dallas grew taller and busier around it. Origi nally built in 1928 as a cotton brokerage and sort ing facility, its time as a space for human work ap peared to have passed with the passing of the old time, decentralized cotton industr). What modern firm would want a building of four puny stories lo cated outside the city's commercial hub with no air conditioning, no marble facing, no paneled eleva tors, and no reflective plate glass? November/December 1973 9 It took an architect's eye for potential and a certain Honor Award affinity for things in their natural state: after several Texas years of looking, the Oglesby Group, lnc./Oglesby, Architecture Wiley, Halford spotted the building on North St. 1972 Paul, liked it, bought it, and promptly transformed it into a model of commercial renovation that brought the group one of its three Honor Awards, Texas Architecture, 1972 (see page 20, this issue, and Texas Architecture, March-April 1973). The Such a gesture toward the simple and the natural is firm itself is now ensconced on most of the third consistent with the firm's design philosophy: to floor, leasing the rest of the building's space to other reach for that which endures and serves, which at interests. tains beauty without resorting to the glitter of cliche or fad. It is, among other things, a pragmatic ap What exactly was it about this old site that appealed proach, based on a will to build from what exists, to to the Oglesby Group? Part of the answer is loca serve a client or a venerable site without imposing tion: while not fixed within the city's traditional an alien, albeit glamorous perspective. "We are business loop, the building is close to major free problem-solvers," says one of the firm's principals, ways and thoroughfares. A second factor in the ar "as well as designers." chitects' choice was sunlight. Since the building was designed to house employees sorting and grading cotton, it features a unique array of huge monitor skylights oriented due north to scoop in daylight for the cotton-grading process. The firm now uses this same source of light to illuminate its central drafting area - and to nurture a little indoor forest of living plants and trees. 10 Texas Architect "~ ... -:.:~ .., l) ..." LEASE SPACE .~ ~ -:. ~ ~ ~ -!?-.., ....., I: • ·.: ·o- c.. " ~ ~ .J:) .t ~"' ..s::~ ~ () ~ ~:s Q=l ~ This, in an era of zeal for ecological protection, is a useful attitude, and it has guided the architects at every stage in their revival of 710 North St. Paul. Besides accommodating the building's sources of natural light, the planners have attempted to pre serve the character of the original structure itself. Instead of razing or adding walls, they have striven for a unified simplicity in the ones that were already there. First they stripped away fire-escapes and ob trusive ornamentation, then painted brick and cast stone walls in a series of visually compelling de signs. At ground-level, overhead doors were re moved from the parking garage to open a view to the building's rear wall, where part of the roof was excised to admit more sunlight. In preparing the interior of their own offices, the ar chitects dismantled existing wall-boards to expose the o riginal wood framing and brick. They darkened the wood with mahogany stain and lightened the brick with white paint. Then, working around the core drafting area beneath the skylights, they built new gypsum-board partitions to form small offices, storage closets, conference room and kitchen. The rationale for this approach was "open planning for maximum flexibility," and, indeed, the 25 or so inhabitants of this space rearrange their world every few months. Here, after 15 years of cobwebby si lence, is an old building come to life again with the sound and mo tion of human work. - R.R. November/December 1973 11 Space in the Woods It is pcrhap:. appropriate 1ha1 the Wood Okay. Why not bring the design concepts lake Recreation Center was bu1h near of space Cltploration down 10 earth a1 Houston by Houston architect!>. Of all the Woodlake'! This would oiler some 1n1cr c111es in the United States. possibly ex cs11ng solutions to a common arch11ec1ur cepting Cape Canaveral. Hou!>lon is the al problem - and it did. one mo:.t identified "'ith American ven tures into outer space. Hou~ton 1hus be There arc curves circles. half-circles and ci,mc, Space City. and Woodlake Center cylindrical pylons starting to arch toward bccmnc, a scene from a good ,;c1cncc the spheres of lhe moon and sun But they lic1 ion movie. don't quite gel there, because part of the object ol Woodlake is 10 furnish a WooJl.ikc didn't ,tart th,11 \~.,y. It ,1ar1cd human-scaled environment for human hkc mo~t architectural prc>Jc..:h: a, an recreation - not u colo sus. Blunting is e~crc.:ise in the mingling ol imaginative provided by the lines and angles of design \l.1lh practical allocation of ,pace. familiarly shaped, naturally textured More particularly, 1he planner~ wanted walls, rooves. and balconies. One of these an attractive central recreational facility balconies. opening oft the meeting room to be constructed in a mixed-use de on the second lloor, overlooks a handbal I velopment of residential. commercial, court which links a pair of dissimilar and retail ac11vi1y. The center was to pro mas~i. and becomes. in the words of the vide for handball courts. tennis courts, architect, ..a focal node on the pedestrian dressing rooms. and a small community trail system that continues to various meeting hull. areas of the development." That was 1he staled problem. In general, writes the architect: "The break-up of the massing is intended to The unstated design problem \I.US somc produce a recognizable and pleasing "'hat more complicated - al lea,1 in 1he human scale," view of architect Charles Tapley. His challenge was to blend a series of large Woodlake thus combines the shapes and windowless volumes \l.ith a variety of telttures of two different but related wall glazed volumes. \l.hilc remaining \I.Orlds: 1h01 of outer space, with all Its faithful to 1he scale and character of sweep and 1mplica11on of galacttc motion: adjacent commercial and residential and that of earth, of leaf-strewn paths structures. He also had oak trees to work along which modest human feel go stroll into his design. along with a mass of that ing or jogging in the tall. - R.R. same blue Teltas sky through "'hich the NASA people monitor the nights of the astronauts. 12 Texas Architect Honor Award Texas Architecture 1972 "Houston thus becomes Space City, and Woodlake Center becomes a scene from a good ... science-fiction movie." November/December 1973 13 AWARE of their environment and attention was focused on the ecological effects of energy, natural gas found its role as a superior source of basic energy. The reasons, of course, were that it burns virtually pollution free and that It has the versatility to fill a wide range of modern energy needs. With natural gas being the premium fuel that it is, it is important that decision makers work toward conservation of this valuable energy resource with the realization that its conserva tion is best achieved by its most direct and efficient use. THE INVESTOR OWNED GAS UTILITIES OF TEXAS Houston Natural Gas Corp I lone Sta, Gas Company I Pioneer Natu1111 Gas Company / Southefn Umon Gas Company I Unued Gas. Inc. DESIGNING A FIRST- NAME COLLEGE Folks down around Clute, Jones Creek and Brazos port like to see most things done on a first-name basis. So when it came time to design Brazosport Community College, the architects knew to plan for a school where everyone knows everyone else. The resulting design solution seems to work well for the small college, and it garnered another accolade for Caudill Rowlett Scott of Houston - a First Honor Award in Texas Architecture 1972. The plan concept is built around a central concourse to which wings of instructional space are attached. Outdoor Photos by Ron Partridge ~ November/December 1973 15 16 Texas Architect First Honor Award Texas Architecture 1972 courtyards, designed for class activities, are located between the "plug-in" wings. The spine of this arrangement is the central hub where students and faculty interact as they proceed through their out of-class routine. Located in this heart of the campus are dining areas, bookstore, library, lounge and game areas. Primary circulation occurs on both sides of these central spaces, along which are located additional informal lounge areas, with a view outward to each of the courtyards. Also easily accessible along the primary circulation corridors are administration, faculty, admissions, counseling, occupational infor mation and other services. Glass-enclosed instruc tional wings. housing language lab, drafting room, gymnasium, computer center and welding lab, inter sect the corridors. The library and bookstore are also completely glass-enclosed, permitting a view through the entire space. The resulting visibility of activities and services affords a kind of "store front" atmosphere in which students can literally shop for an interesting activity. And the inherent spatial variety affords many visual options and ab stractions, contributing to the vitality of the whole facility. In spite of a low budget, a quality appearance was achieved through innovative use of materials and systems. Continuity was established in the utiliza tion of a local limestone aggregate throughout the Flexibility was achieved in the instructional wings building. The structural frame was poured in place by leaving large areas of space open to modification. and sandblasted. Walls, constructed of exposed con Perimeter circulation is covered but not enclosed, crete blocks, provide an atmosphere of substance, adding to the flexibility of adJoining courtyards for within and without. The interior surface was bur use as outdoor classrooms. The overall linear design nished, contributing to its quality appearance, yet also proved functional, and appropriate for site con maintaining the economical advantage of exposed figuration consisting of a buildable portion bound concrete block construction. Pipes were also left ex ed on opposite sides by two streams. Expansion will posed, but were innovatively color-coded according be a simple matter of extending the central spine to function and in relation to brightly-painted ma and plugging in more wings - an important capaci chinery in the glass enclosed boiler room. ty for a little first-name college growing bigger.- LPF November/December 1973 17 GLIMPSES: Annual Meeting 73 .... 18 Texas Architect Novembe~December1973 19 Honor Award Texas Architecture 1972 Glass Fire Station ... clearly, planning with vision. Potentially, it was the talk of the town. The archi small church were purchased as a beginning for this tects didn't know whether the city of Allen, Texas municipal facility. Extensive remodeling and paint was quite ready for a glass fire station. But The ing the brick exterior of the existing building pro Oglesby Group, Inc.; Oglesby, Wiley, Halford; not vided suitable spaces for library and municipal use. known for a lack of imagination in their designs, felt A covered walkway serves as a functional and visual that glass it should be. link with the new structure. And glass it was. Now, passersby on West Avenue Another source of continuity in the project was C, a short jog from the town's main street, get the achieved by specifying copper clad, standing seam full visual impact of the traditional glisten and metal for the fire station roof - repeating the mate gleam of firetrucks and poised, polished machinery. rial used atop the existing structure. The new build "Firestations are sort of fun things," says principal ing walls are brick cavity; ceilings are wood deck architect-in-charge Bob Halford. "And fire-fighting ing. Steel trusses span the equipment room. This apparatus is so handsomely designed, yet admirably straightforward, yet innovative, use of materials was functional. We wanted to show it off ... to develop largely responsible for the success of the project, a sense of community pride in this equipment, and economically as well as aesthetically. the whole facility." The shiny glass fire station is now a source of pride The firestation itself is a portion of an award for Allen, which has come to have perhaps more winning project which includes town hall, library than its share of young boys who dream of being and firemen's apartment. The site and building of a firemen. - L.P.F. 20 Texas Architect FLOOR PLAN SITE PLAN "- November/December 1973 21 First Honor Award Texas Architecture 1972 new england comes to houston Phow~ by R,c~ Gardner 22 Texas Architect At first it seems incongruous: a 17th cen tury New England house in a modern Gulf Coast setting. But that's what the owners and architects in Houston had in mind - a spacious dwelling of sunny, low-key luxury that would double, sans contradiction, as a kind of museum for the family's collection of objects d'art and early American antiques. The problem, of course, was to blend the subtle design-economy of an old New En gl and farmhouse, buill to resist six months of snow each year, with the lei surely sprawl of a southwestern ranch dwelling faced only with the blazing sun and occasional heavy winds and rain. How do you do it? Build a ranch-house with a steep roof? Attach a rooster shaped weather-vane? Nail some shutters on the windows? Houston architect Howard Barnstone, working under the design partnership of Barnstone and Aubrey, has bridged both the miles and the centuries with a basic design of dramatic, geometric simplicity. Retaining a vintage Yankee format in barn-steep rooflines, shingle siding, and November/December 1973 23 block-style noor and wall plans, the home provides for ·Texas" through pro truding baywindows, skylights, and a staggered arrangement of the block modules comprising the major units of living space. The drama of this exterior is amplified by a patio-pond combination which continues the motif of geometric symetry while making way for plenty of southern sunshine. Spaces, angles. and light are carried assertively into the living and dining areas, as well as into other rooms, there to accent solid oak floors and white walls. The vaulted living space. harking back to an era of big New England barns and churches, was designed both to take advantage of the Gulf Coast climate and to form a backdrop for some of the fam ily's antiques. One of these pieces, a 19th century American Harvest table with 1830 chairs. basks in the light of the baywindow. w.h1le a round 18th century table rests between the sofas on a Chinese rug. The table lamp:. on either side of the center sofa have been fashioned. char acteristically. from a pair of brassy old tea cannisters. Again mindful of their dual challenge - to capture both the heritage of Ne"' En gland and the, astne :. of Texas - the ar chitects have conceived a dining area "'hich substitutes an angled :.k)hght lor the beamed ceiling of the living room. This too, an a merger \Hth recessed lights atop each wall. provides not only a splen did site for a dinner party but for more of those antiques as well. Among them are a c;e1 of Chippendale ladder-back chairs and dining table on a flat Oriental rug, ,,ith a Welsh China cabinet housing cer tain treasure:. of history. It all adds up to a prize-winning Barn stone solution to a seeming paradox: how to bring the architecture of a blustery. austere 17th Century New England to the metropolitan Gulf Coast of the 1970's and 1980's. - R.R. 24 Texas Architect IN THE GREAT WALLCOVERING REVOLUTION- COERVER HAS ALL THE AMMUNITION Wall covering is big business. The unprece dented increase in the demand for color and the techniques for adapting new and previ ously unthought of materials are nothing short of revolutionary. For example, the black and white dogwood wall covering is a photo reproduction on a Unika-Vaev fabric. Mounted on one inch fiberglas board with a six pound density, it is known as Coerver Coustic Paneling and can be fabricated to a six inch radius corner. This soundproofing paneling was developed in conjunction with the Oglesby Group, Inc., AIA, for the reception area of the Fidelity Union Life Insurance Company, fabricated and installed by Coerver. The Fina trademark in the American Petrofina Co., of Texas' reception room is an electro - static fiber known as Velvetex. The trademark cast in plaster to make it three dimensional was developed by Stephen Owen Nall, AIA , fabricated and installed by Coerver. The inlaid longhorn steer and W, in the main banking area of Western Savings FINA and Loan of Ft. Worth, combines a walnut background with the inlay of satin wood and macassar ebony, another good example of Coerver's unique ski ll and craftsmanship. Coerver represents many wall covering materials, including suedes, stripes, vinyl, adhesives, Curvwood, (flexible wood veneers) Panel Graphic, Portugal Cork, with most items in stock for immediate delivery. Call Coerver when you next need help with a wall covering, you will be amazed at the variety and number of materials available - plus Coerver's ingenuity and skill in their installation. ~ COERVER INDUSTRIES. INC. ~ 3311 ELM STREET I DALLAS, TEXAS 75226 I (214) 744·5211 Texas WATS 1-800-492-4266 Architectural woodworke Elevator cabs e Wallcoverings e Parkwood laminates Design tips to help clients use energy efficiently! These ideas can help to keep building operating costs low! 1. Interior colors increase lighting efficiency. Light colored surfaces reflect light from fixtures. Ceiling colors should reflect 80-90% of available light: wall colors. 40·60%: floors 20-40% 2. Utilize all available heat sources. In planning comfort conditioning, figure on heat from people, lights mechanical equipment, and heat from the sun. 3. Heat pump has lowest energy requirement of any electric cooling or heating equipment. Air-to-air heat pumps furnish more heat energy than they take from electric energy. 4. Building glass specifications are vital. Up to 57% of a building's heat gain can come from windows. Utilizing that heat can reduce dramatically heat and cooling costs 5. High-pressure discharge lamps are ideal for retail stores. Providing up to 15,000 hours of service, these high out-put lamps give more lumens-per-watt, and make products on the bottom shelf look as good as those on the top. For more ideas on the wise and efficient use of electricity, contact the service representative at your nearest electric utility ELECTRIC UTILITY COMPANIES OF TEXAS P 0. BOX 35006 • DALLAS, TEXAS 75235 A group of investor-owned. 1&•paylng elect11c utility companies of Texas, pro ..d1ng dependable. ecc n 1m :11 electric power Honor Award Texas Architecture 1972 All the stores a stage , , , November/December 1973 27 You're a shopper, let's say, browsing outlets, and mobile power drops, is hid steel tubing, with six different standard through a year-old department store in a den from view by a herringbone arrange pieces that can be combined into any year-old shopping mall. You attended ment of vertical aluminum baffles (paint number of display ensembles: gondolas, the Grand Opening last year, and you ed matte white). This "curtain" also show-cases, partitions and islands replete were impressed with the design-integrity disguises structural beams, wiring, pipes, with shelves, spirals, waterfalls, hang linking the major components of the sprinklers, and other interior fixtures (all rods and cash desks. store: exterior shell; ceiling, with lights painted a visually receding flat black) - and fixtures; sales and display ensembles. hence obviating not only the permanent What we see at Miller's West Town, then, You were relaxed, and you made a pur celling but a number of those perennial is a kind of erector set fashioned on the chase. difficulties associated with sprinkler in scale of a large department store. But spection, rewiring, and other mainte how about the problem of concealing Today, as you peer at wallets and coats nance tasks as well. those metal tubes and plastic panels? In and perfumes, you feel less comfortable this case it has ceased to be a problem: somehow. The parts of the store don't THE STORESTAGE CEILING, accord "The STORESTAGE components do not seem quite to hang together - maybe it's ing to its designers, is an "integral part of disappear behind the merchandise. the lighting or the new exhibits of the the STORESTAGE FIXTURING SYS Rather, the components are strong, clear season's merchandise. You don't know, TEM." This arrangement, based on the forms which provide a background but you feel uncomfortable, and you same two-foot, six-inch planning grid as against which the merchandise may be leave without spending a dime. the ceiling, "is not merely a collection of seen better. Neither the merchandise nor completed fixtures, but a system of relat the fixtures are visually dominant. They Such dramas, modest though they seem, ed components from which fixtures and work together ..." have long been a source of immodest partitions of many configurations may be headaches for architects of retail store in assembled." The fixture components Is there anyone in the audience who teriors: how do you establish a viable, themselves are fabricated from square needs a new wallet? - R.R. long-term relationship between a fixed exterior with fixed ceiling accoutrements and a system of merchandise displays subject to frequent change? Omniplan architects Harrell and Hamil ton, of Dallas, have found and installed a solution for Miller's We~t Town Depart ment Store in Knoxville, Tennessee. The> call it STORESTAGE . A basic premise of the Omniplan system is that a store interior has much in com mon with a theater stage. Each new play, in a theater, requires a new combination of lighting and set design. To allow for this, you build a grid high above the pro scenium from which you hang scene-flats and lighting equipment. Wanting of course to conceal such hardware from the audience, you drop a curtain. You don't, as do many department store plan ners, build a permanent ceiling. Standard The new .. play" in a retail store is the Wall arrival of new merchandise. It happens, Panel roughly, four times a year - so Miller's West Town and Ommplan simply did away both with the fixed ceiling and the Hang Rod fixed basic display system, replacing them with the corresponding elements of STORESTAGE. The skeleton of the system 1s a uniform network of ceiling grids and display com ponents whose hundred-odd parts are in terchangeable. The ceiling grid itself, with track-mounted lighting fixtures, 28 Texas Architect Novembe~December1973 29 In the News The "Texas: Handle With Care" cam Honors paign has been a statewide public educa tion program of the Texas Society of Ar Harry A. Goleman of Houston was a de chitects since June 1971. The basic tool sign awar ds juror for the Florida Associ of the campaign is a 13-minute audio ation, AIA, meeting in New Orleans on visual show which depicts some of the August 3 and 4. Mr. Goleman also de state's most precious environmental op livered an address o n " Development portunities: beautiful scenes, historic Building" to the Mississippi Chapter of sites, children and elderly persons and AIA at its Jackson meeting October 18. pleasant open spaces being enjoyed by Austin architect James Polkinghorn has family and other groups. . been. appointed to the Board of Trustees An original score was composed captur of the Eanes I ndependent School ing the mood of the "Texas: Handle With District. Care" campaign. Recordings of this have been distributed to Texas radio stations James Pfluger, of Austin, was elected in 30-second, 60-second and full ver Chairman of the Board of Brackenridge Pitts Award sions. Television slides, a four-color Hospital and committee chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Quality of Life A strong commitment to the integrity of pamphlet and two sizes of stickers round Committee. his profession, as well as a record of out ed out the campaign material. st anding architectural achievement, brought Mace Tungate, Jr., of Houston, David Barrow, Jr. and Chuck Stahl the TSA Llewellen Pitts Award at the have been elected directors of the North Presidential Banquet during the San An west Savings Association of Austin, with tonio Convention. A former president of Mr. Barrow serving as president. TSA, Mr. Tungate has long served in a variety of civic and professional posi Industry News tions, including memberships on design Houston architect Barry Moore received award and citation juries, the Arts Coun the Texas Forestry Association's 1973 cil of Harris County, the national AJA Architectural Award at the Association's Nominating Committee, and the Texas Annual Meeting October 19. Board of Archuectural Exam incrs. Cities Symposium The Prestressed Concrete Institute has named the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport "We are endowed with more than we re project, designed by Brodsky, Hopf, & alize," said global architect Buckminster Adler, of New York, to receive a 1973 Fuller to an overflow crowd October 9 PCI Award. at the Lyndon 8. Johnson Library in Austin. His address, more optimistic than A San Angelo company, Monarch Tile those of speakers preceding him, closed a Manufacturing, Inc., has recently ac two-day symposium on The American quired two ceramic t ile plants in City sponsored by the Lyndon 8. Johnson Florence, Alabama. School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. Handle With Care "We are one world island," said Fuller, The Texas Society of Architects has been using slides of oceans and continents to saluted by the state's tourist industry for illustrate his remarks, but "the funda its environmental preservation campaign, mental problem is getting humanity to "Texas: Handle With Care." realize this." With a keener international awareness, he said, plus a judicious appli Thomas A. Bullock of Houston, a past cation of technology, we could solve president of TSA, accepted the honor most of the major problems confronting Nov. 2 during the annual Texas Tourist our beleaguered cities. Development Conference in San An The Art Museum of South Texas, in tonio. Presenting the award was George Another speaker at the conference, archi Corpus Christi, was voted a South Cen F. Dillman of Dal las, board chairman of tect Harry Weese of Chicago, was more tral Regional Winner in the 1973 White the Texas Tourist Development Agency, specific: "We must stop the wrecker ball Cement Architectural Award competi which sponsors the conference. Dillman . .. The time of wastefulness is over. The tion, sponsored by Portland Cement As cited the Texas Society of Architects for new frontier isn't in the suburbs or the sociation. The museum was designed by its contributions to the state's tourist new towns but in the very heart of the Philip Johnson and John Burgee, Archi development. city." tects, New York. 30 Texas Architect Task Force IT'S FIRST... A six-man task force of the Houston Chapter has just submitted an extensive four-part recommendation on city plan ning for use by the city of Houston. Task force members were: Herb Paseur, Donald Williams, John Reynolds, Ed TIIAS' TAlllST ward Mauingly, Ro bert Kendrick, and The First Garland Anderson. International News of Firms Building in Dallas T Three Dallas groups have merged into Tallest Steel Frame the single firm of Dahl/Braden/Jones/ Building in Texas Chapman, Inc., Architects and Pl an ners, to be located at Two Turtle Creek Village, Dallas. The merging firms were The First International George L . Dahl , Inc., Architects and En Building in Dallas when gineers; Braden and Jones, Architects completed will be the and Planners, Inc.; and Max D . Chapman tallest steel frame office and Associates, Architects. building in Texas. Jay M. Bannister has joined the Dallas Fifty-six stories high, firm of Henningson, Durham & Richard 740 feet from basement to son, Inc. roof level, 11 is framed with 19,806 tons of Mosher After many years of independent general fabricated steel. practice, Raymond F. Thomas has be come a Partner in the Dallas firm of Due to be completed Pratt, Box, Henderson & Partners. during 1974, the building's unique architectural A Dallas firm, Do wning/Cook Associ and structural design ates, ha.s moved to 3000 Carlisle, Dallas, includes an all glass Texas 75204. exterior wall with a special lighting system that James H. Stewart , Jr., was elected an illuminates the diagonally Associate in the firm of Hatfield-Hol braced steel frame when comb, Inc., of Dallas. viewed at night. Bob G. Moore has been named vice pre It's First sident and director of the Dallas offices . The First International of Neuhaus & Taylor, Architects and Building in Dallas. Planning Cons ultants, based in Texas' Tallest with steel Houston. fabricated by Mosher. The Houston firm of Sturm Associates has relocated to 5959 Westheimer, Suite 140, Houston, Texas 77027. Arch,1ec1s RYA/Architects, Incorporated, Dallas, Harwood K Smolh & Parlners has announced the appointment of -Hellmulh Obala & Kassabaum, Inc. Thomas W. Hainze as Project Architect. S1ruc1ural Eng,neer Ellisor & Tanner. Deaths Consullong Engineers Renowned architect William W. Wur ster, founding dean of the University of General Con1rac1or Henry C. Beck Co California College of Environmental De sign and a fellow of the American Acade HOME OFFICE AND PLANT: my of Arts and Sciences, died September 3910 Washinaton Ave., Houston. 19 at his home in Berkeley. OTHER PLANTS: Dallas, Lubbock, San Anlonio, Shreveport, Tyler. Wichita Falls architect fflOSHER William E. Bell STEEL COMPANY flbriutors of steel since 1115 amy, a past president of the Professional Engineers Society, died November 2. November/December 1973 31 Letters Dear Editor: the new format - we approve of its con tent and relativity completely - keep up PROFESSIONAL I want to commend you and your staff for the good wor k. DIRECTORY the excellent September/October issue of Texas Architect. The cover design depict Sincerely, ARCHITECTURAL ARTS ing San Antonio was most attractive and Jim Wofford, Associate ED CRUMLEY interesting. I also found the contents to George Staten & Associates, El Paso Architectural Renderings be of extreme interest - especially to 3317 McKINNEY, SU ITE 202 one who is not an architect. Dear Editor: DALLAS, TEXAS 75204 (214) 526-2041 I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the The new format of the Texas Architect CONRAD I. BROWN last several issues. We at the San Antonio and the current issue are really great. I Conservation Society are particularly in want to commend you for a very fine job. Architectural & Industrial terested in the number of articles you As far as I'm concerned, I like the looks, Scale Models 8350 LEAMONT DRIVE have done relating to Historic Preserva I like the graphics, I like the content, and HOUSTON, TEXAS 77072 tion. T he July/August issue regarding apparently, the advertising is going well. Guerrero was fascinating, as we have (713) 498-3788 worked with many of the students who Sincerely yours, were involved in this project. CARTER & James A. Clutts, AJA BURGESS, INC. Keep up the good work! Iconoplex, Inc. Engineers, Planners Dallas 1100 MACON ST. Sincerely, FT. WORTH, TEXAS 76102 (817) 335-2611 Conrad True Administrative Assistant JOCHEN & San Antonio Conservation Society Notices HENDERSON, INC. Consulting Engineers Dear Editor: Good and Bad 2400 WEST LOOP SOUTH, SUIT E 100 Of Possible Interest to the Profession - Please accept this word of appreciation HOUSTON, TEXAS 77027 The January issue of Texas Monthly, on for your recent article on Architects in sale at newsstands December 27, will fea Industry. ture an "in-depth" article entitled "Texas WALTER P. MOORE Buildings: the Good, the Bad, and the AND ASSOCIATES INC. The matter was, it seems, very well han Ugly." In addition to scrutini1ing the ten Consulting Engineers dled and Larry Fuller is to be compli "best" and the ten "worst" examples of 2905 SACKETT ST. mented for his concise yet complete architecture in the state, the article, ac HOUSTON, TEXAS 77006 coverage of how we, as "Company Archi cording to the magazine's publisher, (713) 526-5641 tects" function on the job and within the "makes critical comments on architecture profession. itself and how it relates to the en MYRICK, NEWMAN, vironment." DAHLBERG, INC. I continue to find Texas Architect an in Landscape Architects, Planners teresting and exciting publication. Warning 2909 LEMMON AVE. DALLAS, TEXAS 75204 Sincerely yours, Stirred by complaints of "illegal prac (214) 528-9400 R. Logan Knapp, AJA tice" by Texas architects working on Architect projects an other states, the Texas Board PIERATT BRODERICK Southwestern Bell Telephone Company of Architectural Examiners has issued a ASSOCIATES INC. Houston warning that many states do not exempt Structural Engineers out-of-state architects from registering 6234 R IC HMOND AVE. Dear Editor: with the appropr iate State Board prior to HOUSTON, TEXAS 77027 offering their services. Failure to comply (713) 783-7320 The new focus and look of the Texas Ar may lead to suspension of an architect's chitect is exceptional! Certificate of Registration. TRAVIS ASSOCIATES Consulting Engineers Sincerely, 1203 WEST 6T H AUSTIN, TEXAS 78703 Daniel J. Sheridan, Executive Director (512) 474-2252 Minnesota Society of Architects Dear Editor: I think the TA is much improved with 32 Texas Architect 1exas Architect tjv._!'\ HATt_ v'.--, Pu~.,.A1..1t 800 PERRY-BROOKS BLDG. PAID AUSTIN, TEXAS 78701 AUSTIN TEXAS PERMIT NO 1557 ~be egret anb tbe 8.55 x15 4-plp nplon corb ftsb. One summer. after 30.000 or so miles on the highways of Texas. an 8.55 x 15 4-ply nylon cord tire went flat. His owner rolled him into a lake. The tire determined he could begin life anew in the water. H e swam about. looking for other abandoned tires who might have adapted to lake living. Alas. not knowing the territory. he swam too close to shore and got lodged in the mud. An egret happened upon the scene. '"What are you doing?"" the bird inquired. " I decided to become a fish."" the tire answered. "But I am stuck in the shallows. And now the sun is blistering me. I do not think I was fully prepared for this experience.·· The egret thought for a moment. "'Neither."' he mused. "was I." MORAL: A worn-out tire cannot hope to start life over as a fish. Take it home and dispose of it properly. And didn't your mother ever tell you it's not nice to confuse egrets? A fable for our time from the Texas Society of Architects