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Developing a Design Theory: the Abend Singleton Story David Sachs Kansas State University

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Developing a Design Theory: the Abend Singleton Story David Sachs Kansas State University DEVELOPING A DESIGN Theory: THE ABEND SINGLETON Story david sachS Kansas State University Figure 2. Clay County Annex, Kansas City, MO (1980) BACKGROUND Figure 1. Paul Hamilton Office Building, Kansas City, Mo (1968) First, it must be acknowledged that Abend Singleton’s achieve- INTRODUCTION ments grew from the partners’ personal sensibilities and motiva- tions. Abend and Singleton were remarkably different people, with This paper is part of a larger study on the work of celebrated late strangely complimentary attitudes and abilities. Steve was driven 20th century kansas city architects steve abend and crichton (kite) by an unbending determination for excellence, and a pressing de- singleton. It will explore the principles and practices that enabled sire for peer validation. He brought relentless, passionate, inspira- abend singleton to remain in the forefront of the profession from tional, and sometimes infuriating energy to the work of the office. 1967, when they began their work together, until 2011, when abend’s final project was completed.1 Through their forty years of Crichton was equally driven, but by a different muse. He felt deep practice Abend Singleton was able to produce a remarkable body social obligations. For him, architecture was a means to better the of work that changed with the times, but also exhibited a remark- world. He, for example, brought consistent concern for energy con- able underlying consistency; it flirted with, without surrendering to servation to his work. Steve and Crichton were drawn together by seductive Post-modern excesses, and it managed to be both timely the respect they had for each other as individuals and by the depth and timeless. This paper tries to understand the values, principles, of their respective convictions. These convictions provided a kind and practices that allowed Abend Singleton to gracefully weather of gyroscope that helped the firm maintain its balance when faced the challenges of changing times. The paper discusses three kinds with difficult choices or uncertain options. of factors which helped to guide the firm and its work: Second, Steve Abend and Crichton Singleton’s educations provided 1. the expectations and aspirations the principals brought to the them with a broad-minded and flexible view of architecture. As stu- undertaking, dents at Washington University in St. Louis they were both indoctri- 2. the firm’s evolving work habits and organizational structure, nated with principles of mainstream International Style Modernism, and notably that buildings could and should reflect their construction 3. recurring formal themes and patterns of judgment. and use. From their respective visiting thesis advisors, Aldo Van Eyck and Balkrishna Doshi, they learned, in different ways, about 107 - 2012 ACSA International Conference PRACTICE I how cultural issues and values could and should influence contem- PRACTICE porary architecture. The second set of factors that helped to guide Abend Singleton’s Third, Both Steve and Crichton had other powerful educational ex- work had to do with the ways that Steve and Crichton were able to periences that tempered the lessons learned at Washington Univer- apply their early lessons in practice. Their ideals were tempered sity. Steve went on to graduate school at the University of Pennsyl- and forged through the rigors of practice. Steve and Crichton began vania where he participated in Louis Kahn’s masters studio. More their work together as interns in the office of Kivett & Myers, the than anything else, Steve was impressed by Kahn’s dogged and un- leading architectural design firm in Kansas City in the post WW II compromising efforts to understand and then express the essential era. The experience gave them a common model of practice and a nature of each design challenge. Steve became convinced that an consistent set of standards. architect should give a client not only what they wanted and need- ed, but also more than they were able to imagine. Ian McHarg’s First, as with Kivett & Myers, Abend and Singleton chose to share course in landscape architecture, Edmund Bacon’s course in ur- support infrastructure, but for the most part, the partners worked ban planning, and Robert Venturi’s course in architectural history on different projects, simply “supporting one another as friends and opened Steve’s eyes to the power and potential of architecture. colleagues.”4 Despite the informality of their collaborative strate- gies, the projects led by one partner were, with only a few excep- For his part, Crichton had fallen in love with architecture at Prince- tions, virtually indistinguishable from those led by the other. So it ton University, prior to commencing his studies at Washington Uni- would seem that Steve and Crichton’s desire to please one another, versity. Although he had not gone to Princeton with the intention of and their employees’ desire to please them both, was a steadying studying architecture, Crichton was caught up in “one of those rare force within the firm. windows of time in architectural schools, where a convergence of faculty, students and events sparked a period of inspiration, inten- Second, again like Kivett & Myers, which had a reputation as the sity, and innovation.”2 Crichton came to appreciate architecture as finest post-graduate school in the region, Abend Singleton hired the moral force, as a means to not only enhance the built environment, best young architectural talent they could find. When they found a but also as a vehicle for human empowerment. Crichton was also person they wanted, they hired him or her, regardless of whether or touched by Louis Kahn as an intern in Balkrishna Doshi’s office not they had work in the office to support the hire. and, like Steve, admired Kahn’s passion for architecture. Then, third, they would put the new employee in a position to con- Steve and Crichton emerged from their educational experiences as tribute to success of the firm. Steve asserted that “every project enlightened modernists, who were deeply grounded in the idealistic that went through the office was the result of a collaboration be- imperatives of modernism, but who could also see real validity in tween a younger person and an older person”, normally a principal.5 the emerging challenges to narrowly defined modernist dogma. In And while Steve and Crichton had different ways of working, they short, they were committed to making uniquely appropriate build- each were able to draw-out ideas from their younger colleagues, ings that would. make a real difference in peoples’ lives. They and make them feel as though they shared in the authorship of the chose to believe, as Louis Kahn suggested, they could discover an work.6 Perhaps more than anything else, the involvement of young essential defining idea or “form” for each project that could be designers helped the firm’s work remain contemporary, as new grad- nurtured to life through a “design” process that accommodated the uates anxious to explore current trends were given the opportunity unique circumstances of each site and each client.3 They went forth to contribute to projects. with confidence in their abilities to produce sound and practical buildings that could also spark dreams and enhance communities. Fourth, the office was organized to allow the younger contributor to a design team to stay with a project as it moved through all the stages of the work. This not only allowed the young person to learn a wide range of skills, it also brought continuity to the job, so crucial design ideas were not forgotten but were nurtured and enriched, even as others joined the development team Fifth, the office was able to maintain it’s essential order and values even as the firm began to take on more and bigger projects. As the firm grew to a maximum size of almost 60 people Steve and Crichton, as well as others in the firm were forced to take on more specialized responsibilities.7 Despite the growing complexities of the operation, Abend Singleton’s commitment to the quality of ev- Figure 3. Kansas History Center, Topeka, KS (1988) ery project never waivered. CHANGE, Architecture, Education, Practices - Barcelona - 108 DEVELOPING A DESIGN Theory Sixth, so even on large jobs where people were brought in to help This flexibility of approach can be seen, first, in the rationale they manage or detail the project, the designers maintained control of the employed in seeking commissions. They looked for jobs where cli- project. Everyone involved in the project was expected to think like ents would appreciate the “something extra”8 they hoped to provide. a designer, and make design quality the highest priority, even in the They preferred institutional projects where the architects’ efforts smallest details, and even if it impacted the schedule or the budget. could promote the public good, rather than private and particularly speculative projects, where the economic bottom line discouraged Seventh, projects were developed in a strategic fashion in a way unconventional thinking. But they also followed as fate led them. For that maximized the impact of the design decisions. Design energy example, their experience on public buildings led them into a spe- and scarce financial resources were concentrated in places that cialization in the design of law enforcement facilities, including jails were highly visible, and were employed in a way that reinforced the central design intentions. Second, the “something extra” that Abend Singleton hoped to pro- vide took a variety of forms that might be best described as being the art of architecture. Steve in particular was a connoisseur of art and a careful observer of the art world. He observed that an artist’s success was bolstered by his or her ability to “tell a story” about his or her work.9 Through is own work, Steve could sense how a narrative could both provide useful guidance in the development of the project, and a powerful tool in helping others understand and appreciate a design proposal.
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