March/ April, 1980 lo this issue Volume 30 Texas Solar Design Number 2 Rediscovering Harwell Hamilton Harris Texas $2.00 A Special Treatment by Taft Architects 99006 Portfolio by Richard Payne Listen to Your Architecture Architect '
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Io the N ews 13 Texas Architect is published by the Texas Society of Architects, Des Taylor, Executive Vice-Presi dent. About this Issue 19 Larry Paul Fuller . Editor Michael McCullar Associate Editor John Lash Associate Publisher Sandy Otey Circulation Manager Texas So lar D esign 20 Hyder Joseph Brown, AIA Editorial Consultant Associate Editor Micl,ael McCullar traces tire re-emergence of .mn-conscious design in Contributing Edilors Texas. wirlr a look at its current regional David Braden, FAIA; James Coote; Clovis Heim sath, F A IA; Peter Papademetriou; David Wood application, energy efficiency and cost ef cock fectfreness, state and local i11ce11tfres, and its promising potelltia/ as a key arclritectural Publications Committee remedy for our energy ills. Alan Sumner (chairman), David Browninit, Ben Canizaro, Jack Craycroft, Dennis Felix, Eugene George. I arry Good, Craig Kennedy, Dave May field, Mervin .\loore, Jack Tisdale, Barry Weiner Rediscovering Harwell T~.ms Arclrilect is published six times yurly by Hamilton Harris 36 the Te,a< Society of Architects, the official orga Lall'rence Speck, an associate professor of nization or the Texas Region of the American In architecture at UT-Austin, and Paul Lamb, stitute of Architects. Address: 2121 Austin National one of Speck·s former students and now an Bank Tower, Congress at Sixth, Austin, Texas intern in A 11sti11, droll' lessons from Harris' 78701. Telephone: 512/478-731!6. Subscription price i, $8 per year for TSA members and $10 for non Texas ll'ork. members per year for addresses within the con tinental United States excepting H awaii and Alaska. Tuas Arclritect is available on microfilm and A Special Treatment 48 mic,ofiche from '.1-licropublishers International, 58 Editor Larry Paul Fuller lllkes a look at tl,e Old South Country Road. South Haven, New York Municipal Control Building for tire Quail 11719. Controlled circulation post.igc paid at Austin, Valley Utility District, by Taft Arclritects Texas 78701. of Ho11.1ton, a seemingly fanciful response Editorial contributions, correspondence, and ad to pro~ram tlrat is more tl,an pure wlrimsey vertising material invited by the editor. Usually, in its lristorical allufion, spatial organization no payment will be made for articles. Publisher gives permission for reproduction or all or part of and simple practicality. editorial material herein if publication credit is given T~xas Arclritect and the author when indi cated. P ublications which normally pay for arti Portfolio 52 cles are requested to give consideration to the Houston Post art critic Mimi Crossley intro author of reproduced byline feature material. Appearances of names and pictures of products duces ll selection of plrotograplrs by Hous and services in either editorial o r advertising does ton arclritectural plrotograpl,er Riclwrd not constitute an endorsement or same by either Payne depicting some of tire post-1972 ll'ork the Texas Society of Architects o r the American of Plrilip Jol111wn and John Burgee. Institute of Archilects. Nor docs editorial com ment necessarily renect ao official opinion of either organization. Listen to Your Architecture 61 BPA membership applied for May 1979. I SS ' : 0040-4179. Amtin architect and acoustical co11sulra11t Dai•id McCandless urges architects to "au TSA Officers dilize" as ll'ell as ,·isualize their buildings in Boone Powell, San Antonio President tire de.1i1?11 .rtage, offering some pointers 011 Lee Roy Hahnfeld, Fort Worth President-Elect how to ··!,ear a building in your mind's ear Jerr) Clement, Dallas . Vice-President Johnny Cotten, Corpus Christi Vice-President ll'hile seeing it in your mind's eye." Jim Ooche, Amarillo . . Vice-President Paul K ionison, Jr., San Antonio Vice-President Frank Welch, Midland Vice-President Wake Up America-Get a Horse 83 ~lorton L. Levy, J r., Houston Secretary Comribwing Editor Dal'id Braden, FA/A, l',ancy R. McAdams, Austin Treasurer Dallas, expounds 011 tire hidden long-term Des T aylor, Austin Executive Vice-President benefits of the Energy Crisis, among 11'/,ich TSA Board of Directors will be tire l,iding of the ubiquitous "Dallas Ill. R. Newberry . Abilene Chapter On the Cover: Rambler," and other ll'0)'S of getting back Darrell Fleming Amarillo Chapter Chuck Croft Austin Chapter Houston sun setting. to the earth. Duane Cote Brazos Chapter Building-Soutlrern Donald Greene Corpus Christi Chapter Nawra/ Resources James Wiley Dallas Chapter Toll'er, designed by Letters 88 w. E. Kuykendall E l Paso Chapter Robert LeMond Fort Worth Chapter S. I. Morris Asso A. William '.1-lodrall . Houston Chapter ciates for Mark Lee Coming Up: The May, June is1>ue of Texas Calvin Walker Lower Rio Grande Valley Chapter & Associates, Inc. Architect will feature a lead article 011 tire Tom Mills Lubbock Chapter Co,·er desicm and photograplry-Kinetic Carroll Sinclair :-iortheast T exas Chapter architecture of correctional facilities in John Wilhams San Antonio Chapter Sy.items, Inc. Texas, a look at standards of design and Milton Bell Southeast Texas Chapter concerns for cfril rights in an increasingly David Carnahan .·.. Waco Chapter complex building type. Plus, co,·erage of the Ernest W. Babb, Jr. . \Vest Texas Chapter J. G. Dixon, J r. . . Wichita Falls Chapter winning pro;ects in TSA's 1979 Interior John Krause ...... Association of Architecture Design Awards Program. Student Chaptcrs/AIA
Marchi A pril 1980 3 ~~~ RichJrd GeorRt- Wheeler. A I.A., A,;~oc,ate'i
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Johnson & Burgee The Architecture Built In Texas Mille r & Payne $35.00 (hard) of John F. Staub Aberna(hy & Kennedy Barn,tone, $35.00 (hard) $24.50 (hard) TRANSFORMATIONS New ) ' .·. '., - .. {' ' ,,~,;:··;.:' ' DERN. ·.·····ARC. HITECT···· U·.···RE· 1 ---I f l ·•·. I '°'"' I ··, ·' t « .,,-• ~: I ' I
Arch itects on Architecture Transformations New Profits He\L'r $ 12.95 1p,1p<'rl Drexler, $14.95 (paper) From Old Buildings $22.50 (hard)
One Room Interiors Open-plan Offices Human Dimension & Ardl. Working Affordable Houses Magnani, $24.95 (hard) $11.00 (h,1rd) I nterior Space $3l. ,O 1h,11Ch Drawings Designed by Architects Liebing, $ 17 .50 \hard/ Robinson, $ 18.95 (hJrd)
Houses of the West Houses Architects Design Beyond Metabolism Solar Energy In Frank Lloyd Wright $ 18 .95 (hard) for Themselves, $19.95 M. Rm, S19.951h,1rrl) Bldgs. Twombly, $19. 95 (hard) $24.25 (hard)
Preparing Design Office Working Drawing Handbook Graphics for Arch. Natural Solar Archi tecture Brochures: A Handbook Robert C. MtHui,:h. $6.'J, 1p,11wri Forseth, $8. 95 (soft) David WrtRh l, $7.YS (p,1perl Traver,. $ 10.00 (p,1per1 Arch itectural Review:I Tc.as Issue A Survey Of Passive Solar Interiors 3rd Boo k of Offices Architecture: $7.00 1p,11wr1 Buildings, AJA, $9.00 (paper) Pile. $24. 95 (hard) Form, Space & Order Ching, $ 12.95 (paper) z i I i ~ i- ,. ~
Standardized Accounting Historical Preservation, Earth Sheltered Housing AJA Metric Bldg. & for Archtiects AIA. $ 16 00 M,mu,,1 r,A, $20.00 $9.95 (soft) Construction Guide, NOWSS.50 $9.00 (paper) 8up]l4Gaidee anAIA LIVING SPACES 8-applementary Jllducatian PrciCram for . r,'. ! Imern Architecta
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Sub-To1al Postage Charges: D Please send an AIA under $10.00 - $0.75 contract & documents Plu, 5% Sales Tax 10.00 to 20.00 1.25 price list and order 20.00 to 30.00 - 1. 75 Plus Pos tage form. 30.00 to 50.00 - 2.50 over 50.00 - 3.00 Total Due A ll p,Kkagc, arc ,ent iourth clil,,. Firq · clil~' or ,pecial delivery iees. w hen reque,1ed. w ill be billed lo 1he purch,1,er.
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In the News
People, Projects, Schools, Books, Firms, Products
Lady Bird to Receive First Lady with a special citation in gram for design of the Solar Energy Re 1980 AIA Medal "recognition of her determination to search Institute in Golden, Colo. And Honorary Membership restore beauty where it exists and to pro The complex, funded by the De tect our natural resources." In 1968, partment of Energy, will be a showplace AJA has selected Mrs. Johnson delivered the first B. Y. of the state-of-the-art of both passive de Mrs. Lyndon B. Morrison lecture at the 100th AIA Na sign and active solar-system application, Johnson, former tional Convention in Portland, expressing employing natural lighting and ventila First Lady of the concern for the natural and built en tion, thermal-storage rock beds, night United States and vironments while acknowledging the con time cooling, thermal collectors, a bio Honorary TSA tributions of the architectural profession. mass-fueled steam boiler, solar-powered member, to receive Active in preservation efforts in Texas, Rankine engines, a solar pond, wind a 1980 AlA medal she generously contributed time and powered generators and an array of .- in recognition of an money to Austin's Town Lake Beauti photovoltaic solar-cell collectors. "individual who has inspired and influ fication Project, the LBJ National His The 518,000-square-foot facility will enced the architectural profession," and toric Site and the LBJ State Park and step down the southern slope of South honorary membership in the Institute for Visitors Center. Mrs. Johnson has partici Table Mountain, with portions of each her "distinguished contributions to the palcd in the decision-making and plan stepped wing buried underground. The architectural profession." ning for the LBJ Library in Austin and complex actually will be a series of paral The awards will be presented during the LBJ Grove in Washington, D.C.'s lel rows of two-, three- or four-story the AIA National Convention June 1-4 Lady Bird Johnson Park, named for her buildings, among which are glass-roofed in Cincinnati. in 1968. Each year, she presents the "solar courts" with operable louvres to An active supporter of efforts to pre Lady Bird Johnson Highway Beautifica capture and store radiant heat. serve the natural resources and the cul tion Award to a supervisor of the Texas According to project design director tural and architectural heritage of the Highway Maintenance System who has Paul Kennon, FAIA, president of CRS, nation, Mrs. Johnson founded the Com enhanced roadsides and rest areas in the southern exposure and buried north mittee for a More Beautiful Capitol in the state. side will provide an optimum angle for 1965, which worked to transform Wash solar gain and protection from winter ington, D.C., into a city of flowers, pub winds. lic parks and playgrounds. She also The facility will )louse research la served as honorary chairwoman of the boratories, offices, an information cen 1974 American Landmarks Celebration; ter, computers and dining and support wrote the foreword to "With Heritage So areas. Rich," the report of the Special Com Designed to use less than a quarter of mittee on Historic Preservation and the the energy consumed by a conventional United States Conference of Mayors in building of equal size and demand, ac 1966; hosted the first meeting of the cording to ASHRAE standards, the President's Advisory Council on Historic Solar Energy Research lnstitllle. complex will depend upon renewable re Preservation in 1967; and publicized the CRS Joint Venture Wins sources for 80 percent of its energy nation's natural and cultural heritage Owens-Corning Design Award needs. Conceding that most of the active during a "Discover America" tour in 1968. solar systems are not yet cost-effective, Her efforts in preservation and beau For Solar Research Institute architects point out that the Institute is tification of the built and natural en A four-firm joint venture, under the designed to be a research and demonstra vironments were noted to have contrib design direction of the Houston firm tion project as well as a national ex uted to the passage of the Historic Pres Caudill Rowlett Scott (CRS), was named ample of solar energy application. ervation Act of 1966 and the Highway one of two winners in the governmental The largest source of energy for the Beautification Act of 1965. category in Owens-Corning Fiberglas' building, which architects estimate will In 1966, the AJA presented the former 1979 Energy Conservation Awards Pro- require I 18,000 Btus per square foot
M arcl, I April 1980 /J we carry per year, will be a biomass steam-turbine Atty. Gen. White Rules the generator, supplying 35 percent. The Against Closed Meetings classics second largest source will be four steam For Hiring Architects driven Rankine engines, producing 100 kilowatts each from hot water provided A recent ruling by Texas Attorney by 40,000 square feet of roof-mounted General Mark White holds that the Texas solar collectors. Excess steam heat will Open Meetings Act prohibits a govern be stored in two thermal storage tanks mental body from meeting in closed ses for use on cloudy days. sion to discuss the employment of an The first phase of the project is sched architect. uled to be completed in 1983. The sec The ruling reaffirms a 1977 opinion ond phase will include installation of the by TSA legal counsel Lloyd Lochridge wind generator, photovoltaic collectors that the hiring of an architect does not and "solar pond" (for heat collection, fall within an exemption in the Open storage and transfer to domestic hot Meetings Act which authorizes a closed water systems). or executive session for the hiring of a "public officer or employee." Responding to recent inquiries regard ing that exemption, White pointed out • that architectural, engineering or con sulting firms would be classified as inde pendent contractors and not officers or employees, "since they would undertake to do a specific piece of work for [a gov ernmental body] using their own means and methods without submitting them • selves to the control of the [governmental .,, body] in respect to all details of the work." .... Glassel/ Art School studio. White noted that his ruling is con sistent with those of other states which Glassell School of Art have considered similar legislation. - Wins Interior Design Award .... The Houston Museum of Fine Art's Alfred C. Glassell, Jr., School of Art, Houston Leads Nation a designed by Houston architect Eugene In 1979 Housing Starts Aubry, F AIA, of S. I. Morris Associates, Houston led the nation in new housing CD was the hands-down winner in the educa starts in 1979 with a total of 49,902, in tional category in Interiors magazine's a year that saw the first drop of residen 1st Annual Interiors Awards program. tial building activity in five years nation e "Of all the entries in the Interiors wide, according to a report from the Awards competition," said Interiors in a F.W. Dodge Division of McGraw-Hill. a special awards issue, "the Glasscll The 1979 nationwide total of l ,767,- School of Art collected by far and away 905 was 11 percent less than the total of the most compliments. It was a clear-cut 1,975,640 in 1978, according to the re 0 winner in the educational category." port, which attributed the decline to Ill Jurors' comments included : "It's "drastic actions of the Federal Reserve beautiful, the best thing we've seen, ex in early October," disrupting mortgage .... quisite." money in responding to "double-digit in The two story, 41,699-square-foot flation, concern with the value of the .. building is made of eight-by-eight inch dollar, and strong demands for credit ... glass blocks with solar gray reflective requiring a firm monetary policy through a coating forming the outer walls of the most of the year." classrooms and admitting natural light. The other most active standard metro CD The structure is divided into two sections politan statistical areas in 1979 were: by a central concourse covered with a Phoenix, with 40,929 units; Dallas, with 33-foot-high barrel vault ceiling made of 40,599; Los Angeles/Long Beach, with 12-inch by 12-ineh glass blocks. 38,490; Chicago, with 31,961; West Other categories in the Interiors com Palm Beach/Boca Raton, with 30,565; petition included offices, restaurants, Tampa, with 30,553; Riverside/San Ber made to order industrial, recreational, adaptive reuse, nadino, with 25,742; Seattle/Everett, tables showrooms, energy-efficient and low bookcases with 24,945; and Denver, with 24,204. desks, etc. budget. Although the top of the list in 1979
Circle 9 on Reader Inquiry Card 14 Texas Architect ,
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For further information on any of the showrooms listed in the ad, please circle the reader inquiry number. If rou would like information from a specific showroom,..please indicate so on the reader inquiry card. In the News, conti1111ed.
housing starts, the Houston area saw a The working catalog 27 percent decline in total residential and non-residential building activity from 1 -- ·archltects. 1978 to 1979, according to Dodge, with most of the drop occurring in non-resi dential (which includes commercial, man ufacturing, educational, religious, admin istrative, recreational and other buildings not designed for shelter). The standard metropolitan area of Houston consists of Brazoria, Fort Bend, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller Counties.
Montgomery County Hospital Receives In-Progress Award In National Competition r Save big moneyon brand name drafting supplies. Just call us by 2 PM and your order will be delivered the following business day. 48 hours max. With vir tually no backorders. Satisfaction's completely guar anteed. And so's our service. Call or write to Box 2907-JCJ, South San Francisco, CA 94080 tor a tree catalog. No obligation. No salesperson will call. Montgomery County hospital. The Montgomery County Medical Call Toll Free: 800-227-0270 Center Hospital, designed in joint ven ture by the Houston firms Brooks/ Collier Circle 12 on Reader Inquiry Card and Pierce Goodwin Alexander, was one of four projects-in-progress cited in a medical-facility design competition spon sored by the UCLA Graduate School of Architecture, Columbia University and aroonas Architectural Record magazine. The $13.4 million, 150-bed general and acute care hospital is now under construction as phase I of the new Mont gomery County Medical Center complex on a wooded 91-acre site once part of the George Strake Boy Scout camp near Conroe. A total of 102 projects were sub mitted in the national competition, which seeks to recognize innovative planning and a high level of design excellence in a uniquely difficult and complex building type.
Proposals Requested For TSA's Third Annual Grants Program TSA is now requesting research project proposals for its third annual grants pro gram, organized to investigate the history of architecture in Texas and the South west. Grants in amounts ranging from $500 Edmund Kirk Associates to $4,000 will be available this year for Dallas/ 1444 Oak Lawn, Suite 604, (214) 744-0696 scholarly projects exploring the ideas, 1K Houston/3000 Richmond, Suite 130, (713) 520-6385 Circle 11 on Reader Inquiry Card 16 Texas Architect ~I~ aspirations, theories, idioms and technical Taft Architects and personal facts in the architectural Wins P / A Design Citation ~I~ history of the region. For Houston YMCA Center Sponsors hope eventually to develop an authoritative and comprehensive his ', ;,J'Jy;-.. -~'l•1,w1,. <- t:-----' tory and analysis of this architecture and 't}V ". -'~:.r .• t· t / ~ , .. to understand its directions for the fu ture. For submitting proposals, TSA sug r ~! I gests using the format of the National ...- ... plA~TECO Endowment for the H umanities or the bN]'< National Endowment for the Arts (Archi F~-: tecture and Environmental Arts Pro skyl1ql-ns ;) \ gram). This will provide TSA with a L Standard, Custom and Structural consistent submittal format and will facil YMCA recreational center. itate submission of proposals for grants Many models shipped pre-glazed not funded by TSA. The Houston firm Taft Architects re Proposals should be mailed to be re ceived a citation in the 27th annual P/ A ceived by May I to: Mort Levy, Texas Awards program, sponsored by Progres Society of Architects, 2 121 Austin Na sive Architecture magazine, for the de STANDARD~ DOME S TO 8' x 8' tional Bank Tower, Austin 78701. sign of a proposed YMCA branch rec reational center and metropolitan Steinman Elected headquarters in downtown Houston. Chairman of TBAE The facility is situated to maximize <2T5> Park, views of nearby Spotts with ad STRUCTURAL PYRAMIDS TO 20' x 20' Beaumont archi ministration and classroom areas lined tect Douglas E. up in a 350-foot-long building paralleling Steinman, F AIA, the street, and a glass-enclosed lobby, was elected chair swimming pool pavillion and multi-pur man of the Texas pose area overlooking the park. STRUCTURAL VAU LTS TO 24' SPAN Board of Architec Noting the architectural detailing of ~ tural Examiners the proposed project, juror Robert Stern (TBAE) Jan. I 8 called it, "a witty, unsentimental design during the Board's that has the spacious, stripped-down Annual Meeting in Austin. qualities of a warehouse; yet the intro Steinman succeeds Wichita Falls archi duction of abstract versions of traditional TA~ tect James R. Rucker, who remains one architectural rhetoric at the entrances of the six non-ranking members of the and elsewhere promises a specifically Board. public character." Other I 980 officers are Abilene archi Presentation of awards took place dur tect James D. Tittle, vice-chairman; and ing the 27th annual P/ A Awards lunch Uvalde architect John S. Graves, secre eon Jan. 18 at the Plaza Hotel in New tary/ treasurer. (TBAE Executive Direc York. Twenty-nine projects were chosen tor is Austin architect Philip D. Creer, from a total of 928 entries. FAJA.) LEAN~ The new nine-member TBAE, re structured by the Architects Registration Braden Receives Law passed last year by the 66th Texas Humanitarian Award Legislature, also includes public member From NCCJ Trammell S. Crow, 28, son of the Dallas STRUCTURAL~ DOMES TO 24' DIA based international developer Trammell Dallas architect Crow and vice president of the Dallas David Braden, Ask for Catalog, or see Sweet's 7.8. Market Center. Also on the new board FAIA, received the arc Fort Worth landscape architect Rob annual Brotherhood To predict the energy performance and Humanitarian ert W. Caldwell and San Antonio land of a specific skylight plan, request a scape architect James E. Keeter. Award from the SUN Computer Analysis input form. The new registration law abolished the National Confer state's landscape architect registration ence of Christians Write Plasteco, Inc., P.O. Box 24158, board and combined its licensing func and Jews in cere Houston, Texas 77029. (713) 674-7686 tion with a revamped TBAE, which monies Jan. 15 during the Construction eventually will include three public mem Industry Brotherhood dinner at the bers as terms of the architects currently Sheraton Hotel in Dallas. Ea plASTECO.,NC on the board expire. Co11ti1111ed011 page 67. OISTRIBUTOAS ANO FABRICATORS SINCE 1947 Circle 13 on Reader Inquiry Card March/ April 1980 17 -- - - . - + - t-- I • _j - ---+--+-- ...... __..._ --- - I ==--~--'- -+------t ·--; • - ---+--..
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Petroleum will be regrettably more ex "hard" and "soft" energy paths-essen pensive-so the reasoning goes-but oh tially a centralized, capital-intensive uti so very well worth the price, for those of li zation of nuclear power versus a reli us able to pay it. ance on decentralized, labor-intensive End of an Era soft technologies capitalizing on renew As difficult as it may be to accept, able resources such as sun, wind and however, the truth is that the oil era is vegetation and posing fewer environ coming to an end. And although precise mental hazards. ly when is a matler of speculation, the Our intent in this issue is not to settle undeniable reality is that we are running the hard-soft debate, but to look at the out. Whether the fossil fuel epoch (de energy crisis in the specific context of fined as the period in which human architecture, examining the architect's beings burned up 80 percent of the total role and response. Michael McCullar's supply of oil, gas and coal) ends in this lead article reaffirms a widely known generation, as has been predicted, or fact- more than a third of all the energy whether it lasts for several more, the fol consumed in America is used by build lowing observation of oil geologist M. ings. This truth bears repeating because King Hubbert seems significant as a it underscores the growing significance means of putting the matter into perspec of the architect's role and portends a tive: "It is difficult for people Jiving now, new age of opportunity as well as who have become accustomed to the heightened accountability for the pro steady exponential growth in the con fession. In tracing the recent response sumption of energy from the fossil fuels, of architects to the energy shortage, the After decades of mindless waste and to realize how transitory the fossil fuel article also documents the emergence of conspicuous consumption, in a land epoch will eventually prove to be when it a renewed emphasis on passive solar de where self-indulgence is exalted above is viewed over a longer span of human sign, which involves the re-learning of most anything else, virtually nothing is history." (See "A Reporter at Large: The age-old techniques for producing an more perplexing or difficult to accept World's Resources," by Richard J. Bar energy-conscious architecture di rectly than the notion of "running out." We net, in The New Yorker, March 17, responsive to site and climate. Implicit have functioned- quite well, thank you 1980.) in this "new" awareness arc a preference - under the unshakable postwar convic Time of Transition for energy-conserving indigenous mate tion that if only we can pay for it, then So we find ourselves living during an rials- including earth-'-and an acknowl surely we can have it. And in Texas indefinite period of transition toward a edgement of regional style and culture. where superstate status is a by-product post-petroleum world. And with this And while active solar technology has of petroleum, where one's automobile is realization comes conflicting feelings. On failed as a tack-on justification for the a veritable extension of one's self, and the one hand, we experience the devastat sealed buildings and energy-intensive where the feel of the open road is a com ing awareness of finitude and its rami settlement patterns of the fuel-abundant ponent of our culture-reaching the bot fications for a culture accustomed to past, it is viewed as a valuable supple tom of the oil barrel is a thought that having anything it can afford. We feel mentary source of energy and a promis tends to be unthinkable. betrayed, as if the promise of the Indus ing field of research. Indeed, there is a Disbelief trial Age has been rudely broken. And growing commitment to the notion that This inclination toward disbelief in the we are forced to cope with the nagging -along with the world and our very severity of the fuel shortage is compound reality that a world of scarcity is a world selves-our most rational choices and ed by organized scoffing at the need for of struggle. our strongest hopes revolve around the alternative energy sources, contradictory On the other hand, the transition to sun. "official" predictions and assessments, new energy uses can be viewed as a time -Larry Paul Fuller and a lingering suspicion of profiteering of opportunity (new fortunes are waiting on the part of big oil. A common as to be made) and a period of challenge sumption is that, even if shortages have (places in history are at stake). And not been artificially produced as a means certainly there is something to be said for of increasing profits, the long gasoline what has been called America's "new lines have more to do with production frugality"- a pursuit of the inherent rates and bad timing than wi th an actual value of trimming down and tightening dwindling of finite supplies. It is sup up, of doing more with less. The need to posed that, left to its own devices, the conserve has imbued us with a common marketplace eventually will insure a pro sense of purpose which promises to bring duction level adequate to meet demand. us closer together (and quite literally, as Such an assessment calls for increased oil auto-dependence decreases). exploration and categorizes energy con Hard Choices servation largely as a stop-gap measure to The key debate in this time of transi make things easier until production can t ion centers on what energy options be geared up to the point that our own America should pursue most vigorously. supplies are meeting our own demand. The choices are presented in terms of
Marchi April 1980 19 ABOVE: Passil'e-so/ar test facility at the Balcones Research Center i11 Austin. FACING PACE: Developmental Arts 811ildi11g at the Unii-ersity of Houston at Clear Lake City.
20 Texas Architect Texas Solar Design
The Sun Never Sets on Architecture
By Michael McCuUar
"Knowledge, in truth, is the great sun in tion and research. "Solar energy's time scene a mere 30 years ago to join with the firmament. Life and power are scat has come," proclaimed featured speaker the a utomobile in reshaping the land- and tered with all its beams."-Daniel Texas Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby. city-scape. Webs1er (1825) A year and a half since "Sun Day," What is newly unique about climate May 3, J978, when that proclamation adaptive, or " passive solar," design is Concluding a workshop series scatter was first delivered in chorus nationwide, that of all the alternati ve energy systems ing knowledge of the sun and its architec Texas Solar Realities '79 was essentially that have been under experimental scrn tural applications statewide, some 500 a progress report on the development and tiny fo r the last decade-flatplate thermal architects, engineers, scientists, builders, application of cost-effective solar energy collectors, photovoltaic cells, geothermal, bankers, government and public utility systems in Texas. Among the most prom wind and biomass systems-passive de officials and educators, among others, ising, as it turns out, is the idea that ar sign has proven still to be one of the gathered in Austin last December for chitecture can conserve a wealth of en most cost-effective, and is almost exclu "Texas Solar Realities '79, " a statewide ergy simply by being "climate-adaptive" sively within the professional realm of conference sponsored by the Texas En - that is, designed in such intimate con the architect. ergy and Natural Resources Advisory tact with its natural site that it can rely To trace the recent re-emergence of Council (TEN RAC). It was an historic almost exclusively on sun, wind, earth solar design into a vocabulary of form in cvent- "thc most comprehensive re and water to adequately provide for Texas architecture. Texas Architect newable energy presentation in the his human comfort. talked to several architects speciali zing tory of the state." accord ing to sponsors. This is hardly a revolutionary idea. In in the approach, as well as scientists ex Two days at the Austin Marriott offered vi ting the sun wi th open arms in winter perimenting with its regional application, a glimpse at the latest in solar, wind and and defending aga inst it in summer is state and local officials shaping it into biomass energy systems that really nothing new to architectu re. Millenia of law, and leaders in its promotion as one worked, along with project exhibits and human history transpired quite success of the most fundamental remedies for case stud ies, as well as insight into the fully worldwide without the aid of condi our energy ills. Following is a glance at state of the art of solar financing, legisla- tioned air (HY AC), which came on the that evolution.
March/ April 1980 21 Bearers of the Light
The alternative energy movement gained its greatest impetus with the Arab oil embargo in 1973, which sent re searchers and practitioners scurrying for alternatives in all directions. In Texas, as elsewhere, the effort first turned to tech nology, focusing primarily on replacing mechanical conventional energy systems with mechanical solar energy systems, on buildings designed during the energy glut. As a result, technical systems sputtered and failed, as they are wont to do in ex perimental phases, or they cost too much for too long to provide even a modest payback on investment. Stigma and bias cloaked the movement early on in fossil fuel rich Texas, where resistance to the "cosmic yin" traditionally bas run just below the surface like the 12-billion ton vein of low-grade lignite that stretches from Texarkana to Laredo. And over zealousness on the part of some solar energy devotees gave skeptics the im pression that solar energy was supposed to be an immediate panacea for the en ergy crisis, clouding its very practical and current value as a supplementary cure. Texas Solar Realities '79, however, marked an encouraging turning point in the solar movement in Texas. Wrote Daryl Janes of the Texas Solar Energy Society (TX-SES), organizers of the Solar collectors atop Lake Travis home near Austin. event, in a conference recap: "Hopefully, this all suggests that the energy security had to be spread. "The society was in no jority of the people thought that anything (and therefore economic security) of our position to police the industry or to pro that offered an alternative to oil and gas lives is beginning to take precedence over tect the consumer. So we reached the was a threat." On to Waco, where the narrow political bias." Ever aiming at conclusion that an educated public is a problem wasn't so much hostility as lack mainstream acceptance of the sun as an protected public." of awareness. "No one there even knew infinite source of energy, TX-SES has To that end, after the federal govern that a solar movement was afoot." Then been conducting solar energy confer ment had geared up and gained momen to Beaumont, of all places, birthplace of ences around the state for the last three tum in the late '70s for a nationwide the Texas oil industry. "Forget it," Smith years: Dallas in 1977, Houston in 78, El solar outreach program, under the aus says. 'That was oil refinery country, one Paso in 79. And attendance has grown pices of the newly formed Energy Re of the highest per capita income areas in steadily. In the beginning, however, the search Development Administration the state. They weren't even feeling the stigma of exotica still prevailed. Not the (ERDA), the Oakridge National Labora~ pinch." least of their problems, accorcing 10 tory in Oakridge, Tenn. (then the federal Solar energy awareness, however, was TX-SES Executive Director Russell outreach arm for solar R&D) contracted to grow as fast as gas and oil prices Smith, was the proliferation of solar with TX-SES to conduct three solar would rise. In the latter part of 1978, the equipment that didn't work and distribu workshops across the state in mid-1978. Governor's Office of Energy Resources tors who didn't care about solving so Turnout for this first workshop series, (later merged with the Texas Energy ciety·s energy problems so much as mak however, proved disappointing. TX-SES Advisory Council and Natural Resources ing a fast buck. "Whenever this type of chose small to medium-size Texas cities Council to form TENRAC) contracted individual enters into any type of indus to carry the message to, in regions of the with TX-SES to conduct a workshop try it tends to lend it a bad name." But state hardly receptive at the time to alter series in nine Texas cities throughout the while there were a lot of solar systems natives to fossil fuel. "Going to Midland summer and fall of 1979, culminating in that didn't perform as advertised, Smith Odessa with a solar workshop in mid- the Dec. 6-8 Solar Realities conference says, there were a lot of systems that did, 1978 was sort of like walking into the in Austin. Turnout for the workshops and word of those workable techniques lion's den," Smith says. "The vast ma- held in Austin, Lubbock, El Paso, Hous-
22 Texas Architect One reason it took so long for the forces to converge in support ofpa ssive design was the difficulty in quan tifying the concept, which by its very nature seemed to preclude hard engineering analysis.
Active-solar retrofit project at Trinity University in San Antonio.
ton, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, heating and about JO percent of the forces to converge in support of passive Brownsville and Corpus Christi-was a cooling needs of 500 students. The proj design, according to Dr. Eugene Clark, far cry from the first series only a year ect would be monitored for five years physicist and head of Trinity's regional earlier. A total of 2,000 people showed to determine its efficiency and cost-effec Solar Data Center, was the difficulty in up, all wanting to know about "Solar." tiveness. Today, three years later, while "quantifying" the concept, which by its As TX-SES disseminated that informa the project has proved its technical feasi very nature seemed to preclude ·'hard tion statewide, Trinity University in San bility for the most part, the general con engineering analysis." As a result, Clark Antonio led the way in solar R&D. One clusion already is that its high cost is still says, passive methodology didn't have a of the most extensive projects to demon prohibitive for common application. lot of credibility four or five years ago, strate the feasibility of mechanically As a result of the Trinity experiment, so there wasn't much federal funding to harnessing the sun to existing architec along with a host of others across the support it. ture was a $1. 7 million active retrofit state and nation, a shift in research em Today there is. Trinity has moved project on the Trinity campus begun in phasis occurred from active systems to directly into a DOE-funded passive heat 1977, funded for the most part by the passive systems design on all levels of the ing and cooling demonstration program Department of Energy (DOE, formerly effort, from federal sources of funding to assess and validate the potential for ERDA). Sixteen thousand square feet of (DOE and HUD, primarily) to the re passive cooling in the southern hot-humid active concentrating collectors designed search labs to trailblazing practitioners in belt that stretches from the South At to track the sun by pulley, motor and the field. Rather than supplanting active lantic coast to Central Texas, where 60 cable were put on the roof of an existing solar systems, however, passive design percent of the United States' residential gymnasium to serve the gym and six would include them, putting to work comfort cooling energy is consumed. The dormitories (a total of 284.928 square those which had proved feasible and first phase, based on hourly meteorologi feet of enclosed area). The collectors cost-effective (primarily domestic hot cal data from the National Weather Ser were hooked up to a central power plant water heating) in a so-called "hybrid" vice for a "typical" summer in 33 Ameri by underground pipes to provide 75 per combination. can cities, compared by computer cent of the space and domestic hot water One reason it took so long for the simulation the cooling efficiency of a
March/ April 1980 23 conventional residence with that of a similar residence equipped with a passive ''roof pond" (water contained in a poly mer bug on the roof which acts as a ( Sod roof holds heat thermal collector and distribution system in winter and a heat dissipator in sum mer, with movable panels to insulate the roof on winter nights and summer days.) Clark says the cooling efficiency of the passive roof pond has been quantified and the fi ndings arc thus: "acceptable human comfort" can be achieved even WINTER during the most severe part of the sum mer in San Antonio and Miami (the two hottest and most humid cities in the test region) by passive cooling alone. ln other words, C lark says, "a properly de signed residence docs not require air conditioning anywhere in the United States.'' Clark concedes that "acceptable human comfort" is even harder to quantify, and Nighttime heat re-radiation that the computer simulation has its lim itations. Even so, the ASIIRAE lland hook of F11nda111entals (published by the American Society of Heating, Refrigera Overhang shades glass tion and Airconditioning Engineers) says that a person can be reasonably com fortable in temperatures as high as 83 degrees Fahrenheit with humidity at 80 Operable windows percent. Based on that, Clark thinks it is possible "to generalize the conditions under which people find their surround ings comfortable," assuming that during Perimeter slab lnsulatlon the hottest and most humid summer Earth as heat sink hours they will wear lighter clothing Earth-air heat exchanger ( lighter both in weight and color), that they will be more sedentary, and that they will take advantage of air circula very high priority, and simply reserve a by "natural" means ( conduction, con tion and ventilat ion. "With those as small place for an equipment room and vection and radiation). These processes sumptions," Clark says, "our findings turn it over to a mechanical engineer and arc not / orced by mechanics, but arc arc very encouraging. If I can claim with say cool it or heat it." allowed to /low by design. any legitimacy that in any American In favor of the passive approach, dif home that is properly designed you don't fuse sunlight filtering through the at need airconditioning, then it's worth Back to Some Basics mosphere on a cloudy day will have some looking at a little harder." thermal effect on a properly designed The second phase of the project docs Passive design is simply a matter of structure, practitioners say, whereas ac just that. To test that passive cooling gelling back to a few essential basics tive solar collectors require more intense simulation on actual buildings, with a among others, an architectural apprecia and direct radiation to receive and trans variety of other passive cooling and heat tion of the facts that: J) the sun comes f cr heat. Moreover, passive design is a ing systems in addition to the roof pond up every day and goes down every night, kindly response to the natural clements, (which is somewhat awkward in applica and 2) that hot air rises and cold air and nature's cooperation couldn't be ti on), Trinity is now constructing a test falls. The idea is to take advantage of more kindly in turn. Jn the northern faci li ty on campus which will consist of those princi ples, along with other natural hemisphere in winter, the sun rises south two identical 800-squarc-foot buildings means, to provide a comfortable interior of cast and traverses low across the with essentiall y the same exposure to environment with minimal (if any) reli southern sky, setting south of west. In wind and sun. Once the computer model ance on finite energy sources. F or both summer, the sun rises north of cast and is validated and the systems fine-tuned, passive heating and cooling, according rides high, almost d irectly overhead, data wi ll be avail able for design appli ca to the latest classification scheme, archi until it sets north of west. Hence, one o( tion throughout the region. tectural clements of the building itself the most basic techniques for passive The era is coming to a close, Clark its orientation, configuration, windows, solar heating-south-facing glass for says, "when an architect could design a walls, floors, roofs arc used to collect, direct thermal gain- is easily modified to building, usually with aesthetics being a store, distribute and/ or discharge heat defend against the high-flying summer
24 Texas Architect ... ,,. -A--,_ T"t- -::, [ C D,Jqj.,_ A large-scale building designed right will have a lot more long-range impact Lf on energy conservation than 300 little , {!!ID houses.
North facade, Univer.5ity of l/011sto11's De11e/opme11tal Arts Building at Clear Lake City.
sun by simple overhangs. Nature's co sivc-solar designer David Smith, adjunct right will have a lot more long-range operation is perhaps most evident in the assistant professor of architecture at the impact on energy use than 300 little leaf-cycle of deciduous trees: when plant UT-Austin School of Architecture, the houses." ed on the south side, the fact that they less influence passive systems have on its Testing hybrid solar design on a com sport leaves in summer and lose them in energy efficiency. Smith says passive paratively massive scale is the new 36,- winter couldn't be more perfectly timed techniques essentially involve the build 000-squarc-foot, $3 million Develop with seasonal passive needs for sunlight ing skin and its relationship with the mental Arts Building at the University and shade. immediate microclimatc, the critical fac of Houston at Clear Lake City, designed The logic of climate-adaptive design is tor being surface-to-volume ratio. When by the Houston firm S.I. Morris Asso not to be denied. But there are some that ratio decreases as building size in ciates and completed in June 1979. Ac tradeoffs and limitations in implement creases, the skin becomes less important cording to Partner-in-Charge Pleas ing the concept. As mentioned earlier, than the internal load-artificial light Doyle, the building is designed and the comfort zone-whether based on ing, primarily. And since it is estimated equipped to provide 50 percent of its en ASH RAE fundamentals or individual that up to 60 percent of the energy con ergy from the sun, around which its basic needs- must be expanded in both direc sumption in a commercial building is design closely revolves: siting responds tions. Also, being strictly site specific, caused by interior lighting, a large scale to solar orientation as well as circulation passive design is hard to model statically. building that maximizes use of natural patterns and future expansion; exterior And passive design principles do have daylight by design would be "passive walls are porcelain-finished metal insu their limitations. Residential examples solar·· to a significant degree. "Decidu lated panels for efficient seasonal heat abound, but pure passive application in a ous trees and thermal mass become less gain and loss; interior lighting is pre commercial structure over two or three effective,'' Smith says, "than effective dominantly high-efficiency flourescent; stories is another story. With large scale use of a low-wattage light fixture." And windows, installed only in classrooms and high density, shadow patterns com considering the energy-remedial trend and faculty offices, are oriented to the plicate the process. And the larger the toward high-density development, he north to minimize heat gain in a climate scale of the building, according to pas- says, "a large scale building designed where cooling is the paramount concern
March/ April 1980 25 ,.,...,,.OI! . ~f,...r.,,; (~ lfll'\ ,- [- "".... .,:,.... ~""/ •
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Passive-solar adobe house in Panhandle pecan grove. Solar gain in south-facing gallery. most of the year; and mechanical systems while, building energy performance is pie). And, not insignificantly, the grand include roof-mounted flatplatc coll ectors being monitored, and will continue to atrium, skylight and glass-curtainwall to provide space cooling and heating as be, by NASA at its Marshall Space have inherent passive solar traits which well as domestic hot water (a considera Plight Center in Huntsville, Ala. can be exploited to the utmost for ven ble internal load in and of itself in a Texas architects currently practicing tilation, natural li ght and thermal gain. locker-room equipped gymnasium). passive solar design, to varying degrees David Smith practices what he T he solar system, funded by DOE and and scales, view the from-scratch ap preaches. At 28, a 1973 graduate of Rice monitored by NASA, consists of 61 6 proach as more of a design opportunity University, he is one of a new breed of thermal collectors supplying hot water than a design constraint. Aside from the architects coming of age professionally to an insulated, 21,000-gallon storage compassionate symbiosis between pas after the Arab oil embargo, when energy tank. The water is then circulated, for sive design and its environmental con conservation became the byword and had space heating, through heat exchangers text, a potential exists for a happy blend to be made to fit somehow into a vocabu and heating coils to the building's IO air between passive solar and a "post-mod lary of form. He achieved early success handling units. For cooling, the hot water ern" aesthetic. Foremost in that develop in his design of a passive adobe residence is used to heat freon, creating a gas which ment, as David Smith sees it, is the in the Panhandle, one of 145 winners out drives a turbo-compressor, which in turn regionalism already at work in the use of a total of 700 entries from across the pumps freon to chill water circulating to of indigenous building materials- native country in HUD's 1978 Passive Solar the air-handling units. Full back-up is T exas stone and adobe, for example- Residential Design Competition and provided by conventional electric duct as energy-storing thermal mass. ( Passive Demonstration Program. The home fea heaters a nd freon chilling units. regionalism is not just climatic, Smith tures 14-inch thick adobe walls, sod roof According to project engineers, the adds, but labor intensive and economical, and is partially underground for winter solar heating system is installed and op taking advantage of and encouraging warmth, relying on three basic methods erational, but the 75-ton turbo-compres local craftsmanship and cutting down on for passive summer cooling: cross venti sor cooling unit won't be in operation material transportation costs, a substan lation (by design), air circulation (by ceil until the summer cooling season. Mean- tial portion of the energy-consumption ing fan) and an earth-air heat exchanger.
26 Texas Architect 1d 4' V14A .._,___ -r,='"""'-""!"",_..-'tf'_~ le)<1"E
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TYPICAL WALL 0U1ION "Indian-style" fireplace. The latter system consists of an 18-inch insulation. This thick thermal mass has humidity to exacerbate either extreme. diameter pipe seven feet underground a stabilizing effect on interior tempera The region is well northwest of the cli along the north wall. Air is drawn into ture, as in a cave, Smith says, with the matic dividing line between hot-humid to the pipe from outside and cooled by the outer wall dealing with the extremes and the cast and hot-arid to the west that bi stable temperatures of the earth (a con the inner wall remaining more or less sects the state, roughly paralleling Inter sistent 62 degrees at seven feet), then dis constant. This reduces the heating and state 35 and the Balcones Escarpment. It tributed throughout the interior by fan. cooling load dramatically inside, with a is easier to design an effective passive Hot air is vented outside. backup heat pump charged with heating structure west of this line, easier to cool Another of his passive residential pro or cooling only the air, not walls or it in summer and warm it in winter, due jects, also in the Panhandle, employs floors. to the region's lack of humidity and cli many of the same passive concepts, all of Plans call also for supplementary solar matic predictability. Where climatic which are enhanced by its setting-a 90- collectors for hot water and to assist the zones happen to meet, however, as in acre pecan grove. Also contemporary heat pump, and a swimming pool in a Austin as a case in point, passive solar "Pueblo-Hacienda" in style, the structure central courtyard for thermal storage in design becomes an exercise in passive consists of some 20,000 thirty-pound winter and evaporative cooling in summer. solar eclecticism. adobe bricks, handmade on site by the Smith says the house, completed in The Austin climate is influenced both owners. Recessed south-facing windows 1976, cost under $15 a square foot, due by hot-humid and hot-arid conditions, block high summer sun and admit the in part to the resourcefulness of the according to UT-Austin assistant profes low sun in winter, heat from which is owners in recycling salvaged building sor of architecture Michael Garrison, stored in the thick adobe walls and brick materials into the project, such as old director of the university's Integrated floors, released through the night into railroad tics and telephone poles used as Solar Demonstration project at the Bal the interior spaces. Exterior walls on the the distinctive vigas. cones Research Center in Austin. So the north, east and west sides arc made of The Panhandle is a climatically black area is ideal, he says, for testing a variety two layers of I 0-inch adobe brick, wi th a and white region. When it's cold it's cold of passive systems. Funded by a $28,000 cavity in between filled with styrofoam and when it's hot it's hot, with very little grant from TEN RAC and a matching
March/April 1980 27 Mlcltattl Garrison
Balcones Research Center project, Austin. Double box at work 011 s111111y winter day. grant from the University Research Insti bilize interior mass temperatures, with far more importance and duration than tute, the Balcones project is designed to the space formed between the two boxes one for heating. Where West Texas test the "double box," high-mass walls, wrapping the inner living space with a weather is cut and dry by seasonal ex earth-air heat exchanger, solar chimney blanket of evenly tempered air, making treme, East Texas weather is thick and induced air movement, the solar green for a configurati on and effect similar to wet all year. house and the solar greenhouse air-loop a thermos bottle. The biggest problem wi th passive de system, all in one structure. Researchers The south-facing roof facade is elon sign in East Texas, according to Houston hope to determine the performance feasi gated, double-tetrahedron in shape, to passive-solar designer George Way, char bility of these systems, "derived from collect low winter sun as well as to re ter member and current president of the architectural configurations," for use in flec t the high sun in summer, when a Houston Solar Energy Society, is the the Central Texas region. roof cupola is opened to create air move great care that must be taken in the The most predominant passive system ment by exhausting hot air as it rises and placement of thermal mass. A prime need in the Balcones project is the double box, drawing cool air inside through an earth and benefit in West Texas, it is only of Garrison says (pioneered theoretically by air heat exchanger- at speeds equal to fleeting need in the East-and a perma D'Arcy Thompson in his book On those of an attic fan. nent handicap if not used properly. Growth and Form, published in 1961). It's an elaborate system-the compleat A representative East Texas passive The outer box serves as a d irect gain passive house. But the concepts are sim solar house, designed by Way and built solar greenhouse, buffering against harsh ple, Garrison says, and none is new. "All a little over a year ago, is a weekend re ambient conditions and reducing infiltra arc just architectural refinements of age treat sitting on the north shore of a lake tion and temperature swings; while the old principles." in the middle of the Big Thicket, near inner box, or interior living space, is East of the central climatic divid Kountze, about halfway between Living thermally grounded to the dark mass of ing line and deep within Trinity's hot ston and Beaumont. It is a relatively the earth, which has an infinite capacity humid zone and the East Texas Piney modest house, Way says, two-bedroom, for heat storage. The greenhouse buffer Woods, regional design is more exclusive. wood-frame, 1,600 square feet, privately and thermal grounding combine to sta- It is an area where cooling is a need of financed, $30 per square foot. T he struc-
28 Texas Architect DINING LIVING The biggest problem with passive design in East Texas is the great care that must be taken in the placement SOI.AR ATRIUM BEOffOOM of thermal mass ... which can do more harm in ------·--·... - -====- ... summer than good in winter.
Passive-solar hou.fe in the Big Thicket. ------ture·s pine and cedar envelope is insu The only thermal mass for winter heat stay, inside temperatures are in the range lated well, from the peri meter of the slab ing is a dark red-brick floor in the atrium of 65 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit in winter throughout the ceiling, and all windows area, which absorbs sunlight from and 82 to 86 degrees in summer, without are double-glazed. Tucked into the piney the south windows in winter and stores backup. (Way points out that the stable woods, heavy forest shields east and the heat in a 6-inch-thick concrete slab internal temperatures upon arrival in west exposure from summer su n and the underneath. Pointing out that backup summer arc maintained in part by design north exposure from winter wind . airconditioning and heating here [ minimal solar gain] and in part by the The predominant passive feature of financing prerequisites- are part of the fact that the house has been closed up the house, however, is a 520-square foot passive approach, Way says that exposing a ll week, with no internal heat gain from atrium with 168 square feet of south mass directly to sunlight in East T exas cooking, lighting and people.) facing glass patio doors opening onto the does far more harm in summer than good Residential passive solar projects arc lake. For spring, summer and fall cool in winter, creating too heavy a load on numerous throughout the slate, in all re ing, the atrium is designed to allow for the passive/ mechanical system during gions. encouraged largely by the HUD cross ventilation and thermal induction, peak summer cooling periods. (Mechani residential demonstration program (which drawing cooler air from the lake and cal back-up is prov ided by a two-ton was intended in part to seed lhe mass forest into the atrium and venting the hot heat pump and a recirculating fireplace housing market with affordable designs) air out a clerestory series of vents in the fed with fresh air.) ''To accommodate and the relative ease and purity of pas upper rear portion of the atrium. "Since the future," Way says. the roof of the sive design on a small scale. Existing pas dry air is at a premium in East Texas," atriu m is ori ented and tilted south for sive commercial projects, on Way says, thermal induction must be eventual installation of active solar col the other hand, arc few and far between. used to maximize the flow of air, which lectors for domestic hot water. One of the few is a privately developed, even when moisture-laden will enhance So far. Way says, after a year of opera two-story, 16,000 square foot passive of the body's ability to rid heat from the tion, the house has performed as pre fice building in Austin, completed two skin surface by evaporation, if the air dicted. Owners have found that upon years ago, designed by Austin architect flow is fast enough. arrival on Friday night for a weekend L. M. "Mac" H older.
March/ April 1980 29 First, you figure out where the sun and air movement is going to come from and what it's going to do in a structure. Then you look at what your client's needs are going to be in 10 years, and whether or not he will be able to afford to use that building for 30 years to pay off the mortgage.
Passive-solar commercial building in Austin. As Holder himself points out, the in winter, its windowed facade facing the top portions of the windows are building doesn't broadcast the fact that south. A hill behind the building protects opened to allow circulation, keeping it's a passive-solar structure. Viewed it from the north winds in winter, while high-speed air in the upper part of the from the frontage road, the tan-brick a landscaped area in front and a stand structure near the ceiling and away from building appears clean and site-sensitive of mature liveoaks retained on the site working areas, and venting the warmer as it sits horizontally on its one-acre site, minimize reflected heat from the parking air out the breeze outlets in back. During parallel to the road. But it doesn't have lot in summer. (Leaving the livcoaks low winds, low portions of the windows "that solar look," which is so by design, standing on the south side was a "trade can be opened and ceiling fans turned says Holder, who doesn't believe passive off, " Holder says. "They do more good on.) design prescribes flamboyance. in summer than harm in winter." ) Solar Window placement optimizes natural He calls the building "an efficient control is also provided by a cantilever lighting, Holder says, and since tenants commercial office building of hybrid de balcony on the south facade. For thermal pay their own utility bills, task lighting is sign, with a heavy emphasis on passive." mass, high-mass walls consist of two the rule for artificial backup. And all And he looks at passive as a reason for layers of brick with urethane insulation fixtures are movable to allow for flexi design, rather than of form of, or limit in between. bility in rearranging office furniture. to. "If a building responds to the micro Inside, the building is divided into 20- Mechanical backup systems include flat climate in the vicinity, it has character," foot by 40-foot bays for commercial ten plate, non-tracking solar collectors on Holder says. "That response creates the ants, each bay with direct access to lou the roof to provide 100 percent of the character for the structure. It is com vered breeze outlets on the north side as domestic hot water year 'round and some patible with its environment, it is site well as its own electrical system and in space heating in winter. Heat is collected specific, and it will almost design itself." dividual meter. Oriented for maximum in a 2,000 gallon water storage tank. The building is located at the rear of ventilation, deep vertical windows are Also, a high-efficiency air conditioning the site, with a parking lot between it and operable and sectioned in two to regulate system and a gas-fired boiler augment the the roadway. The long axis is oriented high- and low-speed winds. (During high passive design effects during periods of more or less cast and west for solar gain winds and moderate temperatures, only peak load.
30 Texas Architect Mac Holder.
Holder says his building is designed to The average monthly energy hill for how I do it. First, you look at the most respond to escalating energy costs by re an office building in Austin is about 14 basic principles of sun and air movement sponding to its microclimate. Such twin cents per square foot per month, at an on the site, you figure out where it's responses are now so interwoven and average of 4.5 cents per kilowatt hour. going to come from and how and where mutually dependent, he says, that you As Holder points out, a conventional it's going to rise and what it's going to do can't consider having one without the building with efficient mechanical sys to a structure. Then you look at what other anymore. So in describing the pas tems and incorporating energy-saving your client's needs arc going to be in 10 sive-solar features of his project, his features (light-timers, reducing hot-water years, and whether or not he can afford narrative leads downward to the all temperatures, air-flow dampers) can cut to use that building for 30 years to pay important bottom line. that square foot cost per month in half. off the mortgage. T he fact is, our clients "A passive system building is so much T he average monthly energy bill for cannot continue to absorb fantastic in more energy efficient than a standard Holder's hybrid office building. however, creases in utility costs, so passive build building," Holder says, "that nobody passive from the outset, is Jess than four ing are going to become more and more really believes it. I told people that we cents per square foot per month. allractive on the market. You can't just could build an office building that could Moreover, Holder says the building bury your head and say that energy run on 30 percent of the energy an aver was built for $20 per square foot (plus prices are not going to increase, or that age building consumes. Nobody believed $8 a square foot for tenant fin ishes), a they will get to a point where they level that. Then we built this one. and it's run cost that is no more than 10 percent of off. They're not going to level off. They ning on 30 percent of what an average the cost of conventional office buildings didn't, they haven't, and they're not going building runs on, with parts of it running in Austin. The building was convention to." on 15. Could you really believe that you ally financed , he acids, and produces a 17 could heat a 16,000 square foot building percent return on the investment he/ore for $250 throughout the entire winter? taxes and depreciation. Well, we did it, and have the hills to "Everything I do is privately financed," prove it." Holder says, "so 1 have to be very careful
Marc:/1 / April 1980 3 / group formed in May 1979 to involve Texas Solar Incentives Austin on the ground floor of renewable Good Sources and Tools energy development. Other landmark solar legislation on The Passive Solar Energy Book: Ex With that fundamental assumption the local level in Texas includes Port panded Professional Edition, by Ed gaining widespread acceptance, steps Arthur's Planned Unit Development ward Mazria ( 1979, Roda le Press, have been taken recently in Texas ( PUD) ordinance, passed by the Port Emmaus, Penn.) through state and local legislation to en Arthur City Council in January 1979 to courage solar design and renewable en provide a site-density "bonus·· for de Design With Climate: Bioc/imatic ergy development. velopers within a specified PUD if dwell Approach to Architectural Regional ln November I 978, Texas voters ap ing units are oriented for solar access. ism, by Victor Qlgyay (1963, Prince proved a constitutional amendment in The ordinance allows for up to 24 ton University Press, Princeton, N.J.) the general elections exempting solar dwelling units per acre in an 18-acre and wind energy devices from all state PUD if at least 80 percent of the build Architecture and Energy, by Richard taxes, including sales, franchise and ad ings are oriented with their long axes Stein (1977, Anchor Press/ Double valorem. In 1979, the 66th Legislature parallel to JO degrees north of cast (with day, Garden City, New York) passed the amendment into law, which a possible variation of JO degrees). went into effect Jan. l , 1980. The new Otherwise, site density is limited to 15 Energy Conservation Through Build law prohibits the local tax assessor-collec units per acre. ing- Design, edited by Donald Wat tor "from considering in his assessment A later amendment to the city·s zon son ( 1979, McGraw-Hill, New York) of property value the value of any solar ing ordinance requires approval by the energy device installed or constructed on planning and zoning commission of all A Survey of Passive Solar Buildings, the assessed property." Significantly, the site plans for proposed subdivisions, AJA Research Corporation ( 1978, definition of "solar energy device" was which must "clearly indicate the influ American Institute of Architects, expanded to include attached passive ence of proposed structures on the light, Washington, D.C.) solar greenhouses, high-mass walls, air, access and exposure of adjacent Trombe walls, roof ponds, rock and peb property and indicate shadow patterns ble thermal-storage beds, as well as bio of existing and proposed structures and Passive Solar Conference Proceed mass energy systems (algae ponds, water major vegetation between IO a.m. and ings, American Section, International hyacinth ponds and other organic systems 4 p.m., December 21 and 22 (winter Solar Energy Society, Inc. (c/ o which produce methane and other fuels solstice)." American Technological University, by photosynthesis. The definition does And, on the national level, perhaps the Killeen, Texas) not, however, include "items used for en biggest legislative incentive for passive ergy conservation which do not actually design will come from DOE's proposed The Davis Experiment, by Marshall provide thermal, mechanical or electrical Building Energy Performance Standards Hunt and David Bainbridge (May, energy," such as double-glazed windows, (BEPS), designed to achieve maximum 1978, Solar Age) insulation, solar shades, absorbent or re energy reduction in new buildings and flective roofs.) encourage the development of renewable The Sun Betrayed: A Report 011 the Although John Carlson, TENRAC energy resources. The standards would Corporate Seizure of U.S. Solar En solar program coordinator, thinks it will set an energy consumption budget, which ergy Development, by Ray Reece, be a while before solar energy systems must be met in the design stage (with the former associate editor of Texas Ar constitute as much as five or 10 percent help of a computer energy-analysis pro chitect. (1979, South End Press, of the overall energy picture in Texas, gram developed by Dr. Fraosico Arumi Boston, Mass.) "such state legislation is definitely a step at UT-Austin's School of Architecture). in the right direction and those who ally TENRAC is now working with other Sun Angles for Design, by Robert themselves in the passive camp would state agencies to determine the best ways Bennet (1978, published by the au have to view this as a victory." of implementing BEPS on a state and thor, Bala Cynwyd, Peon.) On the city level, TEN RAC has local level, but the council says that awarded a $20,000 grant to Austin's new could be a long way off-August 1981 Sun Angle Calculator, Libbey-Owens office of Energy Conservation and Re at the earliest. Ford Company (1975, Toledo, Ohio) newable Resources to explore the use of Legislation, while considered essential, solar. wind, biomass, hydropower and is not the only gear to engage in imple National Solar Heating and Cooling geothermal energy systems in a Model menting sun-conscious design. Lending Information Center, established in Energy Development Demonstration institutions provide the money to build, 1976 by HUD to act as a federal District in downtown Austin (the site of and loan officers comprise perhaps a clearinghouse for information on an ill-fated revitalization plan put to more important target audience for solar solar heating and cooling (P.O. Box gether last year by an out-of-town con information than the public at large. To 1607, Rockville, Md., 20850. Tele sulting firm that never saw the light of determine the level of solar awareness phone: [toll free) 800/ 523-2929). day due to an almost unanimous profes among Texas bankers, TENRAC and sional and public outcry). The city's new TX-SES conducted a survey recently Texas Solar Energy Society, 1007 S. renewable energy office was the out which revealed that while most of the Congress, Suite 348, Austin 78704. growth of its Renewable Energy Re respondents lacked solar-investment ex Telephone: (512) 443-2528 sources Commission, a citizens' advisory perience, they did seem in favor of mak-
32 Texas Architect ing solar loans when and where the de mand is. Out of 382 lending institutions responding to the survey, some 18 per cent had made solar loans, accounting for 68 institutions financing more than 150 solar installations statewide, mainly for domestic hot waler systems. And while most of the respondents with solar loan experience had made loans for active systems, some interest was ex pressed in passive homes. (The study pointed out that E l Paso National Bank li kes the idea of passive systems and considers one project it is financing as a "tremendous breakthrough.") Designing with the sun in mind prom Passive-solar hou,fing project, El Paso. ises to be an influential movement in Texas architecture, out of economic ne Backup will be portable electric healers). Caldwell estimates the average cost for cessity and regional appropriateness. And Some Passive Principles although the energy future looms heavy each 9 16-squarc-foot unit at $26,000. on the horizon like a T exas thunder And as ground breaks on passive solar Following is a rudimentary list of head, passive-solar architects arc ex projects testing techniques on multi-use passive solar principles and systems, cited by the challenges posed. There's an and multi -family scale, research con mos, of which can be employed i11- even newer breed of architect than the tinues at Trinity, Texas A&M and other depe11de111ly or used coflectively in seminal oil embargo generation, which universities across the state, including a single structure for maximum pas has had to rely almost exclusively on em UT-Austin, where scientists arc testing .vive-solar effect. Thanks to Michael pirical trial and error (suffering, in the the feasibility o f converting sunlight to Garrison and David Smith of the process, what Michael Garri son calls an electricity, which is currently plagued by UT-Austin School of Architecture " information overload"). Texas schools cost and electrical storage problems, ac f acuity for providing most of the of architecture arc enlisting faculty spe cording to researchers, and a good IO to definitions. cialists in solar design and offering 20 years down the road. Solar Orientation: the most basic of courses in the technique, in addition to In the meantime, passive solar design the basics, th is means positioning a stressing the new imperative of energy is here and working. And never before building to take advantage of sun conscious design in general. And recent have architects had more opportunity angles and movement in all seasons. graduates arc scattering to the four winds and responsibility in affec ti ng the com ln the northern hemisphere, ideal to champion the passive approach. Aus monweal. When the relationship between solar orientation is an east-west long tin passive-solar devotee Greg Watkins, architecture and energy is examined, axis, exposing windows to the south 26, a 1979 graduate of the UT-Austin Richard Stein points out in his 1977 for maximum solar gain. In Texas, School of Architecture and an intern now classic Architecture and Energy, a com a deviation of up to 15 degrees will with the Austin firm Shefelman & Nix, is prehensive connection is revealed: "All not rad ically affect thermal gain. enthusiastically working on getting his told, with the 20 percent in fossil fuel thesis project realized- a "solar village" usage, the 6 percent in industrial usage, Direct Gain: the most frequently in Cedar Park, near Austin. The multi the 12.5 percent in source electric usage, used approach for passive heating, usc, planned-unit development would and the 5 percent o( unnecessary trans solar radiation passes directly into feature a variety of passive heating and portation usage resulting from planning and through the living space, then is cooling and wind and biomass systems, patterns, we arc addressing 43.5 percent stored in an interior thermal mass along the lines of the famed solar of all energy used for all purposes ...." (wall or floor). The direct gain de village in Davis, Calif. (which instituted And as UT-Austin's David Smith says, sign, in effect, makes the building a planned-unit development ordinances in " it is not a question whether buildings "live-in solar collector." 1973 and has reported a more than 35 arc going to become more energy effi percent reduction in city-wide energy cient- economics d ictates that. T he ques Indirect Gain: a thermal storage consumption since doing so). And in El tion is whether architects arc going to mass stands between the sun and the Paso, a multi-family passive-solar hous lead that direction and not forget about living space, collecting heat d irectly ing project, designed by El Paso architect things like natural lighting." It's a fact, then transferring it inside. The most Mack Caldwell, is scheduled to break he adds, though not a source of great common systems arc the T rombc ground soon. The El Paso city council comfort, that the architect has become wall (pioneered by F renchman F elix voted last December to channel $567,- somewhat of an exclusive professional, T rombe in 1967, consisting of either 000 in federal funds into a project which dispensable in the eyes of many con water or mass) and the roof pond. will involve low-income tenants in con sumers, who would turn quicker to an Isolated Gain: the solar collector and struction of their own nine-unit adobe engineer than to an architect to solve a storage unit arc isolated from the liv- apartment complex. ( Passive features in building problem. "Now," he says, "is clude solar orientation and direct thermal the time when the architect can become Co111i1111ed 0 11 11ext page. gain as well as high-mass adobe walls. sociall y indispensable."
March/April 1980 33 Passive Principles, continued.
ing space, functioning independently and allowing the living space to draw heat inside as its temperature re quirements dictate. The most com mon application is the solar green house, a heavily glazed sunspace attached to the southside of the structure, separated from the living space usually by a thermal mass wall. Design/Build Workshop Passive Cooling: utilizing the laws of Friday, April 25, 1980 8 a.m.-5 p.m. thermodynamics, which dictate un equivocably that air flows from hot Co-sponsored by the Texas Society of Architects to cold, from high pressure to low, passive cooling essentially involves The University of Texas at Austin, School of Architecture discharging excess heat into an avail and the Division of Continuing Education able, cooler "heat sink" (the earth, water, the night sky). Design/ Build: The project performed by a single legal entity with the direct responsibility and liability for Thermal Induction: creating wind project design and construction. flow when it's not available by tak ing advantage of the "stack effect." The sun heats air in an area higher Objective: than the living space and causes air The Design/ Build workshop will provide legal concepts and ramifications for design/ build movement. Hot air rises, which is ventures and guidelines for developing new design/ build opportunities. vented to the outside, drawing re Topics: placement air from the living spaces, Current climate for design/ build projects which in turn draw replacement air Implementing design/ build under AIA ethics General principles of liability for design/ build from the coolest air source (tops of Bonds and insurance for design/ build projects trees, water, shaded areas). The most Legal profile of a design/ build project common system to take advantage of Organizing to engage in design/ build projects this technique is the thermal chim Design/ build contract between owner and design/ build firm ney, a high outlet which maximizes Faculty Member: the air-flow effect. Arthur T. Komblut, B.Arch., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y., and J.D., Uni versity of Akron School of Law, is a principal in the Washington, D.C. law firm of Ford, Farquhar, Komblut & O'Neill. Komblut's architectural license is from the State of Ohio. He Microclimate: specific ambient con is a frequent speaker and author on architectural practice and professional liability, and ditions on a site which will affect a has been the prinicpal speaker for Design/ Build Seminars throughout the country pre building and which may be consid sented by McGraw-Hill's subsidiary, Architectural Record Seminars. erably different from the climate Fee: monitored at the airport. Influenced $225 (includes refreshments, lunch, and educational materials). by topography, vegetation, parking Who Should Attend: lots, other buildings. Architects, attorneys, contractors, design professionals, engineers and owners. Certificates of Completion: Heat Pump: invented in the 1880s, Certificates will be awarded by the School of Architecture and the Division of Continuing used widely until the advent of cen Education at UT Austin. tral heating and cooling in the '50s. Location: Powered by electricity, a compressor Joe C. Thompson Conference Center, 26th & Red River, Austin, Texas drives a refrigerant gas through a Time: closed loop coil, which pulls heat Friday, April 25, 1980, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. from outside in. For summertime Make check for $225 payable to The University of Texas at Austin. Please include the cooling, the process is simply re registrant's name, firm name, address and phone. versed, with the pump extracting heat from within a structure and Mail to: Lynn Cooksey/ Conference Coordinator for Architecture/ Division of Continuing Education / The University of Texas at Austin/Main Building 2500/ Austin, Texas 78712/ pumping it outside. Used as an effi (512) 471-3123 cient mechanical back-up for pas sive design and active-solar systems. A registration cancelled by a participant less than one week prior to the meeting is subject to a $10.00 charge. No refunds are available after the workshop has started.
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Circle 15 on Reader Inquiry Card Represented by the Kermel Corp., with offices throughout Texas and Oklahoma. Rediscovering Harwell Hamilton Harris
Lessons from His Texas Work Harris
By Lawrence Speck and Paul Lamb
Harris talks like he builds. The twenty talk of his buildings as playing a "sup or so projects which resulted from his porting role" to the lead of real life ac eleven-year practice in Texas (1951-62) tors. Politeness, grace and good manners testify to the extraordinary quality which beco'me admirable building traits. "A meticulousness can produce. They are building which anticipates our wants and gentle, good-natured homes; lofty, char satisfies them with imagination is ele acterful offices; and respectful, serene gant. It has great presence." places of meditation. They are attentively And yet, this modesty is not unambi crafted and designed "down to the door tious. It mines a depth of concern seldom knobs." They reflect the personal vigi fully explored by contemporary archi lance and punctiliousness of their de tecture. Harris believes that building can signer. "fire one with a passion for simple living and high thinking"- no small task. For The architect's work can only be as real him, the important trait of a building- and as convincing as /tis own life. surpassing its size, its style, its constmc - Louis Sullivan tion- is the way it "feels," and, in turn, the way it conveys feelings to its occu It is impressive to see buildings which pants. (Editor's Note: Since his departure from so clearly draw on the personal strengths More often than not, the "feeling" he TexM in /962, Harwe// Hamilton Harris has practiced and taught in Raleigh, North of their designer. Harris likes Sullivan's deems appropriate is one of relief, case Carolina, where the authors recently inter- philosophy because "his picture of archi and comfort- a freedom from distress 1·iewed ltim for this <1rtic/e.) tecture was the picture of a man." Harris and distraction. A Harris living room himself points out the good fortune that envelops its occupants in a sense of Harwell Hamilton Harris' thorough an architect "need not divide his time serene well-being. It is a shelter from the ness in conversation is striking. A con into two parts: one devoted to making a intensity and hubbub of life. summate storyteller, he recalls, in detail, living and another to developing his per By contrast, in his Trade Mart Court a fourth-year student field trip to son .... It is possible to make life and in Dallas, Harris demonstrates an the Pan American Architectural architecture one." equivalent ability to play up the mood Conference in Mexico City taken shortly It is perhaps from this integration of created by activity and movement. He after he became Dean of the School of life and architecture that Harris derives enlivens the huge space with animated, Archi tecture at UT-Austin in 19 5 I. He his greatest design strength-not only in kinetic forms intensifying a feeling of remembers exactly how many students the meshing of the architect's own per great energy. went ( 21), how they traveled ( train to sonality and his work, but also in the Harris' success in constructing appro the border and Mexican airline beyond), joining of the client/user's life in the priate "feelings" is evidenced by how the price of the hotel rooms ($1 per building. Harris talks of architecture as little has been changed in most of his night), how much each student paid the "pattern of a person's interests, feel bui ldings over the past 20 years. Colors, ($35), who picked up the remaining bill ings and activities." In designing, he says, fabrics, details are lovingly preserved. (TSA), a kid they called "Toline from "ll is as though one's interests, feelings, Most of his Texas houses are still occu Moline" and much more. He can de activities, expressed themselves on some pied by the families for whom they were scri be precisely his arrangements for the now-forgotten occasion, leaving tracks built. Their praise for Harris the man, " boys" to meet Frank Lloyd Wright at a and a building grows up around those Ha rris the designer, and their own homes reception at the U.S. Embassy and a pic tracks .. .. An architectural design is the is a great testimony to the architect's ture which resulted from the event with design of a pattern for sensing, for feel talents. Overton Shelmire poised proudly next to ing, for acting." Harris credits his inclination to project the great man. His recoll ections are rich, There is a modesty implied herein feelings into form, in part, to his early warm and humane-filled with layers of which is refreshing in these days of training as a sculptor. It was only after a assiduous detail. architectural one-upsmanship. Harris can memorable visit to Frank Lloyd Wright's
36 Texas Architect Pre-Portman atrium space, Trade Mart Court, Dallas, 1960.
March/ April 1980 37 We dwell with satisfaction upo11 a poet's differences from his immediate predecessors . . . . Whereas if we approach a poet without this prejudice we shall often find that not 011/y the best, but the most indi,·idual parts of his work may be those ... in which his predecessors <1ssert their immortality most i-igorously. -T. S. Eliot
It is unusual to find an architect of Harris' generation who can be so explicit about the roots of his work. From Wright he learned organic principles of form-making; from Sullivan he gained philosophical justification. From the Greene brothers he understood an atti tude toward landscape; from Neutra he learned integration. From all of them he glea6ed a vocabulary of forms and ma terials. Harris' work evolved. Diverse atti tudes did not exclude, but rather refined, each other. He was assimilating, not selecting. His work can bold, at the same Hollyhock House in 1924 that he made a time, feelings of Mies, Wright, and May belated decision to pursue architecture. beck. The combination is enriching and The sculptural qualities of Ms. Barns fertile. dale's home, he recalls, made it "easy to From his predecessors, Harris inherit feel myself into that form." From that ed diverse traditions. Their utilization in moment, "Wright was the god." particular situations became the creative But Wright was by no means a singu act. For Harris, "Newness is not planned, lar influence. Harris' works owes much it is born in the course of discovering to Louis Sullivan, Charles and Henry ways in which particulars-human, Greene, and Bernard Maybeck. Theirs spatial, mechanical, material, structural, were earthy, organic, naturalistic build economic and others-can unite in a St. Mary's Church, Big Spring, 1960. Shades ings with firm roots in the native Ameri particular act." The absence of exclusive of Charles and Henry Greene and Bernard can landscape. Harris read Sullivan at dogma allowed a greater freedom in re Maybeck. tentively (along with his philosophical sponse-a greater fidelity to circum predecessors, Horatio Greenough and stance. Broad application of principle Walt Whitman). He grew up amongst became inventive in the act of appropri the Greene-influenced California bunga ate implementation. lows-viewing them as inevitable as The sophisticated relationship of in much as architectural. He immersed door and outdoor spaces in Harris' build himself in the tradition of organic archi ings is a good example of the working of tecture. this process, as well as of the merging of At the same time, Harris became a diverse traditions. In his childhood, Har part of International Modernism as well. ris was familiar with the widespread cus In seeking out local practitioners with tom in Southern California of outdoor whom to discuss his new-found interest sleeping, at least during the summer. in architecture, Harris discovered, very Porches, trellises and weeping trees be early, both Richard Neutra and Rudolf came extensions of the house-the fresh Schindler- two Europeans he later air of the outdoors being considered a viewed as "interpreters of America to contributor to good health. Greene and America." Their modernism was a local Greene often provided sleeping porches ized expression of the new architecture: as an integral part of each bedroom. its industrialization, its individualization, '·With private rooms divided into indoor its cultural integration. Harris worked and outdoor halves," Harris observes of for Neutra from 1928-32. He joined their work, "one could express bis plea Austin residence, 1956. Wrightian principles CIAM and became actively involved in sure in the outdoors in privacy-not of organic form-making. the excitement of the new movement. 'roughing it,' but elegantly." The Greene brothers' work expressed a "civilized at titude" toward nature.
38 Texas Architect In 1921, Rudolf Schindler adopted the custom and dignified it architecturally wi th rooftop "sleeping baskets" for his own house. Harris himself worked on the drawings for Neutra's Lovell Health House of 1927 where, again, sleeping porches were provided for each bed room. The sleek, pristine lines of the Lovell House detach the porches archi tecturally from their woodsy, naturalistic predecessors, adding a dimension of modern cleanliness and health. In Neu Ira's Ring Plan School each classroom opened into an individual garden. Class room and garden were, in effect, part of the same room. These works, along with Wright's characteristic low, continuous eaves, deep overhangs and long banks of doors, had begun a dissolution of distinctions be tween inside and outside space and be tween appropriate design methodology fo r indoors and outdoors. Harris adopted and expanded these emerging traditions en th usiasticall y. In his early Lowe House of 1933, Eise11 berg House, Dallas, 1958. A house Harris included an enclosed private gar with fingers i11to nature. Passing planes den for each bedroom. In most of his softe 11 its edges. Wright's traditio11al pin buildings since then, a variation of this wheel plan without the typical emphasis of indoor/ outdoor intermediary appears, m ass at the center. not in a tired, perfunctory way, but always as a fresh response to altered situations and conditions. A general, inherited notion toward nature, land scape and space suggests the intermedi ary. A careful analysis of the particulars of the problem produces a unique solu tion.
Eisenberg House In the Eisenberg House in Dallas, for example, the site given Harris was a lush, heavily treed lot sloping down to a meandering stream to the east. Its rela tive seclusion as well as its visual appeal :, t-"·'·,·u - /\ .- . Jed Harris to spread the house into the \,_ r " ) , ...... '\.. ./',-. .. . ,/ landscape, producing a sort of pinwheel , ·-...... plan. At each of the four interior cor ners, an intermediary space is created be tween the flowing form of the house and . the dense surrounding trees- a deck to / the east between the living room and the creek view, a terrace to the south off the playroom, a service yard off the kitchen, ...... / and a court at the entry with a trellis that becomes the porte cochere. The four indoor/ outdoor spaces vary in their degree of closure, their continuity with / ' 0 adjacent rooms and landscape, their \. ,, : manifestations of "built" or "natural" .. . 11·-r -- r· finish, as well as in their size and shape. But each plays a role in merging inside i i i and outside, natural and man-made. LL.J " /
Marchi April 1980 39 Woodall House The site Harris was given for the Woodall Jl ouse in Big Spring was not quite so genial. Nor was the climate. T he plan, in response, is much less exuberant than in the Eisenberg House. Rooms arc clustered around a completely enclosed courtyard in the center of the house. Walls exclude the prairie's wind, red wood beams and lattice filter the bright sun, and a sti ll perimeter pool cools and softens the air. The ruggedness of nature is mellowed to make it hospitable enough to become a part of the house. In a sim il ar- but less extreme- way, closed courts lo the south and a deep trellised terrace to the west also modify nature as it joins the house.
Treanor House The general direction set by the Wood all House is taken to an even greater extreme in the Treanor House in Abi lene. Harris considered Abilene to be "one of the worst climates in the world" - hot in the summer, cold in the winter, with terrible dust storms in between. The Treanor House plan is closed and com pact in response. The central feature of the house is the large garden room-a completely enclosed and conditioned space which is filled with plants and flooded with natural light from above. Herc, the distinction between indoor and outdoor spatial characteristics is dis solved. An indoor room feels like the great outdoors. Elsewhere in the house, other, less extreme means arc utilized to ease the transition between inside and out. The room-like porch on the southeast corner, complete with fireplace, seems both in doors and outdoors. Heavily trellised courts extend the dining room and kitch en while bringing a bit of natural vege tation into the rigorous rectangular frame of the house. In all three of these houses, natural and built environments lock hands in the best organic tradition, but without a Interior courtyard, Woodall House, Big Spring, 1959. Oasis of cool serenity protected from the hot West 1·<'xC1s s1111. stifling or dogmatic allegiance to method. Harris is free to respond truly to the particulars of site, climate and client while maintaining a conviction to princi ples of form, space, nature, and land scape. Harwell H amilton Harris has spent his career working within traditions estab lished io lhc early years of this century by such towering figures as Wright, Sul livan, and Neutra. He has expanded and modified their tenets, but he has not rejected them in favor of more current
40 Texas Architect Woodall House, Big Spring, 1959.
\ I I
Comtricted plan focuses rooms toward the courtyard and indoor/ 0111- door spaces at the perimeter. Pyramidal ceiling, left, enhances slrong presence of interior spaces.
March / April 1980 41 or prevailing doctrines. He is, for us, a link to those traditions-a badly needed connection between the not-so-distant past and the present. In our recent rejections of Modernism, we seem in danger of making the same blunder as the pioneers of the Modern Movement themselves made by failing to make a link to the immediate past. The ability to continue and build upon exist ing traditions is an important factor in producing a refined, fully developed architecture. Newness should evolve rather than raise its head in fits and spurts disconnected with context. That is why it currently is important to keep the work of architects like Harris in our consciousness. We are in danger of losing something which was, at the same"time, both within the organic tradi tion and an expansion of it-both at odds with modernism and a part of it. Treanor House garden room. In using history as a sourcebook for new direction, we should not overlook the product of the recent parental past- that work in which, because of its nearness, both faults and virtues are clear. We also can learn, in any time, from architecture designed with sensitivity, care, and a humane spirit. Such is the work of Harwell Hamilton Harris.
A rcliitect Lawrence Speck, left, a previous TA contributor, is an associate professor of architecture at The University of Texas at Austin. Architectural intern Paul Lamb studied under Speck and became a first hand admirer of Harris' work by living in Trellis court extends interiors. Room-like porch. one of his houses. 1l ~ • • • • • • • • • • •• • • •• • • I
._] !..,!_!.!.,; t • • 1' • • " • t • I t t t
Treanor House, Abilene, 1959 (early photo). Crisp, Neutra-like formr and surfaces. lntrospectil-e planning within a tight rectangular envelope.
42 Texas Architect Image
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Circle 17 on Reader Inquiry Card A Special Treatment
Quail Valley Waste Plant Control Building
By Larry Paul Fuller
Taft Architects' Municipal Control of emphasis to provide a sense of entry matical and geometric formality of Le Building for the Quail Valley Utility for visitors to the facility. The construc doux and Boullee. And, more overtly, District is at once a sophisticated exer t ion budget was $50,000. the facade is Palladian in character, with cise in historical allusion and spatial In order to increase the apparent mass its ruthless symmetry, its temple-front organization; a prac1ical, livable, under of the structure, while diminishing con imagery and its ceremonial entry the-budget response to program; and, struction cost, the new building was de (formed by recessed arches manifesting very likely, the best little sewer building signed as an extension of an existing a corbeled effect). in Texas. concrete structure, which was stripped of The real significance of these allu T he U1ility District Board at Quail its fake Mansard roof to facilitate the sions, however- and the fact that seems Valley, a suburban development south merger. The new building is further to distinguish this approach from one of west of Houston near Sugar Land, found '"scaled up" by the front facade, which pure whimsey- is that the historical upon completion of its oxygenated waste extends beyond the mass on each side models alluded lo were also the antece treatment plant in 1978 1hat a control and as a parapet above the roofline. dents of countless late 19th- and early building was needed to provide approxi As in their Houston YWCA Down 20th-century utilitarian buildings erected mately 1,000 square feet of office and lown Branch ( a I 980 Progressive all across the face of America. Although lunchroom space for use on a 24-hour Architecture design award winner, sec not architecturally distinguished as a basis. Located in clear view of country page I 7), the architects have deftly group, these water control buildings, club members striding and riding the manipulated stucco and tile surfacing gymnasiums, and other public structures fairways of the community golf course, materials to create abstractions of - many of them WPA projects- are the unsightly assemblage of existing con classical architectural form. The overall commonly associated with images of crete structures and metallic buildings configuration of the facade bears ac "Classical" style. needed a better image as well as a point knowledged overtones of the mathe- Quail Valley's alliance with its pre-
48 Texas Architect decessors is clenched, however, by the juxtaposition of reddish brown tiles and beige stucco, startlingly reminiscent of traditional red brick and stone combina tions. The tile and stucco configuration also imparts two different readings of the building's scale, depending on light ing conditions, due to the tendency of the dark tile to recede from view. When both the tile and stucco are viewed simultaneously, this same phenomenon creates an illusion of two separate planes, one behind the other. In addition, the colors were selected to complement the brown and beige used in the existing metallic buildings. Huge globes flanking the portal, speci fied for their institutional character, help create a sense of entry. The semicircular insignia above the transom, which some times-and quite unintentionally- reads as stained glass, is actually glazed tile produced in the architects' office and was seen as a means of injecting color and of personalizing the building. Layering One would hope that the drama im parted by the entry facade would not disintegrate into the banality of a pre dictable plan inside-perhaps a dim cor ridor (with drinking fountain) down the middle, creating separate office and din ing space, and maybe a couple of ac cordian-fold partitions for flexibility. And, indeed, such a disappointment does not materialize. Instead, a dialogue oc curs hetween the facade and the interior in the form of successive spatial "layers" parallel to the frontal plane. A central service core, with 90-degree steps in its lunchroom-side partitions, organizes the space and houses bathroom and kitchen functions. The spatial layering occurs as coffers formed by ceiling trusses align with steps in the service core. The effect is reinforced by the width of windows in the side facade and by dimensions of the grid formed by alternating colors of floor tile (which approximate exterior colors). The floor tile combination changes scale to indicate transitions from lunch room to existing building and kitchen, and from kitchen to bathroom, while the office space is defined by reducing the tile to one color. Decorative tile patterns embellish bathroom walls. Other interior wall surfaces are painted beige in con trast to a lighter color for ceiling trusses and coffers. All surface materials arc durable and washable for minimal main tenance. For a construction cost of $47,500,
Marchi April 1980 49 the client received more than was ex facility on a daily basis find it very liv Archilecl: Taff Archilects, Houston; Part- pected. But the question should be able. Earlier lunchroom facilities were 11ers- Jo/111 J. Casbaria11, Dtmny Samuels, posed, "Was it 100 much more?" After seldom utilized, but this one is a place of Robert II. Timme all, what do the building's users know congregation. There has even been a Proiect AsJista11t: Scott Waugh or care about the architectural rhetoric dramatic reduction in the employee Support Team: Marc Boucher, Jeffrey Averill associated with historical allusion and turnover rate, which has been attributed Ceramic Tile Design: Joyce Rosner the layering of space? The answer seems to the improved working environment. Interior Furnishings: Candace Timme to lie in the fact that the architects were As workers habitually enter the portal, Structural E1111i11eer: R. Geor11e C1111ni11g- able to inject a high level of intellectual they may not do so cere- lta111 Associates, /1011sto11 content without compromising the harsh moniously. And, once inside, they may Contractor: ll11isache Co11stmctio11 Co., realities of practical building. not observe the rigorously structured Houston The Utility District management re layers of space. What they do perceive, ports that community response has been however, is that every day they are overwhelmingly positive. And, more im privileged to inhabit a special little portant, the people who actually use the building.
50 Texas Architect / L
FACING PAGE: View of lu11chroom toward side facade. Layers formed by ceil i11g trusses and coffers, rei11forced by win dow widths a11d floor tile grid. ABOVE: Office viewed toward front facade. Floor tile reduced to one color.
March/April 1980 51 Portfolio
Richard Payne on Philip Johnson and John Burgee
EssayM by imi Crossley
In 1978, Houston architectural photo grapher Richard Payne was retai11ed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee to photo graph their post-1972 work for Random House's recently-released book written by Nory Miller. From this full-scale doC11- 111e11tatio11 emerged not 011ly the book but an ongoing working relationship with John .wn/ Burgee, as well as an exhibition of photographs- "Beyond the Box: Arcl,itec ture of Philip Jol,11so11 and Jol,n Burgee" l,eld in December at the University of Houston's Sarah Campbell Bia/fer Galler)'. Guest curator for tl,e exhibit was Houston Post Art Critic Mimi Crossley. We are pleased to prese11t tl,e following portfolio of Payne's images, introduced by Crossley's brief essay 011 the photographer Avery Fisher Hall, 1976 and /,is work . Photographer Richard Payne trained first as an architect, then took up the camera. Out of his architectural experi ence came the photographic approach he has practiced on projects all over the United States si nce 1968: a patient, sen Johnson/ Burgee: Architecture; The Build sitive search for the moment and angle ings a nd Projects of Philip Johnson and at which the design concepts of a build John Burgee. Text by Nory Miller. Photo ing a re seen most clearly. graphs by Richard Payne. Published in the United States, 1979, by Random House, His approach might be called classic. Inc., New York, and simultaneously in The architecture of Philip Johnson and Canada by Random House of Canada John Burgee, Payne has said, "is seri Limited, Toronto; cloth-bo1111d, 120 pages; ous, formal and beautiful. The buildings $35. require a serious, formal photographic response." Payne's typically strong, geometric images of architecture appear regularly in the professional and popular press. But his success also underscores the growing role photography plays in our Century Center, 1977 perception of architecture. The often enormous scale of contemporary build ings and the crowded, turbulent city streets on which they are built make it impossible for us to see architecture whole. Photographs made by cameras wi th Note-Payne's photographs on the follow special lenses from locations sidewalk ing pages are reproduced by permission of viewers cannot reach give us a setting- Random House, Inc.: 52, 53, 55 & 58.
52 Texas Architect artificial, it is true- into wh ich we fit our more fragmented, serial experience of walking, working or living in a building. Once seen, architectural photographs be• come the inescapable context for our urban landscape. For each project, Payne usually fi nds a central photographic image. Often, it is a picture taken the same way the architect would draw it-in one-point perspective, such as the Payne photo graph of the Avery Fisher Hall at Lin coln Center, New York City. Shooting at the point of perspective activates radiating lines and forms. Other building plans require different ap proaches: for the Century Center in South Bend, Indiana, the idea of an assemblage of forms along skylighted arcades required diagonally-composed interior shots showing how the forms connect. While the results might appear natu ralistic, they arc not. Payne boosts real ity, to a hyper-real level. For instance, our eye cannot capture the full sweep of the curved roof for the Convention Cen ter in Niagara Falls, New York, but Payne's picture does. The now-famous image of Pennzoil Place in Houston appears to have been shot while Payne hovered somewhere in space. In addition to the artificialities in herent in method, Payne boosts reality into the realm of the surreal through his taste for strong light, black shadows and sculptural form. He pushes these effects to a limit he feels is correct. It is a limit expressing a building to its fullest extent through mood and light, without falling over a line into exploiting architecture as an expression of the photographer's N iagara Falls Convention Center, 1974 personality and style. The best photographs, Payne has said, "are right on the line."
Marchi April 1980 53 Crystal Cathedral-Garden Grove Community Church Garden Grove, California, under construction
54 Texas Architect Art Mmeum of South Texas Corpus Christi, 1972; Associated Arcl1itects-Bamsto11e & Aubry
March / April 1980 55 Fine Arts Ce11ter- M11hle11berg College A l/e11tow11, Pe1111sy/i•a11ia, 1977; Coston, Wallace & Watson-Associated Architects
56 Texas Architect Morningside House New York, New York, 1975
Marchi April 1980 57 General A merica11 Life /11s11rance Company St. Louis, Missouri, 1977
58 Texas Architect Boston Public Library Addition Boston, Massachusetts, 1973; Joint Venture Architects- Architects Design Group, Inc.
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P.O. Box 14507 · Houston, Texas 77021 · (713) 644- 1751 Orcle 18 on Reader Inquiry Gard Listen to Your Architecture
Thoughts on Committing Acoustics
By David McCandless
When you are in the creative process art is the experience that allows those The greater distances between surfaces -designing shapes, volumes, walls, ceil facts to be used wisely. Audilization is magnify a room's peculiarities regard ings-do you hear your architecture? part of that process. Attention to this art less of whether they arc good or bad. So, And when you walk through new build need not be limited to the acoustical it is wise to start by listening to large ings-your own, or other spaces you consultant. Some architects have de volume spaces where the acoustics arc have never seen before-do you listen to veloped a sense for acoustics by listening more obvious. With practice, it will be the rooms? You should, because every and relating to the basic facts. They have come easier to hear the sounds of smaller time you enclose some space with walls learned to make subjective judgments rooms-even in the presence of some and a ceiling, you create an acoustical that arc very useful in defining the de distracting, i rrclcvant noises. environment that never existed before. sired acoustical criteria and in achieving Comparative listening is very useful Whether that environment is "good" or those goals through design. And they for developing an "audile memory." "bad" is the result of your design de nre, incidentally, the architects most apt Pick ;1 large room, free of disturbances, cisions. You have committed acoustics. to call in the consultant because of the as a basis for comparison wi th other Not only that- but you have also importance they place on acoustical en rooms you visit less frequently. It created a separation o( that environment vironments. would be very helpful to determine re from other environments around it. So, If you have never listened to your verberation times and other standard that wall and that ceiling- that division rooms, you have been missing one of the acoustical measurements as a basis for of space- is another separate act of subtlest consequences of your work, and comparison with other rooms which may acoustical significance. One architectural it is lime you started listening and learn be more or less " live." decision, to enclose some space, creates ing what to listen for. Eventually you T he best comparative listening will two separate acoustical phenomena: the wi ll relate what you hear lo what you occur between two adjacent, large spaces room's own acoustical qualities, and the sec, and then you will start audilizing of about the same size and shape, but reduction of noises transmitted to or imagining the sounds of your design. with very different interior finishes and from that space. Inside and Outside furnishings. Go alternately into each Architects are "visualizers," continu In listeni ng to architecture, the quality room and listen to: ally training eye and memory in this of a room's own response to sound • the quietness wi thout activities, talent. You visualize space and scale, should not be confused with the other • someone talking at the same sound the qualities of light and shadows, of equally important aspect of architectural level at different distances, and texture and color. Yet do you "audilize" acoustics- the separation of acoustical • a loud, sharp, single handclap (a very what your spaces wi ll sound like with environments. If in listening for the portable test sound source). activities going on, or "audilizc" the room's response to useful sounds you Listen to how quickly or slowly these acoustical separation your walls will hear instead the air conditioning system, rooms all ow the sounds to fade away provide. the activities in the next room, the traffic and whether there are any pronounced The idea of "hearing" architectural outside, or other disturbing noises, you characteristics in their sound decays. design is not new. Many of my col arc experiencing the need for noise con You soon will begin to notice whether leagues have heard me say, "When an trol between acoustical environments. one room allows better speech intelli architect desi$nS a building, he sees it in His easy to identify noises, but it is gibility than another, or whether it his mind's eye; he should also be able to often difficult, without practiced listen would be more likely to give support to hear it in his mind's ear!" This idea is ing, to hear a room's own particular music. You also will notice degrees of presented as a challenge to most of us. acoustical qualities. Tf you arc a begin such room faults as focusing, echoes, If we can learn to listen to our buildings, ning listener, therefore, you must find a flutter-echoes and the ringing of some we can also learn to audilize thei r room that has little or no background materials in wall and ceiling construc sounds, as well as visualize their appear noise which might mask what the room tion. ance, in the design process. itself is doing to the useful sounds you Visit an acoustically successful open If acoustics may be called an art and want to hear. You soon will notice that plan office space and turn on your cars. a science, then the science is the whole the acoustical personalities of rooms (It may be necessary to close your eyes body of facts avai lable fo r use, and the arc more pronounced in larger spaces. to the visual qualities to appreciate the
Marchi April 1980 61 Skdchrs by Ralph UnarrJ
sound qualities of the space.) You will Ai rplane Noi<,c hear general activities, but they will not be too loud, and certainly not reverber ant. You will hear most clearly the ~ounds and voices close by-the only ones you need to hear. You will be conscious of the voices of people seen at a greater distance, but for some reason (absorption and sound masking) they will not be heard distinctly, and their discussion~ will not be distracting. The sound level of this space wilJ be com fortable and you will realize it is not necessary to raise your voice to be heard .... by associates close by. -- Mechanical Noise When you open your eyes to the de signed acoustics of this successful space, )'OU will sec: proach, you may be inclined even to stop reverberation time. Listening experiences • that mo,t vertical surfaces, as well as whispering. like this, with a few facts for guidance, floor and ceiling. arc treated with Persuade a school board to install ~ill illustrate the importance of some highl} absorptive materiab: carpet in some general circulation area, absorption in each dimension of a room. • that special screens and furnishings are or even in a classroom. Notice the dif The single handclap is a good sound arranged appropriately as barriers to ference which the reduction in reverbera source for such listening "observations." sound; and tion causes in the level of the children's Move about the gymnasium clapping • that people, tasks, and furnishings are voices, and even in their altitudes toward occasionally. Listen for the differences oriented according to the need to hear. each other. in both the reverberation and the promi • There aho will be an unobtrusive Find two big offices or bank lobbies nent reflections. See if some of these re background sound that provides a of similar size, but with varying floor flections can be eliminated by standing ma,1.ing of distant voices when they finishes. li\ten to the differences in the in line with open doors or other dissipa are not masked by nearby activity ,ounds of the spaces at the noon-hour tive (absorptive) areas. It is possible to sounds. rush. Try to decide whether one environ find locations in rooms where flutter If while listening for these room ment is more exciting than another, and echoes, single echoes, and focusing from acoustical characteristics you hear ac; whether that is desirable. If there is curved surfaces will be obvious. Try this well the activity on the floor above, or banl.ing activity, try to decide if the same test in a long, straight corridor the computer in the adjacent enclosed quality of the rooms' sounds has a bene with flat, parallel end walls. In many space, and/ or the HY AC fans rumbling, ficial or an adverse effect on business cases, the longitudinal flutter-echo is you arc experiencing the other problem functions. quite obvious because the other parallel of architectural acoustics- the separa Visit several school gymnasiums and surfaces are too close together to pro tion of acoustical environments. The de other similar large roomc; which are duce a distinguishable flutter. cisions for wall. floor and ceiling con ba1>ically rectangular. Sec if you can In a good room, there wilt not be a struction, for duct-borne noise and, identify by car those sound paths which perceivable flutter, focus, or echo, nor probably. for vibration isolation were occur between the parallel surfaces will there be too much or too little re not adequately developed. It i'> also pos floor and ceiling. the two end walls, and verberation. You will hear direct sound, sible that you are hearing the results of the two side walls. The more reverberant useful reflections, and the "surround" of poor wo1 l.manship and inadequate scal the space is, the harder it will be to hear diffused sound, all together, within the ing of cracl.s during construction. these individual phenomena. If there i<; appropriate reverberation for the room. Leaming Exercise!> efficient absorption only in the limits to When listening to auditoriums and There arc many other e,ercises which vertical sound paths (floor and/ or ceil churches, try to compare the rooms' arc helpful in developing a sensitivity ing absorption), there may not be any qualities at the same distance from the for acou,tics. For example, when walk noticeable reduction in reverberation al source (stage, pulpit, etc.). The benefit ing along a hospital corridor, listen to all, because the horizontal components of reflective ceilings will be obvious, the level of your partner's voice above of sounds can still go 'round and 'round especially in the case of those shaped to the footfall noise of your four feet in the room. Jn such cases, there may be a provide early reflections. The lower ceil that reverberant space. Hear the changes five-second decay of sound even though ings, whose reflections arrive earlier than that occur as you approach two other there is, theoretically, enough absorption they would from very high ceilings, will wall.er tall.er<; and ask yourself if that is in the ceiling to calculate a 1.5 second thus provide a feeling of more "inti- the "right" environment. Remember the hospital hallway as you walk along a carpeted hotel corri dor, listening to the level of your com panion's voice. The carpeted floor re duces footfall sounds and makes you talk more quietly. Tn fact, as others ap-
62 Texas Architt'<:t macy" with the source. This same phe air-tightness to stop sound transmission. nomenon explains why balcony seats are Air and sound pressure pulses in the air usually better, acoustically, than the can pass through most insulation mate seats on the main floor. rials. To create a sound barrier, it is Notice the difference in the evenness better in ordinary wall construction to of the dissipation of reverberant sound add mass to the wall faces. However, in a theater or church with much surface when the wall construction allows a configuration, as compared to one with structural discontinuity (staggered studs, plain, smooth, uninterrupted surfaces. resilient furring, etc.), the insulation ma Remember to make this comparison in terials are more meaningful since they rooms of about the same size (volume) act on the air pressure pulses in the nar and the same arrangement of absorptive row "room" between the two halves of finishes and furnishings. A sense of the wall. But the real advantages are in "sound surround" or envelopment will the mass of the two sides of the wall, pervade rooms that have significant the discontinuity between them, and the shaping and many diffusive surfaces in air-tightness of the construction. their design. Insulation materials also are used for A Rule of Thumb climb as people gather, up to very loud room acoustic treatments on the surfaces There is a simple rule-of-thumb archi voice levels even at a separation of two of rooms. Acoustical tiles are made of tects can apply in design as well as in or three feet. This room acoustics prob fiberglass and porous mineral fibers, listening to auditoriums and churches. lem is the result of too little and too in and special absorptive wall treatments Since the audience (or empty upholstered efficient absorption in the room, espe often incorporate insulation materials. seating) is usually the major sound ab cially on the upper walls (from about However, it should be understood that sorber, and since reverberation depends four feet up), and also on the ceiling and the materials are not being used as in on total absorption as well as volume, in the furnishings. sulation in these applications. the volume-per-seat ratio is significant. By contrast, there are restaurants in Since "insulation" is such a mislead There is a dramatic difference in the re which voice levels are normal across ing word, it would be wise to use two verberation qualities of rooms with high each table and not intrusive from near other terms in studying the sounds of and low ratios. Listening comparisons by tables or across the room. Sometimes architecture. Think of "surface absorp will be meaningful for two rooms of the the absorbent materials which create this tion" in conjunction with the decay of same volume, but very different seating environment are perceivable at first reverberant sound and the control of capacities, and vice versa. When this glance. These include acoustical tile echoes and focusing in auditoriums. And ratio is low, in the range of 150 cubic ceilings, heavy drapes, upholstered think of the need for "isolation" to con feet per seat, speech will be quite intel chairs, thick carpets, and even table trol sound transmission through walls, ligible, and music will lack some rich cloths which reduce the background floors, or ceiling construction. These ness. With a ratio of 200-250, speech noise of china, glass and silver. In other terms will suit you better. will be less clear but music will sound instances it is more difficult to see what Remember that you can sharpen your more full, more supported by the room. is allowing the pleasant auditory experi acoustical sensitivities by listening to all When the ratio is 300 or more cubic feet ence. It may well be an unusual wall the buildings you visit and all the spaces per seat, the room may sound like a treatment of an acoustically transparent you design. Hear room acoustics and cathedral and speech may be very diffi facing over an absorptive padding. You disturbing noises separately. And when cult to understand, assuming that the must train yourself to listen occasionally you visualize your designs, audilize them room is not heavily modified with ab to such rooms if you want to achieve as well. That will help you overcome the sorptive materials. Rooms with high similar environments through design. "acoustical mystique" and relate more ratios can be treated with absorption to The more you listen to architecture, appropriately to your design concepts deaden them while rooms with low ratios the more you will become aware of the and details. Since you arc committing cannot be treated to make them more two different problems of architectural acoustics in the process of design, at live than the ratio normally allows. acoustics-the room's own effect on use tempt to do it well . ful sounds and the barriers for control- Comparison of restaurants can be a David McCandless two-fold auditory experience for the de 1ing noise· disturbances. As you realize is a co11s11/1ant in signer who knows what to listen for. the need for separate solutions to these acoustics in tl,e Some restaurants suffer from the so basic problems, you will be dispelling Austin office of called "cocktail party effect" and there the "acoustical mystique" which per Joiner Pelto11 Rose, arc others whose acoustical environ vades our profession. There is no magic Inc., of Dallas. A /so ments contribute significantly to the wand that can be waved over a set of an architect, Mc atmosphere of relaxed dining. The plans to produce good acoustics, unless Ca11dless !,olds de "cocktail party effect" is a well docu it is the discipline of comprehending the grees in architecture from Cornell a11d mented-and observable-rise in par acoustical results of design decisions. M.l .T. a11d l,as taught acoustics, design and ticipants' voice levels as more and more The most common acoustical miscon r:,aphics at tlie University of Texas at people gather. Sound levels in rooms ception involves the use of insulation. Austin and at A r/i11gto11. He has been a11 which suffer this syndrome can go from Typical insulation materials do not really acoustical com11/ta11t since /962 for a full almost whispered conversations in a insulate sound the way they insulate heat range of projects i11 tlie United States and nearly empty room, in an increasing transmission. It takes mass, limpness and Mexico.
March/April 1980 63 Tennis, anyone?
Today, it's a highway. Tomorrow it may And when properly applied, while TEXAS be a tennis court. Or even a parking lot. still hot, to required thickness and grade HOT But recycling is just one of the specifications, full-depth asphalt con MIX characteristics of full-depth hot mix struction provides more strength per ASPHALT inch of thickness than any other type PAVEMENT asphalt that make it the superior surface ASSOC. choice today. of pavement structure. Consider. All at an economical cost too, when 305 Perry-Brooks compared to other pavement materials. Building Modern, full-depth asphalt is the Austin , Texas 78701 only kind of paving material that can For a list of the quality full-depth 512 477-1 824 serve building contractors and their hot mix asphalt dealers in your area, customers before and during construc contact the Texas Hot Mix Pavement tion, as an access road or strip, as well Association. Or, for more information, as after completion. send for our full-depth asphalt design Construction can continue in bad and construction guide. weather with asphalt too. And turn asphalt to your advantage.
Qrcle 19 on Reader Inquiry Gard
But howabouta r communications explosion? The communications explosion is only beginning. The buildings you design today must be capable of handling expanding needs for data communications, multiple video terminal installations and teletype units, as well as more sophisticated telephone systems. Our Building Industry Consultants can help you avoid the pitfalls of over- or underdesigning for these coming communications needs. They're communica tions experts who know the ins and outs of building design and construction. They'll help you design for the most efficient and economical use of space and materials for the communications needs of today and the expand ing needs of tomorrow. Call your GTE Building Industry Consultants early in the design stages of your next project. The earlier the better. There's never any extra charge for their services. And they can help you and your client avoid design changes now, and expensive alterations in the future. For more information about GTE's Building Industry Consultant.<; call C. C. Scott, collect, at 915-944-5432 or use the coupon below.
r Gener~l Telephone of the Southwest ~ ' -, Attention: C. C. Scott I P.O. Box 1001 I San Angelo, Texas 76901 B1ildlnclnduslJ)'Co1101tlllcSemce l Please have a General Telephone Building Industry Con- sultant contact me to discuss how they can help in planning I for my communications needs. I J Name ______Ti ttt, _____ J Company ______
J Addren I Clty• ______State _____ Zip ___ L------~
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Circle 21 on Reader Inquiry Card In the News Continued from page 17.
The award recognizes Braden's "lead be available to point out distinctive fea Custom ership in civic and business affairs" and tures of the houses and to answer ques his "personal and professional standards tions. Visitors will receive a tour booklet, Binders of ethics and conduct." Braden, chair including photographs, a history and an man of the Dalias firm Dahl/ Braden/ architectural description of each borne. for Chapman, has served as president of the Touring will be by private car. Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce, the Advance tickets are $11, and can be Texas Oak Cliff Lions Club, the Citizens Char obtained by writing to: Events, Galves ter Association and is currently a director ton Historical Foundation, P.O. Drawer Architect of the Greater Dallas Planning Council 539, Galveston 77553. Telephone: (713) and the State Fair of Texas. 765-7834. Tickets on the day of the event Now there is an easy way to keep Braden was president of TSA in 1975 will be $12 ($3 for children 14 years of up with all those back issues of and served as chairman of the Texas age and under). Texas Architect. This new custom Architects Committee (TAC), TSA's binder, available from the TSA political action arm,from 1976 to 1979. office, is designed to accommodate The national Conference of Christians Photos by Bellaire Architect six issues (a year's worth) of the and Jews was founded in 1928 to estab Win Kodak Awards, Displayed magazine for efficient storage and lish an ongoing dialogue among various In New York Exhibit easy reference. The brown vinyl religious groups. Its Dallas chapter was binder comes with metal rods which founded in 1939 and is the third oldest allow for "instant binding" of each in the country. issue in such a way that it can be easily read as part of the whole volume or removed completely if Architect Donald Greene necessary. Cited for Community Service Place your order today, and make In Corpus Christi it easy on yourself. Corpus architect Donald Greene, president of the firm Total Design Four, was honored during a special luncheon in January by the Corpus Christi Rotary Special merit-award winner. Club for his outstanding service to the community. Greene has been active in a variety of civic programs and organizations, includ ing the "Leadership Corpus Christi Pro gram," which he founded in 1972. He also has served as a member of the Cor pus Christi Chamber of Commerce board of directors, and chairman of the Indus trial Committee, the Municipal Arts Committee and the Artifax Committee. Greene is a member of TSA, AIA and Certificate of merit winner. the Urban Land Development Institute. Two color photographs by Bellaire architect Gerald H. Houston were on Texas Architect display Jan. 8-25 in The Equitable Gal Galveston Homes Tour 2121 Austin National Bank Tower lery in New York City, part of a presen Set for May 10-11 Austin, Texas 78701 tation of nearly 800 finalists in the Galveston's Seventh Annual Tours-of Kodak International Newspaper Snap Please send me __ binders at a Homes, sponsored by the Galveston His shot Awards. cost of $5.95 each (including post torical Foundation, will be held Saturday The exhibit included the winners of age and handling). and Sunday, May l 0-1 1, featuring seven local contests held last summer by 138 privately-owned homes which have never newspapers in the United States, Canada ______is hefore been available for public viewing and Mexico, all of which received a total _ My check for (except during the restoration process). of more than 350,000 entries. enclosed. Included in the tour will be a primitive Houston's $100 special merit-award _ Please bill me. Texas cabin, which has been relocated, winner is of a dog in a life raft adrift in a raised and furnished with period furnish sea of Texas bluebonnets. His second en Name ings; a Victorian mansion, with original try, which earned him a certificate of art glass; and a large-scale residence cur merit, surrealistically depicts the start of Address ______rently being restored. a Houston marathon race, with runners City ______Each of the houses on the tour will be sweeping by in a blur against a focused staffed by volunteer tour guides, who will backdrop of the Houston skyline. Zip ______
Marchi April 1980 67 Good design appeals to architects. In magazine advertising, good design enhances the information being communicated . .. We salute the following clients, advertising agencies and designers whose work appeared in the pages of TEXAS ARCHITECT dur ing 1979 and has been judged to be exemplary in recent adver tising and design competitions.
Gold Award Ft. Worth Ad,•er1isi11g Club Business P11blicatio11 Ad Campaign C/iem: Texas Masonry /11stit111e ,. ,. Agency: Phillip Poole Associates
Si/i>er Award Austin A Accepted for Display i11 New York Art Direc({lrs Show Award ofMerit Austill Advertisi11g Club Design: IVt1mm Moeckel, lmer Accepted for Display in New grophic Design, li11da Wong York Art Direcwrs Show t111d Fronk Douglas. 3/D Concept by Warre,r Moeckel, huematio11a/ /11tergraphic Design Photo: Frank White Photo: Fronk White Gold Award Austin Advertising Club 811si11ess P11blicatio11 Ad C11111pt1ign Cliem: Texwood Fumiture Company Age11cy: Poth & McGee,rey Advenisi11g. /,re. In the News, continued Both photographs were local winners including detail, decoration and furniture, ties, health centers, diagnostic and treat in The Shreveport (Louisiana) Times' among other things- will be featured ment centers, medical office facilities, summer snapshot contest and, as such, speakers J. Stewart Johnson, Michael medical laboratories, staff housing and were submitted to the international com Graves, Massimo Vignelli, Frank O. medical research facilities which were petition. Gehry, Charles Gwathmey and Emilio completed after July l, 1976. Projects in Houston also received a Kodak Cen Ambasz. the design or construction phase may also tennial Medallion for excellence in ama And May 16-17 in Sewall Hall on the be exhibited if the architectural contract teur photography. Rice University campus, RDA will con is dated no later than Oct. 1, 1979. D is duct a symposium to assemble observa played projects may be constructed or tions, options and opinions on how to get proposed for construction in any country. RDA to Present housing inside Houston's Loop 610 and For more information, contact Rich Interior Architecture how to keep it there. ard Bettis, Exhibits Manager, Texas Lectures, Housing Symposium For more information, contact the Hospital Association, P. 0. Box 15587, The Rice Design Alliance (RDA) in Rice Design Alliance, P.O. Box 1892, Austin 78761. Telephone: (512) 453- Houston has announced a spring lecture Houston 7700 I. Telephone: (7 I 3) 527- 7204. ,cries on interior architecture and a two 4876. day symposium on housing within Loop Projects in Progress A usti11 office b11ildi11f?. Ground to Break Soon For Austin Office Building Construction is scheduled lo begin soon on a 120,000-square-foot office building at the intersection of Interstate 35 and Ben White Boulevard in Austin, designed by the Austin firm Architec tural Consortium. Circle 24 on Reader /nqviry Gard 70 Texas Architect A central core of elevators, stairs and restrooms will divide the structure into a four-story west wing and a six-story east wing. Exterior terraces ,at the fifth level will allow tenants to take advantage of lhc mild Austin climate and views of downtown and the Hill Country to the west. Berms, six-feet high, and land ,caped plazas will surround the building and provide visual separation from ve l11cular areas. Energy conservation measures include solar orientation, shading devices, insu lating glass and a variable-volume air ninditioning system. News of Schools ACSA Energy-Conscious l)esign Competition Set for this Spring Some 10,000 upper-division students 111 schools of architecture nationwide will he invited this spring to participate in Design and Energy," a design competi lion sponsored by the Association of Col legiate Schools of Architecture ( ACSA), with support from the Brick Institute of <\merica and the United States Depart ment of Energy. The competition will emphasize en ergy-conscious design and the application of passive solar energy systems using hrick masonry materials. Jurors, sched uled to meet May 17, will include John Burgee, FAIA; George Hartman, Jr., FAIA; Richard Stein, FAIA; Paul Gold berger, The N ew York Times architec lure critic; and Fred Dubin, PE. t------}- EXHIBITION OF For more information, contact the Association of Collegiate Schools of ! RCHITECTURE FOR Architecture, Inc., 1735 New York Ave. _i______J ...... ~ 1HEALTH NW, Washington, D.C. 20006. Tele phone: (202) 785-2324. i l ASTROHALL U of H Design Team J______j CONVENTION Studying Celestial CENTER Food Service Facility I I The College of Architecture and Hil I I : I HOUSTON, lon College of Hotel and Restaurant - '------1 Management at the University of Hous I i MAY 26-28, 1980 lon have joined forces in a NASA-funded research project to design a food service Texas Hospital Association in cooperation with facility for a large-scale space station. the Texas Society of Architects and the NASA has awarded $36,800 to the two colleges to develop a menu and ser American Hospital Association. For rules and entry forms contact, Richard Bettis, Convention Exhibits Manager. vice system for 50 to 100 people in a P.O. Box 15587, Austin, Texas 78761, 512/453-7204 zero-gravity atmosphere and to design a galley and appliances to accommodate lhe system. Circle 25 on Reader Inquiry Card Marchi April 1980 71 According to professor Larry Bell, di rector of the UHCC (Central Campus) Environmental Center, the College of Architecture's research arm, the energy crisis has focused some Congressional attention on building extraterrestrial solar-power complexes to supplement earth's electrical demands. So con ceivably, Bell says, the first people to use the food-service fac ility could be the builders of such complexes. And once researchers iron out the problems of serving food in outer space, Bell says, they hope to be involved in the design of a space hotel or dormitory. WITH "Depending on federal spending prior ities," Bell says, "construction of the VNYL WA.LLCOIERNS hotel could begin in IO or 20 years. The Offered exclusively in the state of Texas tt!l:hnology for construction is close." from the nation's number one distributor. 35 designs and 900 colors to choose from. New textured patterns in stuccos, pebbles, TWU International Program linens, burlaps, corks, denims. To Feature O'Neil Ford As Visiting Professor All this beauty, plus durability, A full sales and service staff In Houston and in Dallas economy and ease of both in with warehouses containing quality wallcoverings. San Antonio architect O'Neil Ford, Ed Tusa Ken Deike stallation and maintenance. Commercial Division Commercial Division FAIA, will teach a course oo 19th-Cen ISGO CORPORATION ISGO CORPORATION 5809 Chimney Rock 1237 Conveyor Lane tury British Art and Architecture this Houston, Texas 77081 Delles, Texas 75247 summer in Texas Woman's University's (713) 666-3232 (214) 634-1313 (TWU) J 980 International Program in Europe. Circle 28 on Reader Inquiry Card - ~--- The University of London will serve as home base July 11-14, where Ford's dis cussions will be augmented by local guest lecturers on the variety of architectural ideas and materials that went into J 9th century British architecture. Afternoon tours will include Regency and Victorian squares and terraces, Victorian railway stations, the post-Jubilee expansion areas west of Hyde Park- including Albert Memorial and Royal Albert Hall- and the Kensington and Knightsbridge areas. Students will tour England and Scot land July 25 through August 8 and may participate in an optional tour of Amster dam, Brussels and Paris August 9-13 (or they may travel independently). The basic cost of the course, which carries six semester hours of credit, is < $1,895 (plus tuition, personal expenses ' and local bus or "tube" are in London). Computer Support Equipme n t Male and female TWU graduate students and female undergraduate students may • Manufacturers, sales and service of raised access panel flooring under the trade name ·'Besco''. enroll in the program, as well as non • Factory representatives for Pomona Air packaged environmental modules. Services TWU students who may sign up on a include sales and installation. .. transient" basis. • .Representing Walter Kidde in the sale and installation of Halon 1301 fire detection For more information, contact: Co and suppression systems. ordinator, International Programs Office, • Dealers of Schlage Electronics door access control systems. Box 22995, Denton 76204. Telephone: ;4E~ Computer Environments, Inc. (817) 382-8923. Reservations are being ~ }'•1428 Slocum, Dallas, (214) 744-5533 accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Circle 27 on Reader Inquiry Card 72 Texas Architect Au Forgeron De La Cour-Dieu, Inc. Rowlett Lecture Series Underway April 4 at A&M ~ (ti ~ ~~ The firsl lecture in the John Miles Two Generations of Experience Beautify the Inside and Outside of Rowlett Memorial Lecture Series, in Houses with Hand Fo rged Ornamental Iron honor of the late co-founder of the Hous RESIDENTIAL • INSTITUTIONAL • COMMERCIAL tlln firm Caudill Rowlett Scott (CRS), Antique Reproduction Antique Restoration Sculptures 1\111 be held April 4 in the Rudder Center 211 W. Comstock St. I heater at Texas A&M University in Dallas, Texas <'nllege Station. Featured speakers will be San Antonio (214) 748-398£]1 l'ducator, humanist and poet Dr. Amy heeman Lee, who will speak on "The 'it ate of the Individual"; San Antonio 11chitect O'Neil Ford, FAIA, who will 1ddress "The State of the Built Environ ment"; and Houston Post columnist Lynn \,hby, who will speak on "The State of I l·xas: Implementing Excellence." ! he lecture theme, "Our State: The l11csent and the Prospect," is intended to 1•\plore Texas at the personal level and ,1, a geographical entity, stimulating '\oncern for the quality of private and p11hlic life; personal and professional 11hics; and a commitment to excellence 111 all areas." 'fhe lecture series is made possible by ,1 !'rant to TSA's Texas Architectural I oundation from the founders of CRS ,111d Mrs. Virginia Rowlett. The lectures w,11 be held annually, on an alternating Circle 30 on Reader Inquiry Card h,tsis, at Texas A&M, where Rowlett was once a member of the faculty, and at I he University of Texas at Austin, where h1• graduated with degrees in both archi- 1111 c and education. Rowlett died in November 1978. For more information on the lecture ,1•ries, contact Professor David Wood- 1 ock, Department of Architecture, Texas ~II of the eleQanqe ~d beauty of real A&M University, College Station 77843. wood. Select from ewer 70 species - l dephone: (713) 845-1015. butter~ut, oak1 teak,~oa, to name. a few. J).91ermihe the cut - fat, quartered, or t~tt. ~; ~d sicify the mft - butcher block, book, errlngbomt, an. d more, to creat, l over 1500!domblnatlons. Correction for 4urved or lrr~61ar shaped surf Texas Architect regrets the omis dapi to any sl~wall area. And u.4 sion in the Jan./Feb. '80 "In the *f,>Proved fo~I fire codes. News" of the names of architects mvolved in the first phase of the liant Wood. Loof<$ tike realY(OOd - building expansion program at The beca4f$e it Is. University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture. The associated ar chitects working on the project, which includes remodeling of Golds mith Hall and Sutton Hall and the addition of a new lecture hall, are Austin archilect Chartier Newton and the Dallas firm Thomas-Boozi otis & Associates. /\larch/ April 1980 73 addition to serving as a technical how-to across the state, from buildings of pine Books workbook, according to TX-SES, the log in East Texas to Central Texas lime manual includes a guide to active-solar stone to West Texas adobe. The volume Active Solar Energy Systems: A D e terminology, legislative incentives on the is divided up into 24 essays covering sign and Installation Manual, Warren local, state and national levels, and spe such topics as building methods and Cole, Steven E. Huck and Dr. Gary C. cific applications of active-solar systems materials, style and form, building types, Vliet. Published by the Texas Solar En in Texas. gates and fences and restoration and ergy Society (TX-SES), 282 pages, $20. preservation. Folklorist Abernathy is the Originally developed by TX-SES for Built in Texas, edited and with photo current secretary-editor of the Texas the Texas Energy and Natural Resources graphs by Francis Edward Abernathy, Folklore Society and a professor of En Advisory Council for use in their joint and illustrations by Reese Kennedy. E glish at Stephen F. Austin State Univer .. Texas Solar Realities '79" workshop heart Press, Waco, 276 pages, $24.50. sity in Nacogdoches, where illustrator series around the state in 1979, the work Publication number XLII by the Texas Kennedy is a professor of art. book is designed for interested laymen as Folklore Society takes a comprehensive well as knowledgeable technicians. In look at indigenous folk architecture 1980 NCARB Design Test Handbook, National Council of Architectural Reg istration Boards (NCARB) and Archi tectural Record Books, 94 pages, ${9.50. A study guide for Section A of the 1980 NCARB professional exam, the handbook features actual site plans and design solutions by candidates on the 1979 exam, along with critiques by NCARB's Examinations Coordinating Council. Includes a "Candidate's In formation Booklet" containing the '79 design test's project statement; a "Grad ers' Manual" with procedures similar to those to be used in the 1980 design test; and common pitfalls to avoid and tips to follow in preparing for the test. News of Firms Austin architects John Oteri, Jack Tis dale and Bronson Dorsey have an nounced that the Austin firm Oteri & Tisdale, Architects, is now Oteri Tisdale Dorsey, Architecture, Planning, In terior Architecture. The Dallas firm Harper, Kemp, Clutts and Parker, Architecture/Planning, has announced the retirement of general partner Harris A. Kemp, FATA, and the appointment of Grady Jennings as asso ciate partner; Avery W. (Bob) Bowen and Pierrepont Harrell as senior asso ciates; and Theodore J. Schwink as asso ciate. The Dallas firm Thompson/Parkey Associates has announced a change in the firm's name to Parkey & Partners Architects, and relocation of its offices to 300 Union Station, Dallas 75202. Telephone: (214) 742-670 I. El Paso architect Jim Langford has announced the formation of his new firm Solar D esign, 908 Arizona St., El Paso 79902. Telephone: (915) 542-0976. TMHI, Houston, has announced the Circle 31 on Reader Inquiry Card 74 Texas A rchitecl addition of Jim McCullough to the firm Serold as senior architectural associate, Suite 1550, Houston 77056. Telephone: '" project manager. Mike Hampton as architectural associate (713) 629-6060. The firm also has an The Abilene firm Boone and Pope and Lois Behrhorst as administrative nounced the addition of James A. Architects Engineers has announced the associate. Thompson to the firm as director of . ,ppointment of Gary C. Pullin as vice The Houston firm Pierce Goodwin graphics. president of design. Alexander has announced the appoint The St. Louis firm Helmuth, Obata & Houston-based 3D/ International ment of John A. Oualline as senior asso Kassabaum, Inc., has announced the ( l D/ I) has announced the opening of a ciate, and Willard L. Tredway, Jerry C. opening of a Houston office in Greenway New York office for interior architecture Williams, Jr., Frank A. Lamb, L. Ken Plaza, 3800 Buffalo Speedway, Suite ,lfld graphics, located at 200 Park Ave., dall Mower, Jr., and Michael E. Berger 308, Houston 77098. Telephone: (713) New York, N.Y. 10017. Telephone: as associates. 960-8111. (' 12) 697-3800. 3D/I also has an- The Dallas firm Harwood K. Smith & San Francisco-based Gensler and As 11ounced the addition of Clare George Partners has announced the establish sociates has announced the appointment Ross to the firm as vice president and ment of Harwood Taylor/HKS Archi of vice president Steve L. Wintner as director of marketing and Harry Led tects in Houston, 3000 South Post Oak, director of the firm's Houston office. lwller as budget director. The CRS Group, lnc., Houston has ,lflnounced the election of Charles B. I homsen as executive vice president of the company. In addition to his duties as l hairman and chief executive officer of < M Constructors/Managers, Inc., the l onstruction management arm of CRS <,roup, Thomsen will lead the Group's I '180 development program, which will include acquisition of several specialized, industry related companies to operate as divisions of The CRS Group. In addition, CM Constructors/Man- 111:ers has announced the appointment of I Iugh Coulter, Alex Ruggeri and Tom Ventura as senior managers. S.I. Morris Associates, Houston, has .wnounced the appointment of H. Davis Mayfield III as director of business de wlopment. Mayfield also will be in d1arge of the firm's public relations ,lltivities. The San Antonio firm Joel Reitzcr & A\sociates, Inc., Architects, has an nounced the relocation of its offices to: 11 1 W. Olmos Drive, Suite A, San An tonio 78212. Telephone: (512) 822-6000. Abilene architect Richard Buzard has ,lflnounced that the Abilene firm Buzard and Rosser is now Richard Buzard, AJA, Architect, 471 Cypress, Abilene 79601. l'elephone: (9 I 5) 672-9012. Planning Design Research Corp., 1lousto n, has announced the addition of Hob Thomas as senior associate, Vicki I ovin as marketing manager, Ray L. Redburn as project architect, Patsy Jack ,on as project designer, and Gary M . Arbonies and Barry Williams as de "gners. Pickle Architects, Inc., Dallas, has an nounced the addition to the firm of Stan ky G. Thomas and Matt W. Oualline, Ir .. as vice presidents. Craycroft-Lacy & Partners, Dallas, has ,tnnounced the appointment of Mark Circle 32 on Reader Inquiry Card M(lrchl April 1980 75 The Amarillo firm Vaughan and Asso ciatc in the firm. the board Harry A. Golemon, FAIA, ciates has announced the addition of Corgan Associates, Inc., Dallas, has executive vice president Charles H. Ker Mark Hinton to the fi rm as partner, and announced the promotion of David J. ner, secretary L. David Godbey and a change in the firm's name to Vaughan Lind to vice president of the firm. treasurer Joseph M. Richards. Hinton & Associates. Offices will remain Golemon & Rolfe Associates Inc., The Houston firm Kirksey Associates at 78 I I Amarillo Blvd. West, Amarillo Houston, has announced staff promo Architects/Planners has announced the 79106. Telephone: (806) 353-1291. tions and the election of officers and promotion of Terry Greiner and Juan Gordon Sibeck & Associates, Inc., directors for 1980: named as principal is Romero to associates in the firm. Dallas. has announced the appointment Joseph M. Richards; new senior associate Austin Chapter AIA has an of Daniel B. Burrows, Gary A. Lance is Barry Whitehead; new associates are nounced the relocation of its offices and Yannis Livathinos as associates in Oza Bouchard, Wayne Gregory, John to 709 W. 14th St., Austin 78701. the firm. Hardy and Barry Weiner; newly elected Telephone: (512) 477-3318. The Dallas firm Hatfield Halcomb to the board of directors are Charles Dallas-based J. L. Williams & Co., Architects has announced the appoint Sullivan and H. Jay Mueschke; and 1980 Inc., has announced the appointment of ment of Jones C. McConnel as an asso- officers arc president and chairman of Gershon Cannan as senior vice president for international development and archi tectural design. Houston-based Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc., has announced the elec tion of three firm members to the board of directors: B. Carroll Tharp, director of construction documents and services; William R. Blackwell, manager of the firm's Dallas division; and J. Michael don't draw Wilson, manager of the Corpus Christi division. The Dallas firm Darrell Dean Fabler Metroplan Architects, Inc., has announced a change in the firm's name to Darrell the same line twice! Dean Fabler, Architect, Inc. GET THE POINT? ~ • Join the PRQAv·s team fB.2: f_in !_egistered .Q_verlays prov"l Timber Trusses Timber Decking Laminated Timbers- ~ ·- Texas Timbers, Inc. _ Texas Oldest Fabricator Of Structural Lamirza.ted. imber Box 267 I LaGrange 7.~ l 968-3256 RIDGWAY'S, INC. 5711 HILLCROFT P.O. BOX 36150 HOUSTON, TEXAS 77036 (713)782-8580 Circle 33 on Reader Inquiry Card Circle 34 on Reader Inquiry Card 76 terns," with light beams ranging from which automatically monitors the amount Industry News "very narrow spot to very wide flood." of daylight entering a room. As daylight Ernest Low & Associates, Inc., 611 increases, the sensor signals a remote World Trade Center, P.O. Box 58245, power-control module to gr,adually de Dallas 75258. Telephone: (214) 747- crease the artificial light level by slowly 8839. reducing the power supplied to the lamps. As daylight decreases due to Lutron Electronics Co., Inc., Cooper clouding or nightfall, the artificial light burg, Pa., has announced the introduc level is increased, but only as much as tion of a line of automatic lighting con necessary to constantly maintain the trollers which allow natural light to lighting system's design level of illumina supplement artificial lighting. The new tion. Available for controlling incandes "Pacsar" lighting control system, accord cent or fluorescent lighting. Texas dis ing to Lutron, consists of a small day tributors: Carl Menger Co., 403 Richey light sensor, mounted in the ceiling, Road North, Houston 77090. Telephone: I SJ Series 50. Features Now available from Ernest Low & you'll like A'-Sociates, Inc., Dallas, is a series of low v ltage light fixtures from Lighting Ser in Residential vices Inc. in New York, designed to con ,11 me less power and generate less heat 1han standard-voltage lamps. The fixtures & Commercial rnme in a variety of styles, from the l 'l(posed transformer and lamp look" to kitchen "recess mounted modular adjustable sys- ventilation r------, ENG INEE R S o Convenient Sales ARCH ITECTS ART IS TS switches SUP PL I ES & REPRO..OUC T f ON SPEC IAL IS i S o Easy clean Service oil filter o Recessed Open 7:30 light for your o Frosted glass convenience. o Custom units made to specification MILLER o Island BLUE PRINT CO. 8225 Scyene Road Dallas, Texas 75227 501 WEST SI X T H ST o Conventional A USTIN. T E XAS 78767 214/388-2126 PHONE 512 / 4 7 8,8793 ~------JMAI L ADD U OX 2065 C11Cle 35 on Reader Inquiry Card Orcle 36 on Reade< Inquiry Card 77 (713) 983-4884; and Caldwell-Gray Strong-Tie Stewart, Inc., 105 W. Grayson St., San TIMBER CONNECTORS Antonio 78212. Telephone: (512) 224- 2071. SIMPSON CO MPANY Austin architectural photographer Robert P. Ross has announced the estab JOIST& lishment of his Austin firm, Robert P. Ross & Associates, specializing in archi PURLIN tectural and mechanical photography, at HANGERS 5000 E. Ben White Blvd., Austin 78767. Distributed in Texas by Telephone: (512) 327-3637. S f/Oft COMPANY 4110 Dumbarton Road• Houston, Texas 77025 • 713/668-8554 Manufactured by Simpson Company, San Leandro, California 94557 Lifetile Corporation, San Antonio, now has a roofing selector and informa tion kit available to aid architects, build ers and other materials specifiers in selecting roofing tile shapes and colors. Lifetyle roofing selector kit. The kit includes sample slices of tiles in three styles and a "broad spectrum of colors." Lifctile Corporation, P.O. Box 21516, San Antonio 78221. Telephone: (512) 626-2771. Acme Brick Company, Fort Worth, has announced the selection of Robert C. Recd, manager of Acme's Bridgeport plant, as Plant Manager of the Year for 1979. Reed was presented the award during an awards dinner Feb. 5 at the The Fort Worth Club, based on the perfor mance of the Bridgeport plant in five areas: profitability, improvement of Wallpaper Book profitability, reduction of waste, in- MANUFACTURERS REP RESENTATIVES NEEDED Is Now own hours / commission architectural products interior furnishings. All Available major cities and outlying areas of Texas / send resume: Sales Associ ates 4216 University W. J. Hancock Wallcoverings Blvd. / Houston, Texas 1306 River St. D.:1llas 75202 noos 113 +664-7587 214/637-1866 1-800 442-7692 C,rc/e 37 on Reader lnqu,ry Card 78 Texas Architect Texas Architect Subscription Card Please enter the following subscription for the coming year. Six issues mailed bi-monthly. Name ______ Mailing Address ------ Occupation ______Firm or School ______ Method of Payment: _ 1 year, 6 issues, $10.00 _ Payment Enclosed (one extra issue for _ 2 years, 12 issues, $18.00 _ Bill me saving us billing cost) Billing Address (if different than mailing address): •••••••••••••••••••••••••• Texas Architect Reader Inquiry Service Card Name Company Address City State Zip Title Please Circle Number Please check the appropriate box 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 D Owner/ Partner/ Principal 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 D Staff Architect 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 J Designer 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 D Proiect Manager 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 D Specification Writer 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 D Interior Designer 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 D Engineer 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 Type 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 D Client 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 o Other ·····-···-············-··· Texas Architect Reader Inquiry Service Card Name Company Address City State Zip Title Please Circle Number Please check the appropriate box 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ,.., Owner/ Partner/ Principal 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Staff Architect 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 D Designer 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 '1 Proiect Manager 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 D Specihcation Writer 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 D Interior Designer 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 D Engineer 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 Type 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 D Client 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 D Other NO POSTAGE NECESSARY Ill 111 IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES BUSINESS REP L Y MAIL FIRST CLASS PERMIT NO. 3149 AU STIN, TEXAS POSTAGE WIL L OE PAID BY ADDRESSEE Texas Architect Texas Society of Architects 2121 Austin National Bank Tower Austin, Texas 78701 NO POSTAGE NECESSARY Ill 111 IF MAI LED IN THE UNITED STATES BUSINESS REPLY MA I L FIRST CLASS PERMIT NO. 3149 AU STIN, TEXAS POSTAGE WIL L OE PAID BY A DDRESSEE Texas Architect Reader Inquiry Service Texas Society of Architects 2121 Austin National Bank Tower Austin, Texas 78701 NO POSTAGE NECESSARY I II II I IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES BUS I NESS REPLY MA I L FIRST CLASS PERMIT NO. 3 149 AUSTIN, TEXAS POSTAGE WILL OE PA ID BY ADDRESSEE Texas Architect Reader Inquiry Service Texas Society of Architects 2121 Austin National Bank Tower Austin, Texas 78701 ncased volume and improvement of 14507, Houston 77021. Telephone: (713) in 1934 (with the advent of acoustical productivity. The plant has a staff of 644-1751; French-Brown, 6852 Twinhills tile and the demand for lead during the more than 70 people and produced in Ave., Dallas 75231. Telephone: (214) war years). Greek, Empire, Rococo, l'xcess of 47 million bricks in 1979. 361-9430; and Associated Tile Sales, Colonial, Oriental and "modern" (circa 9203 Broadway, San Antonio 78217, 1930) designs are available. Orion An The Texas Building Branch of Asso Telephone: (512) 828-5761. tiques & Decoratives, 1628 Oak Lawn, dated General Contractors (AGC) will Dall as 75207. Telephone: (214) 748- hold its annual convention June 12-15 in 1177. lhc Marriott Hotel in San Antonio. In ,tddition to fiesta convention fare typical of San Antonio, the convention will in Sam Flax of New York has announced dude discussion of such current in the availability of the BF-5 drafting dustry concerns as legal pitfalls for table, made in Italy, and "the first in its price range ($289) to offer one-hand, rnnstruction contracti ng, negotiating con one-lever control of both height and tilt." tracts, how to improve productivity, an architect's view of the 1980s and a legis The table can be used at regular desk lative outlook for the '80s. For more height or wi th a draftsman's chair and information, contact Wayne Hall, Texas will accommodate boards up to 38-inches Building Branch-AGC, 704 Perry by 48-inches. Texas distributors are The "Greek" pressed-tin ceiling. Brooks Building, Austin 78701. Tele Rush Company, 3209 N. Fitzhugh, Dallas phone: (512) 478-5629. Orion Antiques, Dallas, has an 76180. Telephone: (2 14) 522-0610; and nounced its distributorship of "authentic, Texas Art Supply, 2001 Montrose, Hous Structural Stoneware of Minerva, pressed-tin ceiling plates" manufactured ton 77006. Telephone: (713) 526-5221. Ohio, has announced its recently acquired by the venerable W.F. Norman Sheet distributorship of Agrob ceramic tiles Metal Manufacturing Company in Ne Now showing in the Atelier Interna from Munich, Germany. Agrob prod vada, Mo., now back in business. Orion tional, Ltd. (Al) showroom at the Dallas ucts to be inventoried include vitreous stocks a full line of tin ceiling plates, World Trade Center is the Arco Lounge ).!lazed mosaics, unglazed mosaics and moldings, cornices, wainscotings and Chair, Al's latest addition to its line of 1,,rgc-scale tloor tile, and glazed floor wall and frieze plates, made from the "European designs," designed by Paul and wall tile. Texas distributors arc Great original lead dies of the Missouri "tin Tuttle. Arcs of chrome steel form the Southern Supply Company, P.O. Box art" manufacturer which closed its doors chair's framework, suspended from Traditionally a hallmark of luxury, recognized today for beauty and practicality, custom hardwood flooring from Boatright enhances home and office. Created from domestic or imported hardwood by Boatright' s master craftsmen for interiors of timeless distinction. :_/ · :1: IBO,t.,f RIGrrr .~~- Jrl,t.\Rt>'IVOOD · :~f···1·i;; FLOORS ll'IC. Austin, San Antonio, & South Texas 4009 Marathon Blvd. Austin. Texas 78756 (512)454-3641 \111rch/ A pril 1980 Circle 40 on Reader Inquiry Card 81 Arco Lounge Chairs. which is a low-slung seat of steel-rein forced polyurethane, available in two kinds of leather: "Douglas," a natural grained matte, and "Nairobi," a textured, aniline-dyed leather in dark brown or Filet of Brick. black. Atelier International, Ltd., 608 Design restrictions no longer apply with Mini-Brick. World Trade Center, Dallas 75207. Tele Create curved shapes and other Three times faster to install. And, phone: (214) 653-1161. forms once thought impossible or improved storage and handling re too costly. Mini-Brick from Hunting sult from lighter weight. Four sizes ton/Pacific Ceramics is 7/16" ( 11mm) and corners available. Choose from a MASONRY DESIGN thick (111 th the thickness of ordinary variety of colors, finishes and special brick). Formed and kiln fired exactly glazes. Some especially formulated the same as our other top grade for paver use; all excellent for ---- architectural face bricks. veneering. KNOX TILE DISTRIBUTORS 11232 Indian Trail • Dallas • 243-6666 Circle 43 on Reader Inquiry Card Supporting handsome structures is what we do best! Texas Masonry Design. We've selected Now off the presses is the first issue of nature's finest woods the redesigned Texas Masonry Quarterly, to bring you the very best quality available published by the Texas Masonry Institute in functionally (TMI). "Bringing you the latest in ma designed, laminated sonry design applications" in Texas, the wood beams and issue features the Texas Olympic Swim decki ng. The strength ming Center in Austin, designed by the and beauty of our Dallas firm Fisher and Spillman; the laminated beams Pasadena Public Library, by the Pasa and decking allow you the freedom to dena firm Reed and Clements; and the JOHN,J. American Bank in Corpus Christi, by the create innovative designs with a sound Houston firm Lloyd, Jones and Brewer. structural system. Also available from TMI is the 1979-80 AMCT Buyers Guide published by the We've learned a lot about lumber through II Associated Masonry Contractors of Tex KUNTZ WMBER CX)MPANY as to aid architects in the selection of the years, and we AROilTECTlJRAL SPECIALTIES would like to share masonry wall systems. Texas Masonry 301 NORTH ME D INA SIREEI our expertise with you. POSI OFFICE eox 7288 Institute, P.O. Box 42097, Houston SAN ANTON I O. IEXAS 78207 77042. (512) 226-4354 Circle 42 on Reader Inquiry Card 82 Texas Architect Wake up America-Get a Horse Humor by Braden My experience indicates that some by cheap energy, easy financing, and thing good always results from some ever-increasing hordes of electrical ap thing bad. I do not know why it is, but pliances which give us more leisure one axiom you can sink your teeth into time. But of course we have desperately is that every silver lining has a dark needed the leisure time to maintain our cloud around it. Ramblers and repair the electrical ap While the scribes on the other side of pliances. the Reader Inquiry Card scribble their How pleasant it is to speculate that dark tomes on the Energy Crunch, you this house form is now about to become have only to flip back here to find the an endangered species- along with the bright spots of the future. After all, the bald eagle, the snail darter and the world has overcome such crises before. Chrysler motor car. If the prophecies of During the Middle Ages we experienced the earth-covered shelter converts are a wood shortage, and later on a sperm correct, we are going to have to cover oil crunch. This is how we got Arbor our Ramblers with sod in order to mini Day, and Save the Whales, and found mize their energy requirements. The re fossil fuel to replace them in the first sulting gradual change of scene in the place. townscape is gratifying to contemplate. Rather than look at the prospect of As this metamorphosis rolls across Plano, gloomy cave-dwelling as we bury our Texas, the result will be a return to the houses to conserve energy, think about cotton patch-only this time with Jumps. the restorative aspects on the urban Those who arc well-traveled undoubted scene as that great Jiving machine of the ly will get a fully inhabited Plano con 1950s-the Dallas Rambler- sinks slow fused with the Black Hills of South ly beneath the dust, whole tracts at a Dakota. Sharpstown will once again time. The Dallas Rambler (for those of drain to the sea, and Houston will no you who are blessedly architecturally longer be criticized by zoning advocates illiterate) is that great sprawly brick since all that can be seen will be the veneer house covered by an immense streets and the weeds. wood shingle roof, ventilated by single Another pleasant thought is that free hung aluminum windows, and decorated dom of choice and temperature will be by shutters that do not shut (and are too restored to the proletariat once again as narrow to cover the openings if they workers, move into new office buildings did). The elite of the architectural world designed for energy conservation and refer to this area of architectural styling task lighting. The mantle of tyranny as " Non-de-script." This is translated which emanates from the building engi from the Latin into our simple language neer's office will at last be lifted as we to mean: "bad news." plug in our individual electric heaters The Rambler was spawned in the '50s and incandescent bulbs in the name of by the Plan Shoppe, midwifed by the conservation. Every thinking American FHA, reproduced by the millions in knows that electricity is not energy Texas by the speculative builder, and energy is that stuff the engineer is using globbled up in equal numbers by a pub- to run that machine down in the base 1ic whose basic living experience con ment. sisted mostly of the 1930 box house, pup I was over in Myrtle Beach, South tents, and corrugated metal quonset Carolina, in the late winter of 1974, huts. It has been perpetuated ever after when the Saudis first shoved their dip- Circle 53 on Reader lnqwry Card \ ftlrc/1/ April 1980 83 slick up our national crankcase and gave us a read ing. Myrtle Beach is a resort town on the Carolina Coast that is 17 miles long and two blocks wide. The en tire puhlic transit system consists of one Wylie climbs the walls taxi cab. There are, therefore, only two speeds in Myrtle Bcach-"full steam The company that carpets the floors is now climbing the walls. ahead" and ''dead still." On February Hush-Craft textures in wool, acrylic and ny lon combinations arc 26, 1974, Myrtle Beach ran out of gas the latest addition to a contract wallcovering selection that also and achieved "dead still.'' Since that includes sisals and suede cloths in a wide range of patterns and time a small still voice has continually colors. All meet Class A codes. Vi sit our Dallas showroom, or risen from that Carolina community make a toll-free call to 800-442-7550. imploring- "Wakc up America, get a horse!" Normally Americans cannot react to a crisis until it is here. We have never gotten ready for a war until we have had it land smack on our doorstep. This time it is different. America is awake and alert. It has heard the voice of Myrtle Beach. As the Soviet tentacles reach slowly around the Middle East oil fields, we Americans arc quietly engaged in preparations to save massive quanti ti es of energy here at home, thus retain ing our mobility and military superior ity. Twenty years from now, when the Midd le East sands have been sucked dry and the war machines of the world arc rusting into obliv ion, America will be ready, waiting, and mounted on horses! If you do not believe me, run up to the Big Apple and count the boots and hats on Broadway. /Jrnden is a Dallas architect and a Texas Architect co111ributi11g editor. 3234 Dallas Trade Mart • Dallas, Texas 75207 Circle 44 on Reader Inquiry Card 84 Texas A rcl,itect Let people see what you have to say. PROBLEM: I need to communicate voice and visual information quickly and econom ically. Most of the available electronic communication systems, like closed circuit TV, are too costly or too impractical for day-to-day use. SOLUTION: THE GEMINI 100* ELECTRONIC BLACKBOARD An inexpensive, visual and audio communications system that will operate anywhere there are telephone lines and electric outlets. It's more than an ordinary blackboard. The chalk strokes are instantly transmitted over regular telephone lines to any number of remote locations connected to a given call. The blackboard image is displayed on standard TV monitors as the audio transmission is received simultaneously. This allows immediate and complete interaction among all parties connected. When the blackboard is installed at several locations, all voices are heard and all graphics are seen. The Gemini 100* Electronic Blackboard Yes! I would like to receive a brochure with brings together the people you need together, so more information concerning the Gemini 100* they can see what you've got to say. Electronic Blackboard. For more information about the Gemini 100* Southwestern Bell Tulephone P.O. Box 15225, Dallas, Texas 75201 Electronic Blackboard just call this toll free number 1-800-442-7252 Ext. 610, or send in the Name coupon. Title Company @ Address Southwestern Bell City State Zip Phone *'n·ademark of AT&T ur./f> 45 on Reader Inquiry Card We put the finishing touches on Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece. Despite the concerned and diligent efforts of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, decades of intense weathering and constant exposure to water had taken a heavy toll on Frank Lloyd Wright's famous "Fal Ii ngwater ·: A five-year-old coat of paint was blistered and peeling, and much of the concrete was pitted and spalled. Because of its artistic and historic value, restoration architects Curry, Martin and Highberger took the absolute strongest corrective and protective measures possible. They specified that Thoro System Products be used throughout. After sandblasting, contractors Mariani and Richards brought the surface back to its original fo rm with Thorite, a non-slumping, quick-setting patching material (mixed with Aery! 60 fo r enhanced bonding and curing). Then the entire home was covered with Thoroseal. Thoroseal is harder and more wear-resistant than concrete, 100% waterproof, and bonds so tenac iously that it becomes an actual part of the wall . Permanently locking out moisture and dampness. To match the original architects' color specifica tion, a coat of Thorosheen masonry paint was applied over the Thoroseal. An ounce of prevention and a pound of cure. We're Thoro System Products, and when it comes to restoring or protecting an architect's designs in -"". ...- ~ ~ masonry and concrete, . '•11~ we've been doing it better --~ and more often than anybody else for over 65 years. For further info rmation, write, detailing your spec ific needs. ·ThM(l\C,11 , Acryl 60. Thori1c nnd T hl1h,'\hcc n ,ire rc~i,1crcd Trudcnwr~~ \If Stm\d.ircl 01·y ~¾11I P, lldu, 1...,, Standard Dry Wall Products • Dept. AI A 795 © 1979. Standard Dry Wall Products Main O tlice: 7800 N.W. 38th Street, Miami, Florida 33166 Western Office: 38403 Cherry Street, Newark, California 94560 Circle 46 on Reader /nqu,ry Card THOROS SYSTEM T..111 ®PRODUCTS Texas Dealers Best Service Building Materials P.O. Box 1782 1 San Antonio, Texas 782 17 512/349-4301 Blue Diamond Company P.O. Box 15787 Dallas, Texas 752 15 21 4/428-1331 Builders & Contractors Materials Co. P.O. Box 26190 Dallas, Texas 75226 214/742-6902 Builders Equipment & Tool Co. P.O. Box 8508 Houston, Texas 77009 713/869-3491 Featherlite Corporation PO Box 355 Abilene. Texas 79604 915/673-4201 Featherlite Corporation P.O. Box 425 Austin, Texas 78664 BIG MAN IN 512/255-2573 Featherlite Corporation PO Box 357 STRUCTURAL STEEL Beaumont. Texas 77651 713/727-2334 When they talk about family Sons, grandsons and long tradition at Mosher Steel it's term employees are all part of Featherlite Corporation PO Box 9977 not merely a figure of speech. another tradi tion at Mosher El Paso. Texas 79990 W ill iam Pattillo, contract the tradition of excellence. 9 15/859-9171 administrator in Houston, is a It's a tradition that has Featherlite Corporation good example of what we mean. helped make Mosher the big PO Box 489 Bill 's father and grandfather name in structural steel-for Lubbock, Texas 79408 were both veteran Mosher 806/763-8202 gen1 ions . ~ employees. Bill has been with Featherlite Corporation Mosher seven years. following PO Box 99 1 his graduation from Texas Tech Midland, Texas 79702 with a degree in engineering. j'~ £-l C,rc/e 4 7 on Reader Inquiry Card Letters 8TEWAI\T OFFICE 8UPl•LY CO. Editor: Your article on hotels in the Jan./ Pcb. issue of Texas TEXAS' LEA lllN (~ CONTI\ACT llEALEB Architect was most appreciated. I note with a small measure of dismay, however, that no mention was made of the San Antonio FOH COMMEI\CIAL INTF l\l01\8 Hyatt Regency Hotel which is under construction now, coming "out of the ground," and part of one of the boldest urban design schemes enacted in recent Texas memory. Curiously, a small descriptive piece on the Stouffer's Hotel appeared in the same Offering these full services issue. It is our understanding that this project is currently "on hold." But T digress ... to the Professional: The San Antonio Hyatt Regency is a 600-plus room hotel. The architects for the project are: Ford, Powell & Carson, Inc., of San Antonio, and Raymond F. Stainback, Jr., of Atlanta, Ga. The owner group is a consortium of interests known col Procurement & Expediting lectively as San An tonio 2000, Ltd. The hotel contains the usually stunning atrium space. More Showro om Facil ities than that, however, the celebrated San Antonio Riverwalk forms the base of the hotel with a panoply of water features highlighting the atrium space. Delivery / Installation The hotel, in cooperation )Yith both public and private inter ests, is an "air rights structure" that bridges a new spur of the Continu ing Service Riverwalk that fina ll y effects the long sought-after river level pedestrian connection between the river and Alamo Plaza. The hotel sits astride the western end of this below-grade walkway, Product Research while the recently uncovered outer walls of the Alamo form the eastern anchor of the walkway extension. Survey Analysis A third increment in the chain of events is the new Hyatt Parking Garage executed by the same architects. The "River- !ink" (as the extension of the Riverwalk is coll oquially known) is Warehousing a UDAG project carried out under the auspices of the City of San Antonio. Ford, Powell & Carson, Inc., is the prime archi Make-Ready tect for the Riverlink. Thus, the Hyatt Regency in San Antonio is rather a bit more Budgeting than a hotel, but part of an urban design scheme that seeks to unite two of San Antonio's most interesting and unique fea tures, the Alamo and the San Antonio River. Receiv ing I thought you might be interested. Roy Lowey-Ball, AJA Ford, Powell & Carson, Inc. San Antonio / I I ,· I ' I' I! . I . 1 l' ', \ \ ' I j \\ ','\,\ \ \ . \ ' \\ \ I I \ \ \ \ ', . \ '\. \ ' ' \ ' '-..' \ ''. . . \ \ . ', ..... \ \ \ '• \ ·. ' ' ' \, \,, \ ' \ \ \ \ ' \ ' ' ' -- \ \ \ Oil, SU RH- IT'S A GREAT LITTLE GAS SAVEi?. AU, fVGIIT ... nur J'M LIMITED TO DRIVING NORTII. ANDONlYONASUNNYDAn! Circle 48 on Reader lnqviry Card 88 Texas Architect for people t o fully realize and appre- ciate the fire resistance of masonry. The members of Christ Church did. Only five days after the fire, with most of the rubble dug out. all t hree Sunday services __ were held in the church. Today, Christ Church Cathe- dral stands much the same as it did before that fiery night... a Houston land.! mark built of masonry. To find out all the facts about masonry's fire resistant capabilities. call or write the Masonry Institute of Houston-Galveston. A landmark should be btJilt to withstand more than time. In all. 20 buildings and In the early morning hou rs stores were destroyed or of March 22. one of Hous damaged. The furniture ton's oldest landmarks store was burned to the caught fire. The fire began ground. But at 7 a.m., amid at a furniture store next the smoke and rubble. door. According to one fire amid the sounds of man at the scene. "We've sirens and firemen still been expecting this for 40 fighting isolated blazes years. We knew if that inside the church. the store ever caught fire, Christ Church bell began Christ Church to ring ... its exterior Masonry lnstitutE Houston•Galwston would go." masonry walls still stood. Halbout;y Center. 5100 Westheimer Houston, Texas 77056 The fire Sometimes it takes a m(713) 6 29-6024 spread quickly. disaster of this magnitude Photo furnistlecl by The Houston Public library Research Ce<-iter Circle 49 on Reader Inquiry Card K 1 E. Davis Wilcox 833 South Beckham Tyler Tx 75701 "It's got great form. But it'll take forever to build:' Masonry design masonry. Simply build And, thanks to its Texas Masonry Institute, commissjoned by the ing a series of one story inherent thermal lag (713) 629-6949. Or pharaohs did take a buildings one on top of properties, masonry write P.O. Box 42097, lifetime to build. But another. costs less to heat and 0 Houston, Texas 77042. today, technology has The ex:oskeletal cool. And less to main reduced the time nature of loadbearing tain and insure, mean for building hand· masonry virtually elim ing long-term savings some, lasting masonry inates duplication of for the owner. structures from a support and finishing So, before think~. lifetime to months. comr,onents common to ing masonry takes The ancient Egyptians' other building systems, ¼ forever to build, write ~ secret still works which can mean less for the short story. Call '% today-loadbearing initial cost. Gregg Borchelt at the ½ z.