In this issue: Raising the Roof in Texas New House at Home Texas Glass and Crossbeams Death of a House Bill 3 Viewpoints on Housing Architect Plus regular columns. See contents. NUMBER 4 VOL. 25 JULY/AUG 1975 Contents Editorial ...... 3 Offidal Publication of An urgent (and patriotic) appeal for The Texas Society of Architects diversity in American housing. TSA i, the official organization of lhc Texas Region of Raising the Roof in Texas ...... 7 the Amencan Institute of Architects. How do you build high-density housing that people can relate to? A young architect Des Taylor ...... •..•..... Editor-in-Olief suggests incorporating the critical features of Larry Paul Fuller .....•...... Managing Editor Ray Reece ...... Associate Editor the single-family dwelling. John Lash ...... •..... Advertising Director A New House at Home...... 12 James D Pfluger. AIA ...... Editorial Consuhant Constructing Happy Answers . . .. 14 Editorial Policy Commlllee An arclutt•ct dt>SiRnS his own homey castle J,m Mc)er, C'ha,~an Bobb, Fritt 011 ,um art g11/11•ry llu/Jalo llavou in Murv,n ll11l.ind fad.. M,tchcll llomt1111. Ja, l <'rn>unll I knry <>ncl!a G lass and Crossbeams ...... 16 Pc'-~ l>rrnn,rn J1111 l'lluicr Death ofa House BIii ...... 18 t ""' 1,, h11ri, " J>Ul>h,hcJ "' tunes )earl) hy the I e.,a, Lt·R1.1/mor.1 and urchitt"Ct.\ nmc/uct w1 So,:,cl) nl Arshllcxh, HOO l'e
l97~ IS.\ llourd of l>irector.
J,111"- I 1111c Abilene Chapter \\ 1ll1.1111 J \1,111111 Au>tin Chapter k1, h.ml \; r.~1111.111 , I AIA Bra,os Chapter On the cover Austin photographer \\1111.un II ll11ll.111J Curpu, Chmu Chapter Rick Patrick snaps the Walter Tips J.,d. ( r.1\oltolt . Dalla, Chapter House rolling across the Congress \\1lh.1111 ll101pc, Jr . El Pu\O Chapter Avenue Bridge, at 3 A.M. June 1, enroute I , ,. kn, 11.,hnlchl Fon Worth Chapter ,\1,111 l.1111gud11 , I AIA Hou,tnn Chapter to its new site in South Austin. (See story <•l"lll· lluh.ut Lo"'er R,o Grunde on page 29). Valley Chapter Uoh ( "')Clh." Lubbock Chapter C1\"tJf~1.· kuJ.:1.·f'\ Nonheu,1 Tcxa, Chapter San Anmnio Chapter 11,11 "·""'" \11lt1111 Hell . Southeu,1 Te~a, Chapter J k,I\ l),,n,cl Te,a, Punhundlc Chap1cr Jnhn l>uJlc) . . . Wuco Chapter K,·n fnlhn West Texa, Chup1er J.,mc, kuclcr Wichita Fall, Chapter
2 Texas Architect Housing for the People We are approaching the Bicentennial of the United States. A careful examination of our achievements will indicate that while we have achieved many successes, we still have a lot of unfinished business. I would categorize our unfinished work as the Unfinished Revolution. The major item of this Revolution is housing. We have not yet learned how to live together. The home in which people live and recreate and procreate is the new symbol of interoppression. Our poor housing policies have resulted in our cities being like a white donut with an inner core of white, black, red and brown jelly. The housing problem is at the root of the conflict in Boston. You cannot secure an integrated public school system from a segregated housing neighborhood. Busing is therefore merely a symptom of segregated housing. The famous Rodriguez case of San Antonio is also a consequence of our housing policies. Poor neighborhoods pay three times as much taxes without producing the minimum level of funding needed for their schools. After three years of admonition by Justice Powel I in the Rodriguez case, the State Legislature has done nothing to come to grips with the housing problems of the state. The Texas Housing Finance Agency and the Neighborhood Preservation Loan Fund Bills have died in the Legislature. Our housing problems are the direct result of the way we think. We have come to believe that real estate values depend upon homogeneous neighborhoods. Consequently, we put all of the expensive houses in one subdivision and the poor in another subd iv is ion and create traffic problems for the poor to travel to the suburbs to work and have the rich travel to the city to manage their businesses. It 1s clear especially to ecologists that homogeneous systems d 1c. The cemetery is homogeneous. The ghetto is homogeneous. Suburbia is homogeneous. They are all dying. The opposite of homogeneity is diversity. This concept of diversity is the essence of the American revolution. It is the concept that wi 11 determine whether we finish the revolution we began. Diversity is pluralism. It is different people of different races and economic levels working together as Americans. The essence of America is a sense of national unity with maximum diversity for the individual. Diversity is the uniqueness of America. We have achieved this in open accommodations, football and other sports and in varying degrees in public service. The issue, then, is whether we will change our land use policies and build decent housing so that the American neighborhood will be as diverse as its people. The issue for the Bicentennial is whether we can make the houses of the people and the Houses of God reflect the vitality that comes from diversity.
Reynell M. Parkins UT/ Austin School of Architecture
July/August 1975 3 I
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bob 11181 harry hines suite 144, dallas, texas 75229 tel: 214-241-7118 Raising the Roof in Texas High Density Housing that Works
By Martin Shukert ness and its resources, was a place where toward low densities was checked, these perceived evils of crowded cities however, by the necessity for living close The norm for family housmg in Texas, could be avoided - tn the New World, to transit Imes. as in most other parts of the United States, people could live self-reliantly in their Auto Democracy has traditionally been the smgle-fam1ly own houses, surrounded by open space detached house. The American preference and fresh air. The history of urban and The democratization of automobile for low residential density has many of its suburban development in the U.S. can thus ownership ended this limitation. Any origins in popular attitudes that evolved be seen as a progressive tnteract1on be point in the urban locus became as accessi during the westward development of the tween the popular desire for low-density ble as any other point. The trend toward country. Europe was seen as a growmg living, the evolution of tndustnal centers, decentrahzat1on could contmue to the network of industrial centers, rife with and the relative availability of transporta limit of the road system's capacity and the pollution and tenement housing, where tion facilities. commuter's patience. Usually, in in most property was owned by a few people, Transportation 1s the critical element in dividual "cost/benefit analyses," the and families had to struggle just for suffi this triangle. Nineteenth century Ameri securities and advantages of individual cient light and air. America, with its vast- can cities, depending largely on home ownership outweighed the incon pedestrian movement, saw people trying veniences of commuting. New types of ac Martin Shukert, a young Texas architect to live as close to activity centers as possi tivity centers, such as supermarket and with a B.A. from Yale and an M.A. from Berkeley, is a proponent of the "three ble. The technological development of suburban shopping centers, emerged to dimensional" design innovations of Israeli rail transit (streetcars and rapid transit) service the suburbs. The automobile made architect Moshe Sq/die, who conceived, made decentrahzat1on possible for the the low-density dream a complete reality. among other things, the famous Habitat 67 first time, allowing people to spread out. It also brought a new kind of over complex in Montreal. This early stage in the American trend crowdmg evil - traffic congestion July/August 1975 7 which pushed the boundaries of urban morphology of new homes for middle development even further. class families remains, doggedly, the The growth pattern of Texas cities is single-family house. among other things a phenomenon of the Ideal• Veraua Reality automobile age. This state, with its mythology of unlimited space, its tradition lt is important to recognize that the con of .. individualism," and its abundance of servation of limited energy resources im cheap oil. has become, with California, a plies a greater use of shared transportation virtual archetype of low-density housing facilities (such as public transit) and high development. The combination of availa er residential densities. But it is also im ble space, open-ended highway programs. portant for architects, policy-makers, and rapid growth has ensured that most builders, planners, and others to under housing here would be sangle-family stand that the history of American housing homes. In consequence, Texas cities have (with few exceptions) is motivated by the few of the high-density neighborhoods, old ideal of the low-density private house, and relatively few of the urban night oroperty o~ersh1p, and self-sufficiency. mares, of older northern c ities. Our forms This desire as deeply embedded an Ameri are mostly the forms of the suburbs. can culture and w 111 probably survive as As we enter the last quarter of the twen long as its perceived benefits outweigh its tieth century, however. a critical new cost perceived costs A national or statewide has been added to the forces shaping the trend toward higher-density housing that built en1. aronment: the cost of energy. For does not recognize the factors which make the first time, Americans arc laced with a low-density housing attractive 1s likely to limit on their consumption of fuel. W1th face a great deal of resistance. It is not this limit comes higher prices and the enough that experts or professionals ob threat of energy deprivation for job-pro serve a need for a shift in popular housing ducing segments of the economy. Thus a patterns and 1deolog1es. Higher-density new limit descends on the auto-based im housing, if 11 is to be a successful alterna petus toward decentralization itself. Other tive to energy-1ntens1ve single-family hmtts derive from a growing concern housing, must incorporate the positive about the am pacts of transportation on the pomts of the latter whale producing a environment, on neighborhoods, and on demonstrably more efficient living en These social needs fall into five inter natural scenery. A third limit is found m vironment. related categories: (I) individuality and the increasmg costs of the infrastructure A necessary first step in evolving a identifiability of the home; (2) territorial needed to service low-density residential design process for higher density housmg, domam and open space; (3) privacy; (4) areas. therefore, is to examine the dynamics of responsiveness to the desires and particu Already we are begmning to recognize low-density housmg. The smgle-fam1ly lar self-image of the family; and (5) eco changes. A Federal government commis house responds to a variety of very impor nomic responsibility and independence. sion has called single-family houses too tant social, psychological and physical To repeat, this 1s not a comprehensive list, wasteful to be a viable housing form in the needs. In order to produce acceptable but only a sampling of the types of factors future. Expansion of transit services (in higher-density family environments, that motivate people to find homes in the cluding a system of prepaid fares) has been designers must meet these 1nd1v1dual single-family detached sector of the hous touted by planners and pohtacal candi needs. What follows is not a compre mg market. It might be added that not all dates acro!>s the spectrum. Single-family hensive analysis of these principles. but an single-family houses meet these needs. For attached "townhomcs" of higher density stead a suggestion of the kinds of social example, there 1s often little privacy m arc advcruscd more frequently in real needs and opportunities with which new houses lined up along a street with I 0-foot estate pages in Texas, though the major types of housing must contend. sideyards. 8 Texas Architect where facade style is modulated and exposure, but is inadequate for family liv varied for each house.) ing. In fact, it is simply an extension of the In this context, it might be more valid to unit, another room differing only by being consider higher-density housing forms as ·'outside." three-dimensional configurations of in The need for territoriality in high-den dividual houses, rather than as building sity housing implies more than providing envelopes into which a certain number of token private outdoor spaces. It is impor apartments must be uniformly deposited. tant to demarcate a zone belonging to each This is the principle behind such environ unit separate from public zones such as ments as pueblos, hill towns, and Arabic circulation. Ideally, a hierarchy of territo villages, all of which provide richness and ries ought to be established, ranging from individuality at a relatively high-density. public areas controlled by many units to Israeli architect Moshe Safdie and others smaller outdoor areas controlled by a have begun to develop technological cluster of units, to outdoor territories con systems to bring down the cost of this trolled by individual units and, finally, three-dimensional art1culat1on. terraces related to activities in specific rooms. If the complex is seen as a three dimensional configuration of identifiable houses, a similar three-dimensional lndlvlduallty and ldentlflablllty Terrltorlal Domain and Private Open hierarchy of open spaces is suggested. Space People and families are unique and want to be identified as individuals. This Beyond the symbolic social need for Privacy is tied up with the concept of ego-integrity, identifiability, there is an operational of developing a positive, discernible self need for a family to feel a sense of territo Privacy has been implied in much of the image. Houses, meanwhile, are at their ry or "domain" through and around the above. This need is related to that of ter best a reflection of the people who live in home. This territory should perceptually ritoriality and of control over the in them. This requires, on a very basic level, belong to the house and should be tribu dividual environment. People should not that a housing unit be identifiable "from tary to it. The outdoor space of the house have to curtail their activities or tolerate the ground," with some degree of physical should provide a place for activities and those of others because of unwanted visual distinctiveness in relation to surrounding entertaining without undue intrusions. contact or noise transmissions. The need units. In short, a family ought to be able to Single-family houses are of course for privacy also implies a separation of say, unambiguously, .. That is our house." characteristically sold on lots to provide private domain from public activity areas, Detached houses by their nature meet this front and back yards. This typical con particularly circulation paths. need as long as there is some difference figuration provides a sense of domain, The private detached house, physically between houses on a street. although it does this more symbolically separate from surrounding houses and In contrast, the image of high-density than actually. Sometimes houses are spatially if not always visually separate residential developments in Texas is clustered on smaller lots around major from the public street, is seen as the ulti usually a group of three-story boxlike open spaces which are shared. This more mate fulfillment of this need, even though buildings of uniform facade style. The social arrangement provides a hierarchy it frequently offers imperfect privacy. identification factor, if there is one, of territories - small areas for single High-density housing is not usually derives from the style and location of the families and larger areas controlled by a strong on privacy. Short distances between building group, rather than distinctiveness grouping of several families. the windows of separate units, walls that of individual living units. Under these The meeting of this condition in high transmit noise, and little or no separation conditions, it is impossible to tell separate density housing requires much greater or zoning from circulation corridors all "houses" apart and the principle of iden sophistication in design. The typical solu contribute to the uncomfortable sense one tifiability is violated. (A better response tion of a small balcony or terrace opening has, in most high-density facilities, of occurs in some new "rowhouse" projects, off the apartment provides some outdoor being in a fishbowl. July/August 1975 9 ANponalvenesa People need to know that their living environment will respond to their wishc) and personalittes, that they have the op tion to change the topography ol their liv ing space. This is crucially tted to the idea of the home as an expre.,sion ot the fam1I> , It can be argued that few e,mting hous ing types, whether high,dcn\lt} or not, react to this need in an optimal wa> . ~ost housing is marketed a., a product, coming in a variety of read>· m.tde packages. However. the low,denslt) environment, consisting ol house and lot, provides at least a modicum ol opportunitie:. for in dividual mod1tacat1on and adaptation. In deed. a~ hous.es "mature" in even homo geneous uhurb~. house) and yards begin to sprout the change:. their owners have made; the hou'>e "'gro"'·· to look less and le¼ alike, producing a richer environ ment. Even developments like the Levit towns, crittcized for their uniformity, have d1spla>ed this " evolutionary"' dynamic. Apartments in Texas do not typically provide this opportunity. lnMead, a stan dard format is established for an entire building group. resulting in a physical conformity of living units and a carc1t> of surrounding territory - '"soft" space which might be changed - which severely restrict) the "de~ign respon:,1vencss·· of home to inhah1tant. In mo:.t apartmcnll>, the only chance tor adaptation he:. in the choice of furniture, bookshclvei., hric-,1- hrac. and wall h,ingings - 11nport.int but not .u.Jcquatc rnc,,ns of sclf-e:1.pre s1un High-denSlt) housing should be de 1gncd with an eye toward ind1v1duah,at1on I h,s mcani., among other thingi., 11v111ding uniform facade and hxcd noor-plans while employing design:, and material) that arc adaptable, particularly in interior spaces: structures which change as its peo ple change. Economic ANponalblllty tends only to portable improvements advantages derived largely from the sim Much of this discussion has concerned which the tenant removes when he or she ple fact ot denser concentrations of peo the fitting of housing units in multiple leaves. What is called for arc new sets of ple. One advantage is that quality services tam1 I) complexes to the needs ol in legal and economic arrangement~ whereby can he located closer to a greater number dividuals. In America, the achievement of our higher-den'>ity en\: ironment'> may ac of individual dwellings. Community 1nd1v1dual integrit>· is generally tied to commodate more '>Uccessfull> the proh facilities can be provided which in economic <;elf-sufficiency. Thus. economic lcm or responsibility. Condominiums and dividual hou)eholds cannot afford pri respons1b1ltty for housing (typically cooperative arrangements are a <,trtde in vately. Perhaps most important, the level through home ownership) has developed a this direction: other forms, such a!> the ol human contact increases, making it r~>cholog1cal dimension in our society. In British syMem of long-term land-lea:,es, easier for social af11ntty groups to form. It order tor the ideals of identificatton, ter might also be investigated as p<>)Sible must be noted. however, that the ritory, and respons1venc~s to be realized, models for our society. popularity of higher-density housing 1s people mu\t feel that their houses are eco In Texas, finally, we are experiencing a pre)ently concentrated almost enurely in nomicall> and legall> under their control. movement toward higher-density demographic groups having a keener in Since rent.ii unit do not re\p(_md to this developments Shortcomings aside. these trinsic demand for social, community, and need, ind1v1duah,at1on 1n apartments ex- environments pre:.ent an array of inherent service amenities than for housing sell- 10 Texas Architect Mobile Homes On the Move The following data on mobile home production and purchases, rather sobering in its implications for the site-built housing industry, is taken from a pamphlet entitled "Mobile Homes in Texas: a summary of regulatory aspects." The document was prepared by the Industrial Eco nomics Research Division, Texas Engineering Experiment Station. Texas A&M University. Copies of this and other material on the subject may be obtained from the Texas Mobile (resulting partly from inferior design), Home Association, P. 0. Box 4397, and noise pollution. Until these and other Austin, Texas 78765. negative features are vitiated through .. In 1973 for every I 00 single more imaginative, people-oriented design, family site-built homes completed it is unlikely that high-density proJects in the Un1ted States, 51 mobile will appeal to Texans as a viable mode of homes were produced. This trend independent family living. toward mobile home living 1s even The challenge for architects and others more pronounced m Texas where involved in the housing process is to 1973 saw 96 mobile homes pro analyze the imperatives which have pro duced for every 100 single family duced our low-density residential en site-built homes completed. vironment and to satisfy these needs in "Mobile homes are becom111g the high-density settings. A process base~ .on only form of single-family homes this kind of analysis involves pos1t1ve that low and medium income design decisions relating to configuration families can afford ... The average of houses, open space, and c1rculat1on. But sufficiency and identification, i.e. older cost per square foot excluding land it is equally important to know what nor to and younger people either not married or for site-built homes sold 111 the design completely. The high-density proj without children. Unued States in 1971 was Sl4.55; in ect might thus be seen as a stage. a struc The communal advantages of higher 1972, $15.35; and m 1973, Sl7.30. ture in which opportunities for owner density housing and its potential At the same time the cost of s1te adaptation are part of the design. This economies might well make it more attrac bu11t homes was increasing, the would give us the communal advantages of tive to families as well. But it is clear that average cost per square foot of people living close together whil~ not most high-density complexes now going mobile homes \\.I!> decreasing. In depriving us of the psycholog1cal satisfac up in Texas do not meet the needs of mo~t 1971. It was ~907; in 1972, ~8.73; tions of dwelling in our own detached ht family people - as evidenced by the typi and in 1973. ~8 25 The mobile tie castles. cal reaction of neighborhood residents to home ligures also include furniture, the news of a high-density development in drapes, carpeting and appliances ... their area. The project 1s invariably seen It i!, c!>timated that the cost of site as a negative intrusion bringing a variety built homes will double between of corrosive effects, including higher 1974 .md 1980." traffic densities, neighborhood blight July/August 1975 11 12 Texas Architect Honor Award Texas Architecture 1974
New House at Home Photo hy ~rc..S Rohcm The clients' situation was typical enough. Nice older home in a pleasant wooded neighborhood - the kind of house you wouldn't find being built these days, the kind of neighborhood you wouldn't want to ~~ leave. More time for entertaining. More interest in expanding an already sizable collection of art. In short, more need for more house. But the architects - the Oglesby Group, Inc., of Dallas - came up with more than the typical "knock-out-a-wall-and add-on" solution. And now they have another design award to their credit. The addition consists of a two-story livingroom, an entry/solarium, and a skylightcd gallery linking the livingroom with entertainment areas of the existing house. Large high wall surfaces allow for art display. A mezzanine level in the livingroom provides art storage and work and sitting areas. Openings in walls were arranged to frame the views of outside sculptures or special trees. Skylights and clerestory glass admit natural light to interior spaces. Exterior walls are wood siding and painted brick. Roofs are wood shingle. Interior walls are painted brick, or fabric-covered. Ceilings are of wood with painted exposed wooden trusses, while the floors are greenstone and stained hardwood. As for the architects' role, it all adds up to what the jurors termed "sensitive and dramatic good taste in working in an existing residential neighborhood." And for the clients, it means having a new house at home. The Oglesby Group is a medium-sized firm with a well-diversified practice which "takes the client's need and aspirations and transposes them into the built en vironment." The resulting image "has woven into it all that makes for good design: site, climate, views, architect's skill."
Bud Oglesby
July/August 1975 13 Constructing Happy Answers
Photo. by Rid.
14 Texas Architect Honor Award Texas Architecture 1974
from the inside-out due to the harsh sum and furnishings which hold symbolic firm is a permanent joint venture partner mer climate. meaning for the family. Bonnie Loyd ship among three supporting design and Exterior stucco and interior dry-wall Crane, who currently serve~ on the staff of planning organizations: The McGinty construction, presented in "thick-wall" Houston's Ars Longa Gallery, was respon Partnership, Houston; The Pierce, Lacey detailing and plasticity of forms, inten sible for interiors and landscaping. Partnership, Dallas and El Paso; and David tionally simulate a traditional heavy In sum, the design process exemplified A. Crane & Partners, Philadelphia and masonry effect and conceal a conventional Crane's own concept of what modern Boston. and economical wood-frame structure. architecture 1s about - "resolving the William T. Cannady has a varied residen Further economy was gained through use contradictory innuences on our buildings tial, commercial and institutional practice in of the simplest basic materials, conven without unhappy compromise." It was a Houston. He has won several previous ttonal detailing and undemanding draw successful search for happy answers. awards for design and has published a num ings. To reinforce the contemporary Although his architectural work on the ber of articles in the area of architectural "south of the border" image, these savings Crane residence was done as an individual, criticism. were applied to carefully chosen tile, David A. Crane practices in Houston stone, iron and other ornamental features through The Crane Design Group. The new July/August 1975 15 16 Texas Architect Honor Award Texas Architecture 1974
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Doreen and Frank Herzog, of Houston, had some thing solid to start with - the first home ever designed by Midland architect Frank D. Welch. It was .located in a heavily wooded subdivision and it served their needs and the needs of their three children for a decade. But their life-style, their penchant for art, antiques, entertaining, and the sim ple outdoors, had finally outstripped the confines of their modular residence. They needed more space, more drama as it were, and they wanted to bring a slice of nature virtually into the house itself. The architect they selected, Howard Barnstone, of Houston, has designed structures featured in publica tions ranging from Progressive Architecture to Better Homes and Gardens. His creations have consistently won awards, and the remodeled Herzog residence is no exception. Major additions to the house were a new game room and breakfast room, at the rear, while toward the front a dining room and sitting room were en cased in glass to provide a panorama of landscaped patio, community lake, pincy woods, and bicycle trails. An existing porch was likewise panelled with glass, becoming a pavillion for the display of art works, while the old flat roof was replaced with an angled skylight. The pavillion or gallery effect was The finished product is a clean example of the further developed by the integration of columns and Barnstone design philosphy: "We take a fresh, direct crossbeams as a kind of extension of the entrance approach to the client's program, simultaneously foyer. Elegant parquet floors, woven rugs, and a considering function, construction, aesthetics and sit skillful blend of furnishings from antique to glass ing; then provide simple architectural expression to a modern were installed to complete the project. well worked out interrelationship of circulation pat (Sunlight and pinetrees took care of themselves.) terns and restful spaces."
July/August 1975 17 Death of a House Bill: Tracking H.B.432 Larry Paul Fuller By understand the legislative process. It's not Visions of success in the 65th Session House Bill 432 had died. Texas still had one of black and white; it's compromise were bolstered even further by re-thinking a gutless architects registration law. And it and thrust and run and thrust again. And the now crystal-clear arguments. It all had been such a narrow defeat. Yet com once you begin to understand that, then seemed so logical: ments during the aftermath were generally you know you're never going to get exactly • Here we have an architects registra positive. Each of us braced up. looked at what you want. What was significant is tion law, enacted 38 years ago to "protect the bright side, as one is conditioned to that the architects who originally opposed the public against the irresponsible prac do. some specifics of the bill joined with us to tice of architecture by properly defining ··we've come farther than ever before," try and get it passed in a real spirit of and regulating the practice." Yet anyone, said Chuck Stahl, Chairman ofTSA's Leg togetherness. It was a perfect example of regard less of experience. education or islative Affairs Committee. democracy in action:· competence, can legally practice public ··we came damn close to making law," And it was in an optimistic, we'll-get-it architecture in Texas, as long as he or she wrote the legal counsel in his report. through-next-time mood that preliminary does not use the title "architect." Texas is .. The big plus this year 1s awareness," strategies were suggested for the 65th Ses still one of only thirteen states with a weak said E::.xccuuvc Director Des Taylor. sion: Form a permanent legislative com title law - as opposed to a practice law - --we've created 111 the legislature and mittee, perhaps headed by the TSA past which affords little protection of the among our m-.n member\ ,m unprcce president and president-elect. which public interest. dented awarene.,, ol the dd1ciencie-. in the would heg111 now to work out rough spots • There are 6000 young men and women present law, an ,1,,.irene,, upon "hteh \\e 111 the hill and initiate momentum which enrolled in the state's accredited schools can build future camp,11gn,," \\ould pe,,k in 1977 (""We can't he suc of architecture, and perhaps as many as I here ,,a, '1t1c:ere pt .11w 1111 kl•) llgu, e, c:e\\lul 111 our lcgi,lat1ve ellort'> hy gettrng 2000 others who have finished their live 111 the lcgl\l,1t1ve p1og1.11n: Rep. Dtd, ., ne,, p1 e\ldent 111 the, e and lett 1ng h 1111 year\ of schooling and who are now in a Geiger ,tnd lien Ike: llarrl\, ,,ho ,pon rc invent the ,-.heel each t1111e," Dave three-year internship leading to the pro <,ored the mea,ure. \rn l.loyd Doggett. Braden .,a,d.) Garner more -.upport from fessional exam and registration. But the who gave ,trong ,upport. George l.o-.111g. other organ11at11>11s ,.,,,thrn the bulldrng Ill· long-sought goal of an architect's license who headed the ar1.h1tech· l egl'>l.iuve dustry. Create more grassroots rnvolvc will be virtually meaningless under the M rnutemen Program. Committee Chair ment w1th111 the overall mechanism for present law; anyone can practice without man Chuck Stahl. President Joe Brown contacting legislators. ('"In many cases, it. and other members of the Austin Chapter. the opposition had overwhelmed a given • More than 4000 architects are who repeatedly appeared at the Capitol legislator's office with letters. calls and registered to practice in Texas and during the bill's tedious trek through the visits." said Phil Creer. Executive Direc therefore fall under the jurisdiction of the leg1slat1ve process. tor of the Texas Board of Architectural Texas Board of Architectural Examiners. TSA President Dave Braden saw it all Examiners. ..We relied too much on This is in the public interest because the as a worthwhile educational experience reason and not enough on sheer volume.") board forces an architect to prove his and a source of untty for the profession. And become more directly involved with capability to serve the public by meeting ··1t was difficult 1n1t1ally for many of us to a broader range of legislation. certain standards of education and ex perience and by passing a rigid examina General State Calendar for a second read tion. The board also has the power to dis Legislative Log ing. cipline an architect who violates the code May 12: The Senate State Affairs Com of ethics or who accepts a job and docs it Jan. 30: Rep. Richard Geiger 111- mittee, after hearings. refers the bill to a shoddily. Yet there 1s no such control over troduces the bill, amending Article 249a, subcommtttee, chaired by Senator Lloyd the ever-increasing numbers of non-pro Vernon's Civil Starutes, Ill the House. It 1s Doggett, who reports it back affirma fessional building designers. In addition, rcterrcd to the Committee on Business and tively. Texas needs to align itself with the stand Industry. May 22: S.B. 784. having been favora ards set hy other states to afford its own March 3: After a hearrng before Busi bly reported out hy State Affairs, survives citilens the same protection enjoyed in ness and Industry. the bill 1s referred to a a second reading on the Senate lloor. other parts of the country. ,uhcomm,ttcc comprised of Reps. Wh11- May 27: 11 .B. 432 is read a second time· • It has been established that man\ m1re (chairman). Vaughan. and Slay. in the House. Rep. Gene Jones of Houston well-being and the quality of human life March 13: A Senate vcrs10n of the bill cripples the measure wtth an amendment relates directly to the quality of the built (SB 784) 1s introduced by Senator Ike removing the square-foot limitation on environment. Yet non-professional build l larm,. It is referred to the Committee on structures designed by unregistered per mg designers arc not trained in the busi State Affairs. sons. ness of putting together elaborate spaces A pril I : Upon completion of hearings. May 29: A much-amended H.B. 432 and large building systems which become the I lou,c ,uhcomm1ttee votes 3-0 to re passes the House. more complex as the structure increases in poi I ,1 ~uh,t1tute hill to the full Committee May 3 1: S.B. 784 passes the Senate on a size. Hence the need for limitations on 011 Uu,111e,, ,111d I ndu,try. third read111g. what they are allowed to do. Architects ,\11ril 7: I he Committee on Business June 2: A vote 1s called 111 the House on are not attempting to put unlicensed ,111d I mlU\II \ \ote, unan11110u\ly to send the (unamended) Senate version of the designers out of business. as opponents till' ~Uh\tltute htll to the Hou,e lloor, bill, but it 1s defeated. The amended have argued, but only to limit them to I l'llllllllll'llllillg p,IS~.,g~'. House bill is then referred to a bilateral work for which they are qualified. And if \111) I : 1 lw I luuw 11111 " placed on the conference committee. where tt is killed. by virtue of experience the designer is 18 Texas Architect qualified, he or she might then suc cessfully pass an examination, become How they Voted registered, and thus fall within the con trols which have been set up in the public interest. The Yeas The Nays Certainly, it was thought, the arguments are convincing enough. But despite the Senate Senate prevailing positive tone, and the confi Doo Adams, Jasper; Belly Andujar, Fon A. M. Aiken, Paris; Babe Schwartz, Galveston; dence of future success. there was frustra Wonh, Bill Braeddein, Dallas, Chet Brooks, Max Sherman, Amarillo; Lindon Williams, tion. The scant eight-vote margin meant Pasadena, Ron Clower, Garland, Tom Houston. both near-victory and complete defeat. Creighton, Mineral Wells; Lloyd Doggett, Present, nol voting: Jack Ogg, Houston. All the effort behind the calls, visits and Ausun; Ray Farabee, Wichita Falls; Bob Gam letters, and all the hours and dollars, were mage, Houston; Kent Hantt, Lubbock; Roy Harrington, Pon Arthur; Ike Harris, Dallas; House apparent!) wasted, spent only for hopes. Grant Jones, Abilene; Glenn Kolhmann, San Joe Allen, Baytown; Gonzalo Barrientos, And at the very core of that pent-up Antonio; Frank Lombardino, San Antonio; Austin; Ron Bird, San Antonio; Bill Blythe, frustration was the feeling that, somehow, Raul Longoria, Edinburg; Oscar Mauzy, Houston; Bennie Bock, New Braunfels; Latham we'd been misunderstood. Dallas; Michael McKinnon, Corpus Christi; Boone, Navasota; John Bryant , Dallas; Neil .. It made me want to get out there on the Peyton McKnight, Tyler; Bill Meier, Euless; Caldwell, Alvin; Terry Canales, Alice; Bill House floor and try to explain it to them Waller Mengden, Houston; Bill Moore, Bryan; Caraway, H ouston; Melchor Chavez, myself," said Chuck Stahl. "There ,.,e Bill Patman, Ganado; Tali Santiesteban, El Harlingen; Bob Close, Perryton; Bill Coody, were at the final vote during the waning Paso; Pele Snelson, Midland; John Traeger, Weatherford; Wilhelmina Delco, Austin; hours of the session - all or nothing - Seguin. Woody Denson, Houston; Jerry Donaldson, and the man ( Rep. Gene Jones of Gatesville; Tony Dramberger, San Antonio; Houston) gets up there and calls the bill a House Jimmie Edwards, Conroe; Charles Evans, piece of blatant self-interest leg1slat1on. Hurst; Michael Euell, Snyder; Dave Finney, Herman Adams, Silsbee; Fred Agnich, Dallas; Fort Worth; Buck Florence, Hughes Springs; They Just don"t understand us or what Dan Allred; Wichita Falls, Hamp Atkinson, Millon Fox, Houston; Tony Garcia, Pharr; we're all about." Texarkana, Kay Bailey, Houston; Andrew Mall Garcia, San Antonio; Smith Gilley, Phil Creer put II another "ay· .. One ot Baker, Galveston. John Bigham, Belton, Roy Greenville, Ben Grant, Marshall; Forrest the hardest things for the layman to under Blake, Nacogdoches, Al Brown, San Antonio; Green, Corsicana, Gene Green, H ouston; stand - a slippery concept. d1f11cult to Ben Bynum, Amarillo: Tom Cartlidge, Anthony Hall, Houston, Frank Hartung, visualize and accept - 1s the effect of the Henrietta, Phil Cates, Pampa, Bill Clark, Houston; Bill Heally, Paducah; Don Hender built environment on man's well-being. Tyler; Jim Clark, Pasadena, Ronald Coleman, son, Houston, Bob Hendricks, McKinney; Joe Agencies that have been hiring architects El Paso; Tom Craddick, Midland; Bob Davis, Hernandez, San Antonio; Bill Hilliard, Fort all along understand it. but the rank-and Irving, Lane Denton, Waco; Ronnie Earle, Worth; John Hoestenbach, Odessa; Bill Austin, Frank Gaston, Dallas; Richard Geiger, Hollowell, Grand Saline, Joe Hubenak, Rosen fi le, and evidently many of our legislators, Dallas; DeWitt Hale, Corpus Chns11; Billy berg; Samuel Hudson, Dallas; Gene Jones, have no concept of it." Hall, Laredo; Joe Hanna, Breckenridge; Ed Houston; Luther Jones, El Paso; Herman And Dave Braden zeroed in as he Harris, Galveston; Fred Head, Athens; Ray Lauhoff, Houston; Mickey Leland, Houston; popped a Joke: "Who would know it if the Hutchison, Dallas; Eddie Bemice Johnson, R. B. McAlister, Lubbock; Susan Gurley archuects went on strike?" Dallas; James Kaster, El Paso: Al Korioth, McBee, Del Rio; Jimmy Mankins, Kilgore; So emerging from II all - the caucus Dallas; Dan Kubiak, Rockdale; Pete Laney, Elmer Martin, Colorado City; Tom Massey, and compromise, the narro" defeat - 1s Hale Center; Camm Lary, Burnet, Felix San Angelo; Gregory Montoya, Elsa; Jim the very simple question, .. Just who is the McDonald, Edinburg: T. H. McDonald, Mes Nugent, Kerrville; Wayne Pevet o, Orange; architect?" Our o,, n answer would in quite; Frank Madia, San Antonio; Bob Anthony Polumbo, Houston; George Preston, clude some standard phrases: .. master Maloney, Dallas, Jim Mallox, Dallas, Ed Pans; Paul Ragsdale, Dallas; Doo Rains, San Mayes, Granbury; Cbru Miller, Fort Worth; builder," ..shaper of the built environ Marcos, Ben Reyes, Houston; E. L. Short, Ben Munson, Denison, Lynn Nabers, Brown Tahoka; Bob Simpson, Amarillo; Richard ment." And some nice words, ranging, wood, John Newton, Beeville, Nick Nichols, Slack, Pecos; Joe Spurlock, Fort Worth; Bill perhaps, from .. artist" to .. environmen Houston, James Nowlin, San Antonio; Robert Sullivant, Gainesville; G. J. Sutlon, San An talist" to "economist." But if we have the O'Kelley, El Paso; Carl Parker, Pon Arthur; tonio, Perry Tanner, Livingston; Elmer Tar .. right" answer, we're still not passing the Joe Pentony, Houston; Pike Powers, Beaumont; box, Lubbock; Buddy Temple, Diboll; test. For. outside the circles of this quiet Richard Reynolds, R 1chardson; Abraham Senfronia Thompson, Houston; Ruben Torres, profession, who is the architect but a fuzzy Ribak, San Antonio; Calvin Rucker, Cedar Port Isabel, D. R. Uher, Bay City; Larry Vick, image within the public mind? And who 1s Hill, Joe Salem, Corpus Christi; Tom Schieffer, Houston; Tim Von Dohlen, Goliad; Craig the architect, now that the bill is dead? Fort Worth, Chris Semos, Dallas; Bud Sher Washington, Houston, Ron Waters, Houston; man, Fort Worth; Chesler Slay, Beaumont; Sarah We ddington, Austin, Emmell Dnid Stubbeman, Abilene, Carlos Truan, Cor Whitehead, Rusk. John Whitmire, Houston; pus Chnsu; Bob Vale, San Antonio; Kenneth Leroy Wieting, Portland Vaughan, Garland; Ed Watson, Deer Park; Present, nol Voling: Speaker Bill Clayton, Doyle Willis, Fort Worth. Springlake, Carlyle Smith, Grand Prairie. Ab sent: Donald Cartwright , San Antonio; Gib Lewis, Fort Worth, Paul Moreno, El Paso; Lyn don Olson, Waco; Wall Parker, Denton; Bill Presnal, Bryan, John Wilson, LaGrange; Joe Wyall, Bloomington.
July/August 1975 19
''When I first heard about Surew~l1 I thought it was a bunch or bull. Lucky for me, situations forced me to by it:' Bob Leismg, President, VIP Commercial Contractors Bob had to add to the existing amount of waste a builder must eat on ½" thick inside as well as out Valley International Convention at the end of every job. side and can be textured, the Center and unify the new additions As a developer, he also looks masonry contractor now contr'Jls with the old block building. Various at Surewall through the eyes of the entire wall system. solutions were proposed. None a prospective homeowner. And With his trained crew, he can filled the bill. SUREWALL Surface then he sees the selling features. work faster with Surewall, finish Bonding Cement was suggested as The solidity of a Surewall home. a home inside and out, clean up a covering for the old building, Reduced fire and other hazards. quickly, and move to another job. and construction material for the Attractiveness, thanks to the ability In addition to his work on VIP. new. Surewall, which embeds glass to texture Surewall, or paint it, or he can now bid on other jobs that fibers in a white cement matrix, cover it directly with fabric. He formerly were closed to the eliminates mortar. Blocks are dry also likes the freedom to design masonry contractor. stacked, and coated with ½" of homes in each neighborhood If there's ever been a time our Surewall on both sides. That's all differently. industry needed a product like that's needed for a finished wall "I used Surewall on my own home Surewall, it's now. inside and out. as the material itself and was completely satisfied with With the need to innovate in an is an attractive, water resistant its appearance and costs:· industry undergoing change, finish coating. Marv,n Boland A.I.A.. President Surewall is the right product at Believing you couldn't drystack Landscape International Inc. the right time. successfully, Bob built experi Marvin Boland, architect for Valley International has proved mental Surewall walls. And tried to Valley International, became it works. But more than the eyes of destroy them. acquainted with Surewall through Texas are on this building revolution. Having proved to himself that a demonstration of the product There's a Hilton Inn in Asheville, the innovation worked, he used for the local architectural chapter. North Carolina. An apartment Surewall to coat the old building, The demonstration stressed the complex in Hampton, Virginia, and and to construct the new additions. flexibility of the product and the a variety of projects in Florida. With beautiful results. fact that Surewall construction is Globe Industries in Raleigh is When Bob discovered that he stronger than conventional masonry currently using Surewall as a was saving $1 .00 per sq. ft. on construction. finish for mobile classrooms to through-the-wall costs, he deter He had his own home built with be used in Dade County, Florida. mined to use Surewal I on the Surewall for its aesthetic value Some voices are heard saying residential development as well. and reasonable cost. the industry should think smaller. "As the guy who pays for getting "Surewall makes masonry con Don't think smaller, think better. the building done, I like the price struction competitive with tilt wall Think Surewall. stability of Surewall. The price and metal buildings. It's a whole For more information: Write or of lumber, for instance, depends new ballgame:· call Barrett Industries, 6889 Evans on so many outside factors. With Albert Wolfe, President Road, San Antonio, Texas 78218, Surewall, I can budget my con Wolfe Masonry Incorporated (512) 651-6550. struction costs with confidence'.' Wolfe. a masonry contractor, 811/ Bass, President shared Bob Leising's opinion that Valley International Properties drystacking block was bull. Today, As the driving force behind Vall ey he is quick to say that while International, Bill looks at Surewall Surewall saves the builder money, lo with many insights. As a builder, it helps the masonry contractor to Barrett he sees his budget. He also sees make money. the cleanest job he ever saw Simply stated, a Surewall wall Industries construction without the usual is a finished wall. Since it goes How wou Id you carpet the University of Texas at Dallas?
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or Houston 713/692-5945 MONIER-RAYMOND COMPANY What is the condition of the housing marker in Texas? Why is there a dwindling of adequate shelter as demand rises? What Three are the prospects for a stare housing finance agency? Housing research? Neighborhood redevelopment? Psychological implications of living in higher-density environments? Viewpoints on Three professionals here give their views: Julio Laguarta, Texas Association of Real tors; Chuck Talmage, Texas Department of Housing: Community Affairs; Dr. Robert Helmreich, Psychology Department, UT/Austin. Inter views compiled by Ray Reece. Finance, Ego, Etc.
The traditional law of supply and de tams simply from the lime required by mand, as tt relates to the housing market homebuilders to conform to government in Texas, has short-c1rcu1ted. That, at regulations. "In our business. time is least, 1s the conclusion one draws from a money. If you have to hold a piece of land talk with Houston realtor Julio Laguarta. for a year. instead of six months. your President of the Texas Association of holding costs double. And those costs Realtors. (which can go as high as $1,000 per I /3- It's all very curious. We are e,-perienc acre lot) have to come out at the closing ing a continued m1grat1on of people and tahlc, where you and I and our friends buy industry into the state. Our level of homes." Laguarta secs waste here: "'You unemployment, at about 5t;f. is among the don't get a better house, It isn't any more lowest in the nation. We observe in Harris '!fftcient, ll isn't better designed, more County an apartment occupancy-ratio of ,leasing, better for use or anything else." almost 95%, while Odessa and Midland now need 2,500 to 3,000 new housing The Money Market untts to accommodate freshly arrived A second "extraneous" and highly workers in a recharged petroleum indus debilitating force at work against home try. Other panhandle ctt1es, according to construction is the "money market" - not Laguarta, are virtually "out of houses." LAGUARTA only soaring interest rates but a trend (Average selling lime for a home in that toward economic instability in general. area 1s 30 days.) beyond our reach include the cost of Cyclical ups and downs are shrinking in Ordinarily, such a burst of demand for materials, labor. and energy-the same as duration. with sharper peaks and valleys, housing would provoke a storm of build for other sectors of the economy. (Energy creating an unacceptable degree of ing acuvtty. But the reality 1s otherwise. costs take a double toll on the housing unpredictability. "In an unstable money Laguarta notes. for example, that in market first in their effect on construction market," says Laguarta, "lenders (mainly Dallas and Harris Counties last October. e,-penses. second on "life-cycle" or insurance companies and savings and loan for the first time since records have been operating co~ts of the finished structure.} mstttut1ons} are very reluctant to lie up kept on such matters. there were zero Pre~umahly. according to Laguarta, there their money for long periods of time." He housing starts. "'The central problem in 1s little we can do, in the short term. to adds that "someone, the government or housing today," Laguarta says natly. ··is alleviate \uch pressures someone else, has got to face up to the fact cost, particularly wtth the single family There are. however. two other sets of that if we're going to have a consistent and dwelling. We are pricing out the majority factors over which Laguarta implies we responsive housing industry. something of families in this country from owning can and ought to exercise control. One is will have to be done to stabilize the money their own homes." government intervention. "The govern market." Inflation Plus ment at all levels," he says, ··parucularly One possibility 1s ··an expansion of the 111 regard to the use of land, 1s driving up FHA program." Another is a "mortgage It isn't a problem of simple mnation. of the cmt of housing." New procedures for market," similar to the stock exchange, the sort, say. that am1cts the wholesale environmental impact reviews, restric where mortgages could be bought and food business or the shoe industry. Hous tions on drainage. and other laws affecting sold, offerrng a new margin of "free play" ing mnation is fueled by add1t1onal fac land development all have contributed to in which mortgage costs might nuctuate lOrs. some of which. says Laguarta, "we the d1fficullles of building, selling and down as well as up. Still another tack, says have control over, some we don't." Those buying homes. Muc.h of this expense ob- Laguarta, is a system of "variable rate July/August 1975 23 " .. . it's not that the builders aren't interested in the energy situation, but primarily they're interested in groceries. "
mortgages" - perhaps ucd to the rate of would further take advantage of federal 1nflat1on - practiced in California since funding policies while helping to upgrade the I 930's. ( Congress this spring turned housing for some of the 300,000 or more back an attempt to establish such a system Texas families of low to moderate income nationally.) who live in substandard homes.• Under Trend, the new Section 8 program, administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Given these and other dynamics. what Development (HUD), a total of $36 doc<, I aguarta ,cc 1n the way of trends? million is now available to the state "Numher one is a trend to\\ard ,mailer largely for rental assistance to needy lot,. I hat'\ the one hig area "'here you can families. The TOCA plan would use this take up ~ome ,lac!. 111 llllu\lng c.:ml\ We'll money as collateral against which to issue a1'o he sc.:eing ,1 lot more ,lll,tlhl·d hou~ang, tax tree state bonds. The bond money trom duplc,e, 111 c11111plcxcs, lowl·rrng would be loaned to developers and con,u uction c.:,"t' ,vl11k mukrng nHHl' l'lta builders as low-interest capital for new c.:ient u,l. ol t,rnd ," I hi~ 1, not, ho\H'VCr. apartment projects. Federal payments in \\hill pcopll• ll',111:,- ,v,1111 . " 'I he ,\111er1can the form of tenant rental assistance would Dream "to o\\n your o\\11 h11111e. l'hat\ be used by the landlord to retire his debt \\hat thl' i\menc.:,lll people want. and rt\ TALMAGE to the Mate. "Everything would have to be gorng to t,akc a ,,hile, it ever, to ch,rnge Chuck Talmage a, director of the privately owned," says Talmage. "The that· I lousing D1v1s1on ol the rexas Depart state would not be working directly with 'what about experiments by home ment of Community Affairs (TOCA)-an the developer. but rather with private bu1ldcn, t1mard increased energy cff1c1en ofl1ce of state government set up three lending institutions," Some tenants under cy'' "I don't want to be pess1m1st1c about years ago to help munic1pal11ies acquire this plan, depending on family income, it. but it's highly unlikely that builders and manage the hefuer chunks of federal would pay as little as lero rent. "'Ill be coming up with that kind of pro money available to them under the "new Single Famlly Dwellings gram. They have their tads 111 too many federalism" or "revenue sharing" pro crack'> ceonom1cally . . the new tech grams emanating from Washrngton. Single-family dwellings could also be fi. nology will have to come from architects High on the list of Talmagc's priorities nanccd under the program, though there and manufacturers." E:.ven government is a pilot housing proJect aimed at rural would be procedural differences: the state research I'> suspect "People 111 the rndus communities of I 0,000 (soon 20,000) per would "buy up" blocks of low-interest tr} ,omctime., look w11h a pund1ccd eye at son~ or less. New policies of the Farmer's home mortgages on the basis of pre ,omc proJCCt that comes out ol a non-prof Home Adm1n1s1rat1on now provide funds arranged contracts with private lenders. it oriented type of program ll'!> not that to underwrite construcuon and rental Because of the tax-exempt source of origi the builders aren't rnterestcd 111 the energy assistance 111 such areas. and Talmage nal funding, i.e. the bonds, mortgages to ,i1uat1on. hut they're primarily rnterested wants to show the communities how to private homeowners could cost as little as in groccric'>" benefit from the program. "We sent back 7 3/4 percent, including service charges. I, there any hope for decent hou,111g for in thb state $18 million, unspent, to the This is almost two points below the low-rncomc Texans'? Laguarta doesn't like Department of Agriculture last year, and average commercial rate. which could rent ,ub<,1dy programs· .. A subsidy. 111 11s we're gmng to send back that much and mean a savings to low-income families of '.'11111plc,t form, is takrng from those who maybe more in 1975," This is money that $40 to $60 per month on their house pay have and g1v111g ll to those who don't could have been used for low-interest ments. It could also mean a mini-boom in have," I le I'> also opposed to (ad-valorem) home-loans to rural families with incomes Texas housing construction - 2,500 addi l,l\•hreaks fur the elderly and tor disabled of $5,000 to $11,000. "Builders," says tional units per year, according to , l'll'r an,. 'I his leaves. by way of options, a Talmage, "are finding out you can make Talmage, with still another 2,500 apart reduction in the cmt of housrng itself money in smaller towns. Of course, there ment units going up. "I he one breakthrough that we have never arc problems with that - materials. labor, 1 heen .ahk to m,,ke is ,, technological transportation. But when you can't get "Texas Housing Report" (p. 15), a h1 c,1kth1 ough in the nMnulacturc of low mortgage funds to build 1n Austin, and survey conducted in 1971 by the Office of l Neighborhood Prnervatlon vacy" or "territory" in the maintenance of a healthy personality. There has been too A sister program to the housing finance much scientific generalizing, he says, from agency is a "neighborhood preservation studies of rats and other animals to human loan fund." Here, working strictly conditions in the 20th century. The fact through local government agencies, the that gerbils or blowfish when crowded state would make low-interest (2%-3%) together will tear out each other's entrails home improvement loans to people in does not assure the same behavior in deteriorating neighborhoods who cannot Homo sapiens. "If there are sufficient otherwise afford needed repairs. Talmage rewards in the environment, you can live sees this as a superior alternative to razing under extreme crowding and fairly old neighborhoods and replacing them minimal privacy" without unmanageable with high-rise complexes almost certain to stress. become ghettos. He is watching closely a The subjects of Helmreich's experiment federal pilot project in Dallas, believing it were marine scientists living and working will prove that, with the proper combina in groups of five, bunking together in a tion of state, city, neighborhood, and pri round steel chamber 12 feet in diameter. vate lending elements, "you can reverse a "They found tremendous rewards there, in neighborhood, you can hold it steady, you HELM REICH their work, and the discomfort and lack of can make it viable again." "It is psychologically essential that ev privacy were secondary." The scientists Both of the above programs require ac ery individual have access to privacy, "did stake out some personal space, and it tion by the state legislature. Although the even if he doesn't use it." was generally inviolate. You didn't sit on requisite bills (H.B.s 663 and 664, S. B.s Bob Helmreich, a professor of psy someone's bunk, for example." But com 136 and 911) were submitted to the House chology at the University of Texas at plete privacy "was a safety valve, utilized and Senate this session, they did not Austin, is here discussing the effect of most by people who had problems adjust become law, resulting in a loss of federal housing design on human behavior. A ma ing to the undersea environment." funds for the state. "The state of Texas," jor theme is privacy and territory in rela Helmreich tentatively concludes: "If you says Talmage, "will lose $IO million in tion to mental health, specifically the can intertwine meaningful vocational federal money the first year." (And due to strength of the individual "ego" or "sense space and living space, the absolute value a 40-year contract system integral to the of self' or "identity." The subject gains of the living space becomes less impor HUD Section 8 program, it will actually importance the further we move, tant." lose $400 million.) societally, from the single-family dwelling Of course, not everyone enjoys an ego ·other interests and projects of TDCA's as housing norm to the "higher-density" supportive occupation. "The guy who Housing Division include: recommenda modes of triplex, "garden apartment," and works on an assembly line putting the left tions for a model state building code, high-rise - classic forms of a developed front wheelnut on a car every 15 seconds energy conservation, and research. Con urban environment. has no sense of identity in his work-life cerning the latter, Talmage's office has es It is generally assumed, for example, and may find his only identity in his little tablished a Building Materials Assistance that population density is a prime factor in turf with the fence around it." Still, says Testing Laboratory which will soon issue social disorders like drug addiction and Helmreich, " I think it's probably wrong to its first two reports: one on glass, juvenile crime. Helmreich asks: " In going say that identity has to come from housing. especially pertaining to safety standards, to the dense urban environment, what pro The problem in our society is that we are and one comparing glass with masonry as visions will there be for pulling the kid blocking off other means of achieving a building material in the Texas eco away to a private space which he needs for identity." This is one reason for the ubi system. Talmage hopes to expand this developing his mind, his creativity? Will quitous "Cadillac in the ghetto." Such research function to include work on he and his peers just run in rat-packs day purchases, by people who can't afford house design, solar energy, planned unit and night?" them, are a manifestation of "adaptive developments, and housing construction behavior, avoiding mental illness," in the technology. absence of other forms of ego-satisfaction, Gerbil• and Blowfish either from work or from housing. Some ot I lclmrc1ch's answers are surpris Cultural Blaa ing. Based in part on a study he did for NASA of human behavior in extremely Helmreich thus finds "no basic health confined spaces (like diving bells) over or societal problems inherent in high extended periods of time ( 15 to 30 days), density living." As for the apparent con he now questions the omnipotence of "pri- tradiction between this finding and the July/August 1975 25 traditional American preference for pri vate single-family dwellings, Helmreich points toward cultural conditioning and media glorification in the service of a par ticular economic and ideological system. Historically, he says, "we've developed and transmitted a set of norms and one of them is about housing" - the middle-class suburban house which functions as a badge of success in a competitive society. "That whole attitude has to be re-ex amined." This is especially true in consequence of social changes which are virtually revolu tionizing our national way of life. One of these changes is the size and role-distribu tion of the average household. "In a ma jority of families," says Helmreich, "both husband and wife are working, but most of them have not recognized the implications of that for their dwelling-style. The far nung suburban singlc-fam1ly dwelling is a lot less practical for lam1lies where both husband and wile are working. The time demand alone in transporting children to their various destinations is enormous." Another change is the growing mobility of the American family. "One of the fallacies we may be falling into is the assumption that we're going to design this space and the family's going to live there for IO or 15 years - present averages sug gest something more like two years." Assuming that most Americans are thus destined for a higher-density living situa A~~ Eng,,_., C.,,tury A•E Contractor Hetvy C 8eck Company tion to which, for the most part, they are quite capable of adapting and even thriv ing in - what allowance should be made Louisiana Downs Race Track, Shreveport, Louisiana for the modicum of privacy or of "iden offers a new concept for thoroughbred parimutuel bet- tity- reinforcement" which their housing ting ...... but when it came to the selection of the steel ought still to provide them? "A lot of frame for the luxurious clubhouse/grandstand facility frustration with urban housing," says they didn't want to gamble! Helmreich, ..c o mes from its almost totalitarian nature. I move into an apart The job required the stability of a recognized fabricator ment building and I can't do a damn thing with the flexibility to deliver on a fast-track schedule. with it. rm caught up in some designer's idea of what is good for me. It may be In less time than was anticipated, Mosher delivered good for me, but 1f I want to screw it up, I 3600 tons of steel in time for the track to open its gates. need to feel I have the ability to do that." What Helmreich here implies is not so When you are operating on a fast-track schedule but much a sense of privacy as a sense of con you don't want to gamble ...... Mosher's track record trol. "If I were designing a high-density makes them the odds-on favorite. setting, rd shoot for a couple of major features: ( 1) the interior living space HOME OFFICE ANO PLANT would he maximally controllable by the 3910 Wash,n&ton Avt , Houston . resilient, whether he owns it or rents it.If c8> OTHER PLANTS ...,_ Dallas, Lubbock, San Antonio, he ,i..,nts to put the couch in the bathroom, - fflOSHER ShrtvtPOrt, T1ltr. he can: (2) l'J set up some kind of govern -- STEEL COMPANY ing sy,tcm tor the community, with input 1a,1iuters 11 steel si1n 1115 lrom the re,iJents, so they'd have a sense of control over the \etup," ~ A Trlnily lndu11,,., Comp1ny 26 Texas Architect Endangered Species Know WhatYour Design Will Cost Control your costs for construction projects. Establish budgets and compare systems Rescue Action at schematic, design development and In Cowtown final stages with If the haughty old Winfield Scott Home in Fort Worth somehow doesn't manage to complete cost be saved and restored, 1t won't be for lack estimates from: of interest, energy. or support from sym pathetic individuals and government agencies. The 1906-vintage mansion, designed by Fort Worth architect Marshall R . Sanguinet, is so con spicuously valuable as historic architec ture, and so familiar a feature of Cow town's heritage, that it has been listed by Quantity the National Registry of Historic Places, Classlc Style with applications pending to the Texas This would be viewed a cultural dis State Historical Commission and the Fort aster, because, according to Mrs. Ballard, Survey Worth Bicentennial Commission. the Scott Home is one of the only five Spearheading the campaign is a volun structures left standing in Fort Worth teer citizens' group called Save the Scott which offer significant glimpses into the Bureau, Home!, whose efforts arc coordinated by city's "cattle-baron" past. It is also a Mrs. J. J. Ballard. The group has worked superb and structurally solid example of valiantly since its inception two months the Georgian Revival architectural style ago. selling medallions and honorary for which, among other things, architect Inc. memberships, setting up booths at Sanguinet gained national prominence. festivals, and conducting events at the The house might be more accurately house. But the task before them is called the Waggoner-Wharton-Scott awesome. They have less than two months Home. It was built by cattle magnate W. left 111 which to raise the $300,000 being T. Waggoner for his daughter Electra (c.f. CdJl asked by the owners of the house, Girls' Electra, Texas). bride-to-be of A. B. Henry B Kerr Service League, Inc., of Fort Worth, who Wharton, another cattleman. For some Robert J Smith purchased the home 111 the 1940's as a liv reason yet to be clearly ascertained, the W illidm S Hdckney ing facility for underprivileged young Whartons moved out of the house in 1911 , (713) 222-8328 women. Should the fund-drive fall , the whereupon It was purchased and lavishly 2100 Trdv1s house (which has already been extensively re-appointed by still another gentleman Houston, Texds 77002 vandalized) will probably be sold to com cowboy. Winfield Scott, who died the mercial interests and demolished. same year. Encompassing some 11,000 July/August 1975 27 square feet of floor space, with another 2,100 in a "carriage house" behind, and completely surrounded by a brick wall, the mansion is "the largest of its period north of Austin and south of Oklahoma City." Among the uses planned for the Scott Museum, should it come to exist as such, is that of a kind of "pubJic park" for hundreds of elderly persons living in a high-rise apartment complex across Penn sylvania Avenue. It will also serve as an educational center for citizens, tourists, and students, as wel I as headquarters for efforts to develop the historic potential of other sites in Fort Worth. Mrs. Ballard has conveyed an urgent appeal for funds of any denomination. Checks and inquiries should be addressed to Save the Scott Home!, 1319 Ballinger, Fort Worth, Texas 76102. Turnaround in ENVIRONMENT LTD. Houston SHARES YOUR VIEWS IN CUSTOM-MADE FURNITURE. It is perhaps in the nature of their work For your home and office. 5701 Richmond Avenue. • d that people involved in historic preserva Houston, Texas (713) 784-1500 ennronmenl II • tion are more accustomed to defeat than triumph. Texas is a growth-oriented state, and many of its folk, its business interests, and its public officials have not been quick to grasp the importance of saving an old building from reduction to a parking lot or freeway or highrise. Because of this record of apathy and resistance, there is a particular relish to recent events in Harris County. First and most notable is the successful rescue of two old buildings on a block of SCULPTURER downtown Houston which had previously been slated as the site for a new annex to Creative Ideas For the Harris County Courthouse. The Pillot Building ( 1858), according to a note from Architectural Sculpture the Houston Chapter of AI A, "is the oldest three-story brick building stil l and Small Abstract Sculpture standing in Houston ... a rare example of an iron-front, pre-Civil War structure." for Home and Offic e Adjacent to Pillot is the Sweeney-Coombs- Sculptors Foundry and Gallery 13280 Murphy Road Stafford. Tezas 77477 713/499-4615 Pillot Building 28 Texas Architect Fredericks Building ( 1889), .. an architec Concerned citizens now hope that the turally significant late-Victorian structure county itself, along with corresponding combining various Italianate and Gothic agencies and business interests in Houston mottfs." The latter was designed by and elsewhere, will take a keener initiative George E. Dicke)'. a renowned Houston in these matters, instead of forcing c1t1zens architect of the period. to launch exorbitant and c~hausting emer gency offensives. Demolition Through Neglect It was the original intent of the Harris County Commissioners Court to demolish SPECIES BRIEFS Havea weekend affair. Sweeney-Coombs-Fredericks Building Tips House Transplant The quiet drinks by these buildings, and their salvation was Following a midnight bon ~·oyage allair. candlelight. The sweet, the result of unusually arduous and persis the centenarian Tip:. House tn Aul.tin was unhurried walks beneath tent efforts by the Harris County Heritage trucked to its new l~ation June I amidst Society, the Houston Chapter of AIA, and the flashing lights of police cars and uttltty the moon. Where has it others. Even after the county had agreed vehicles. The jubilant crowd which gone? Lost among the not to raze the buildings, there remained trooped along behind the house included broken water heaters and the threat of demolttion through neglect, members of the Austin Cit)' council and a crabgrass? Don't quit now for the old tenants had by then been grandson of the original owner, Walter -Hilton Inn's "Super evicted. Further pressure and reg1stratton Tips. who lives in New York. ProJeCt Weekend" Package is all of the buildings with the National Trust architect John Klem. of Bell. Klem and for H 1storic Preservation have now led to Hollman, said he thought the hou,e was you need. Friday night's an application by the county for re:.tora the large t ever moved tn Texas. $16.95 per person includes tion funds from the National Endowment The relocation was financed by your room, celebration for the Arts. Once restored, the buildings Franklin Savings Association. which plans champagne and two will stand on the opposite edge of a munic to restore the home to near-original con drinks. Saturday night, a ipal plaza from the new courthouse annex, dition and then to use 1t as a branch olltce. the design of which has of course been There were no serious mishaps along the dollar less per person substantially altered. Space in the build 33-block route. covers the room and a ings will be leased to sympathetic com bottle of wine. (Tax Palm-Goeth House Damaged by mercial tenants. Flames, Struck by Dispute included, tips not.) Huny Meanwhile, a block away on Main tiger-it's on a space Street, several historic structures on the A long-time neighbor of the Tips House, available basis. east side of Market Square have likewise the all-ma,onry Palm-Goeth residence, been spared after scrapping of a county was danrngec.J b) fire June 8. further crip plan for a two-block parking garage pling its pro,pccts for a rescue similar to Credit goes once more to the Heritage that which happened ,\long for the Tips Society and concerned supporters, who House. Lam.ir Savings As.,oc1at1on. which DALLAS are happy the Harris County Commis- owns the hlc)\..k ol l,inc.J where both ,truc HILTONINN 1oners Court has been willing to listen tures originally stoo Bumper Stickers Darr Equipment Co./ 0.111,, l..,...,... waco. wod>ta r.11,. r,.,.l,., B. 0. Holt Co./ eor .., Chrow • ,._• e,....,.,,.,. Vo<10,11. Au•su Pan "What started out as a joke has Holt Machinery Co./ s.. ••,..,.. A•st•• snowballed into a ~mall business," says Must1n1 Tractor & Equipment Co./""'"""· u c,,,,po• lull<••· e,,_, architect K. Patrick Renfro, of En Treanor Equipment Co./ A11o11... 04n,..-. West Tens Equipment/ wrollo·h-k v1rodynamics, Inc., in Dallas. Renfro had Rust Tractor/Cl ,,,.•• ,11,q ,Q ... r.,... ,,,..- printed a sticker for the bumper of his car ~ "'"•-,·'*"'-'•.,.~'.... c. which appealed to other motorists to "Support Your Local Architect". People started nagging him down on the street and waiting for htm 111 parktng lots to ask WHEN YOU DESIGN . . . where they could get the sticker. TSA President Dave Braden, who showed the *RESTAURANTS one-liner to an audience of 500 instant ad *CLUBS mirers, believes that "everybody in the *CAFETERIAS state is going to want one." To accommo date the demand, architect Renfro has es *APARTMENTS tablished KPR Enterprises, 2546 Sunset, *HOSPITALS Dallas, Texas 75211. The price is one dol lar. Award for Brochure SPECIFY THE BEST IN . . . Golemon & Rolfe Architects, of *ICE MAKERS Houston. have won an award tn the 1975 *ICE BINS world-wide compe11t1on of Aff1lrn1ed Ad verusing Agencies lnterna11onal at the an *SODA SYSTEMS nual meeting in Lancaster. Pa. *LIQUOR SYSTEMS The firm received a Golen Circle *ICE DISPENSERS award. the second highest category of recognition, for tts corporate brochure. The brochure 1s actually a "system" of Call or write publications- four separate brochures on "arious aspects of the firm's business packaged 111 a hardback btnder. It can be u,ed as a unit or in various combinations interstate distributors fmll~ to sutt the s11ua11on. INCORPORATED Frllldalrs Goodwin, Dannenbaum. Littman & --~· \\-1nglield, Inc. of Houston-Beaumont 1s 817 265-6226 Golemon & Rolfe's advertising and public 710 Highway 360 North Arlington, Texas 76011 rcla11ons agency. July/August 1975 31 collections are on the main floor; service functions are on the semi-recessed lower level. The richly detailed structure, which is made of poured-in-place concrete with infill panels of travertine, is surrounded on three sides by reflecting pools. One ANEW SYSTEM juror called it "the finest building I have AND SERVICE ever seen." FROM INDUSTRIAL OFFICE SUPPLY Kamrath Essay FOR THE PROFESSIONAL Houston architect Karl Kamrath, of INTHE MacKie and Kamrath, has contributed an ' ~ essay for Frederick Gutheim's recent FURNITURE INDUSTRY -'>< _.-:_ ' • I The 10S Contract Furniture book, In the Cause of Architecture Divison is oomposed (McGraw-Hill. 238 pp.). of a special group of The book, for the first time in one individuals organized to ,.,_, by G l'Mup Pool~ render services to publication, contains fourteen essays writ • Interior Designers AIA Award ten b} Frank Lloyd Wright for Architec • Architects Fort \\.orth"s Kimbell Museum. de tural Record between 1908 and 1952, • Dealers signed b} the late Louis Kahn, 1s one of Kamrath and seven other of Wright's nine huilding-, to rece1, e a I 975 AJA personal friends were asked to offer essays 1Purchasing , Honor A,,.ird. The Fort \\.'orth hrm of on their experiences with Wright and their Pn... ton M. Geren & A-.4,ociate<, collahor teeling!> about his contribution to Ameri Receiving: 9 ateJ \I, 1th Kahn a, ,\,~nci.1te Architect~. can culture through architecture and writ ,. Lcx.:,1tcd \\ ithtn a park ~ctting in the Cit}. ing. The book also contains numerous the mu,cum b made up of a !>Cries of top- reproductions of Wright's work, some of 1ightcd qclo1dal "aults designed to which are prev1ouSI} unpublished. 3Warehousing , diffuse the sunlight. .. The repetitive The book 1s available through Architec vaults." said the jur}, "give the building tural Record Bookshop. 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10020. ~.,, -t Make Ready, its form and its rh}thm1c quality." The @t")D elivery/Installation: Need A Model? Models of an Indian Village, Provide Supplemental Skyscrapers, Shopping Centers, Technical Wort< To Parks, Miniature Machinery and Others () Overall Objectives: Stationary, Animated, or Mechanical Models Research For Suitable Product: We Excel in Translating 7 Your Design into a Completed Scale Model Need a Model Cover? lnDUSTllla DffKE SUPPLY Plexiglas Cover or Bubble. DI Complete Turn-Key Model with Cover Con 1rac1 furn11urt' Group 1 H SOal.: l.i"n, D.illa,. Te1 Bowers Plastics, Inc. 1110 North Ave., U, Lubbock, Texas 79417 P.O. Box 5457, 806/763-5925 32 Texas Architect Featured Speaker Wilson Stoeltje Martin and is currently a TSA Director. Austin architect William Martin was recently a featured speaker at a con Brooks Honored by AIA ference on "Creative Uses of Educational U.S. Rep. Jack Brooks, of Texas, was Facilities" at the Massachusetts Institute elected to honorary membership in AJA at We definitely of Technology in Cambridge, co-spon the national convention May 18-27 in sored by Educational Facilities Laborato Atlanta. He is one of ten persons outside do not recommend ries, Inc., of New York. the profession to be recognized in 1975 this procedure. The title of Martin's presentation was for "distinguished contributions to the "Campus Planning, Energy and the En architectural profession or to the allied vironment." Excerpts of the meeting will arts and sciences." Brooks is the author of be published by EFL and distributed na a bill which prohibits competitive bidding . tionally among colleges and universities. on architectural and engineering projects ~ - .... Martin is a partner in the Austin firm of under federal contract. Mechanical fastening and joint taping had Just been completed on this six-acre root before work was suspended tor six weeks due to rain and snow. The U.1.1. 100 GF panels did not absorb moisture or allow moisture to penetrate to the deck below. Alter a brlet drying out period, work re sumed, and the roofer did not have to replace a tingle panel. This example not withstanding, we recommend thal lnsula· lion be dried In eech day aller Installation. U.1.1. 100 GF roofing Insulation our way. panels combine a rigid core of closed-cell urethane foam We're craftsmen. Genuine craftsmen who do with asphalt saturated, non our best to make every job the best it can be. woven glass felt that Is Im pervious to moisture. And we deliver it on time. Ask around in the industry. We think you'll like what you hear about Coerver specialists in • Architectural Woodworking • Ele\'ator Cabs Cdnserving Energy Through Better lnsul01ion • Wall Coverings URETHAne INDUSTR IES INC COERVER INDUSTRIES. INC. 3311 Elm Street • Dallas, Texru. 75226 • (214) 744-52 I I 3626 Binz-Engelmann Road Texal> WATS 1-800-492-4266 San Antonio, Texas 78219 (512) 224-2741 July/August 1975 33 IN HOUSTON -Only- News of Firms Kenneth A. M iller is now a partner in the one-year-old firm. M iller began his pro T he Dallas firm of Hatfield-Holcomb, fession in Da llas in 1963. OST 8/. C Inc., has announced that James H. Stewart, Parkhill, Smith & Cooper, Inc., and its Hand makes "to order" Jr., has become a principal of the firm . affiliate, Atcheson, Cartwright & Associ one-of-a-kind Other principals are: Norman P. Hatfield, parquet furnishings. ates, have relocated their offices to 40 10 Jr. and Jerry L. H alcomb. Avenue R in Lubbock, 7941 2. Each piece signed Clarence H iggins, Gus Pellati, Pedro Bud Hopkins, President of the Dallas and numbered. Herrera and John Carson have announced firm Envirodynamics, Inc., has been ap the formation of the firm of Higgins poi nted to the Citizen's Advisory Commit Pellati Herrera and Carson, Architects, tee of the Texas Coasta l Management Pro Engineers, Urban Planners, at 3901 Mon gram. Committee members will be called tana Avenue in El Paso. upon to make po licy recommendations The Dallas firm of Bogard / O'Brien / and criticisms of the Program fo r the Haldeman / Miller has announced that d uration of the two-year planning process. Cotklail tables, Oe,k\, Sofa tables, la11atorie,. Game table,, Bartop\, Dining table,. 'IIWI N ()l)IJt't t"t\'l11 '0U 10'1~11 cx,e SHOP and SHOWROOM :l'>O'> S. SHEPHERD 77019 526-3434 -CUSTOM FLOORI NG ALSO- 34 Texas Architect Energy Conference School of Engineering and Applied Industry News Science. University ot V1rgmia. The lnsmute of Urban Studies (Center It is entt1led, .. Proceedings of the Mulhauser/ McCleary Associatci., tor Energy Policy Studies) and the School Workshop on Solar Heating and Cooling Houston-based food facility design and of Architecture & Environmental Design of Buildmgs:· and was sponsored h} the operations con!>ultants. have announced t UT Arltngton are sponsoring a four-day National Science Foundation The that Frankltn J Clement!> has Jotned the tonference entitled .. Alternatives in y.;orkshop was held 111 Washmgton June firm as Director of Project Coordination. Energy Conservation: The Use of Earth 17-19, 1974. Prior to joining the firm, Clements oper Covered Buildings." Copies may be ordered from the ated his offices 111 Los Angeles as a de!>1gn The conference . .,.. hich is supp<>rted by publication division of ASHRAE. 345 and planning con~ultant spcc1.tltzing 111 111- he National Science Foundation. begms East 47th Street, Ney.; York. N.Y 10017 du\trtal and 111!,titutional lood service \\'llh registration at noon Wednesday July For AS HRAE member!. the charge 1!> fal.tl1ties. 9 and ends at noon Saturday July 12. A $7.50 plus a handling fee of !:, 1 00; for registration fee of $75 mcludes three dm non-members. the charge 1s S 12.50 plus ners and a copy of the conference pro handling. Pa}ment. including the handltng ceedmgs. fee, should be submitted with the order. Address mquiries to: Frank Moreland, Director. Center for Energy Policy Studies. UT Arlmgton. 76019. phone 817-273-3071. ARCHITECT'S ASHRAE Publication A publication which brings together re HOT-LINE cently completed National Science Foun dation-sponsored research on solar heat mg and cooling has Just been issued by the American Society of Heat1ng. Refngerat TOLL mg, and A1r-Cond1t1onmg Engmeer . Inc. FREE! 800 (ASHRAE), and the Department of Mechanical and Chemical Engineers, PHONE 492-6766 r ------, NOW! Theres a ROACH PAINT STORE near you DALLAS RlchardM)fl Paint Cenlar, 31• Spe,,,111 Village. Oak Clill. !>/7 G, odo.tn Tr "'ljlt Sllopp,ng Center Grove. 8726 Lai MILLER BLUE PRINT CO. 501 Wl:ST SIXTH ST Phone (214) 748-9421 • 1306 River Street AUaTtN TUAS 78767 SINCE 1934 PHONE 512 / 478-8793 DALLAS. TEXAS 76202 L------~M AIL ADD Box 2065 uly/August 1975 35 Letters STEWAI\T OFFICE SUPPLY en. Editor: Having Just received my first copy of your magazine which features the work of the 64th Legis TEXAS' LEAIH G en TI\ACT IJEALEI\ lature, I am prompted to respond as your enclosed letter hoped your readers might. FOi\ C0\1MEI\CIAL 11 TEI\IOI\S One thing of which I as a student of architecture have become aware - perhaps the very root of the problems which concern this profession - is the Offering these full services propert} tax. most of which tails on buildings and other improvements Since this 1s a subJect for rcv1- to the Professional: s1on in the leg1slature, I wonder wh} 1t was not dis cussed 111 th is issue. The proposed solution is to shift to the site-value Procurement & Expediting tax. I began my inquiry into site-value, ie., land-value Showroom Facilities taxation several years ago on reading something by Frank Lloyd Wright: "What hope exists for proper stimulation of the great architecture of a great life Delivery Installation while owners of land hold all man-made improve ments on the land against the man on his land, in Continuing Service ,tead of man-made improvements holding the land?" Researching this, I found the remedy to be m uptax Product Research ing land and untaxing buildings and other improve ments. (The chief disseminator of information on the Survey Analysis subJect I have learned is the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation of New York Cit) ..) Warehousing Such a tax has been found to have a profoundly favorable effect on the quality of buildings and the Make-Ready use of unused or underused metropolitan land. It stimulates good planning and helps make slum and Budgeting blight practically impossible by encouraging rather than penalizing property owners for improving and Receiving maintaining good, well-designed buildings. Therefore all the problems you mentioned - energy, transportation. land-management, environment and historic structures - will not only be alleviated but perhaps solved by sue-value taxation. Present tax structures in Texas penalize the 1m provers of land ( unconstitutionally) while sub sidizing the land owner who holds land against im provements. out of production and m idle specula tion. Few seem to realize the detrimental effect this has on the whole community, but I think they are beginning to ... when they think about 1t. What role the architect shall take in this matter may wel I be the best test of his sense of "social responsibility" (mentioned on page 19 of the March April issue of Texas Architect); but certainly 1t deserves the attention of the leaders of the profes sion. I hope your publication will give it the attention It deserves. Douglas Boyd Odessa Nothing we say about our tile can tell you as much as this photo. Tak r photo in 10 years n II ven more beautiful. We could dNcrlbe what goa Into San Yalle genuine clay tile-the ingredients and the proc:111-and explain how well it insulates and protects. But you choose a roofing ,material primarily on the basis of aesthetics. And that's where San Valle tile's,,.,,,,.,,.,,, beauty becomes a deciding factor. ~ wouldn't settle for a poor aubatltute. VVould you? 41-crio H ,. M, omes, M .., saion v,0JO Co on V1e,o, Ca,u fflP1ny • Arc•/ ~rn/a "rec,, R •o Mo/rz, A •aoc,.,,, "" No. H;...... San'Vai,e~ ''LE TH venue Lo I< IL E NATION·s L • $ Ange/es C I Ns AAcesr PAo . a ,forn,a 90028 ( OUCEA OF GENUtN • 213) 464-7289 E CLAY AOOFING PAoo uc-s ------..._ Editor: I enjoyed reading your May/June issue and we at NOW OR NEVER are particularly grateful for the fine story on the "Little Thicket." The Wilderness Park Project so far is going well. The Capital Area Planning Council has completed an application from Travis County and the City of Austin for matching Bureau of Outdoor Recreation funds for the acquisition of I OS acres the fi rst year of a three-year land acquisition program. Austin's Parks and Recreation Department has $175,000 for Wild Basin in the CIP budget request for the current budget year. Mrs. Dolph Briscoe has given the park her enthusiastic endorsement, and will help in any way she can. The Environmental Conservancy for Austin and Central Texas has established an account to receive donations for the park fund, three West Lake Hills residents have donated $7,450, and the McAshan Foundation of Houston has sent us $1000. We are planning on donations of land and/or money to bring the land acquisition up to 400 acres over a three-year period. Mrs. Janet Poage -- •"- ~ .~II(~ 1" • - , .. Austin ~ ~ • ·, •. ,. • . # .. _... ' ~ .; . . .. - . Editor: I had occasion to see your May/June 1975 SRP 51, SOUTHLAND'S CASE - 72 ·74 edition containing excellent articles on one of our pet american standard bronze subjects - comprehensive land use planning. As you THE SOUTHLAND CORPORATION, Dallas probably know, the League of Women Voters of Texas studied and adopted very strong positions con FISHER & SPILLMAN ARCHITECTS cerning this subject. ASSOCIATED ART CONSULTANTS Lucinda Headrick League of Women Voters H.J.BOTT Dickinson Editor: Your article on the eight new Texas Fellows in the May-June issue of Texas Architect pleased represented by everybody here and we appreciate your skillful han d Iing of the subject. Thomas E. Greacen Loft-on-Strand Houston 1 2118 ;2 Strand Editor: We recently had the privilege of reading your galveston island Texas Architect and enjoyed it very much. VINCENT MANN GALLERY T. L. Wilson Evelyn Wilson Interiors 331 Chartres new orleans BULK RATE Texas U.S POSTAGE Architect PAID 800 PERRY-BROOKS BLD 8 AUSTIN. TEXAS AUSTIN, TEXAS 78701 PERMIT NO 2772