The Octagon House will be preserved 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Th e Octagon House, Washin gton, D. C., a National II istoric Landmark. The delegates to the 1966 Convention of the for its national headquarters. It was designed by Dr. American Institute of Architects voted to sell the William Thornton, who had previously won the com­ Octagon Hous e and its adjacent gardens to the Amer­ petition for the design of the national capitol. Fol­ ican Institute of Architects Foundation. Th e purpose lowing th e burning of the White House by the in­ for the sale is two-fold: 1 ) to provide a means , through vading British on August 24, 1814, the Octagon the tax-free Foundation, of restoring and refurbishing became the residence of President and Mrs. Jam es the Octagon Hous e; the house will then be main­ Madi son. tained as an historic, architectural landmark dedicated To effect this directive of its members, the Amer­ by the profession as a public monument; 2 ) to pro­ ican Institute of Arch itects must raise $963,000. Th e vide funds to the AlA for the purchase of adjacent goal has not yet been reached . Th e need is still there. property for the construction of a new headquarters the campaign continues. Th e editors of MA urge building. all AlA members who hav e not yet taken the oppor­ Built in 1798-1800, the Octagon Hous e was pur­ tunity to contribute, to contact their chapter officers chas ed by the American Institute of Architects in 1899 and fill out a pledge card NOW. o 0 0 0 and a new Headquarters Building will be built. A new design for a $4 million headquarters about $675,000. Another motive in calling for a new building on an expan ded site in Washington , D; C. design was to increase the size of the Octagon garden. was unveiled at the recent ann ual convention of the The revised design increases the floor space from American Institute of Architects. 70,000 sq. ft. to 130,000 sq. ft. This will provide office The archi tects, Mitche ll-Ciurgola Associat es, won space in excess of current Institute needs, but it will the original design competition for a new head­ be rented to provide additional incom e until the quarters building. Subsequent to the competition, space is required for Institu te usc. the Institute decided to expand its site by acquiring Above the two-story exhibit and conference the adjacen t Lemon Building propert y at a cost of area at ground level, each of the successive five floors 10 NMA July· August 1967 proj ects forward over the space of the garden. The architects said that this transposes the building alignment from the property lines to a line perpendicular to the main axis of the Octagon. "The proj ecting configuration of the building that results from this trans­ position mak es the space of the garde n. develops th e maximum area for the ga rde n, and shields each floor from the direct rays of the sun to the southwest," the architects said. Th ey not ed that be­ cause the office floors are set back from the rear of the site, the introduction of natural light onto each floor from the northeast is achieved. Th e new headquarters building will be a seven-story, reinforced concr ete building. Exterior wall s will be faced with brick relating to the brick of the Octagon hou se, NEWS FLASH ! ! ! ! ! - In he midd le of the press run fur Ago"', It oppeors that des.ens which must be cleared by layers thiS Issue of NM A, news was received that the F"' e Ar ts Cornrrussron o <ornrmt tees can only survive If they are SAFE, and too of en thiS of Wa shington, D C has rejected the proposed AlA Headquarters means mediocre Advances In architectural thought are very rarely, des.en Approval by the Commission IS necessary before construction If ever, al lowed to poss through these censonno committees can begin The solutio n proposed by Mltchell/ Giurgola, Archit ects IS certai nly SO ld FAC member Gordon Bunshof t, FAI A of the new design mterestino and Imaginative W hrle I, personally, have some reserva­ " The concept IS torc llv out of scale With the eXisting burldrnqs and, tions and questions about the proposed desiqn, I would li ke to especially, the total concept makes the exist.no bui lding (Oct ooon see It burl Hause I look like a tOY." - The Octa gon House looking like a toy - Balderdash' -JPC NMA July · August 1967 11 OUR 31ST YEAR CLIMATE DESIGNING Ladies fall in love PAINT FOR THE SOUTHWEST with our HAN lEY 'S and the ~:fj;~\ Quality Hardware Lines COLOR EWWOIU.D GUILD '.. : L' • •• 0 .. ..• •• "-J OJ: COLoR Schlage · AJAX CABINET HARDWARE IN ARCHITECTURAL · LCNDOOR CLOSERS QUALITY PAINTS · K&VSHELF HARDWARE AVAILABLE AT SUNFOl: i'~' AMBASSADOR 1881 1967 PANY HANLEY PAINT FG. CO., INC. EL PASO, TEXAS ALBUQUERQ UE PH. 532-6921 NEW MEXICO 3825 Ed ith, N.E . Ph on e 345 -2 511 755-9821 PH. 265-1524 ••• • •••••••• • •••• • • •• • •• • •• • • • • • • , • , . • • COMING SOON: • • A NEW LINE OF • • • • CREATIVE CONCRETE • • • • PRODUCTS • under the new name of • • • • • • • • • • • Ston~ • • AG • : ALBUQUERQUE GRAVE L PRQDUCTS COMPANY : FEATHERLITE TILE COMPANY P. O. Box 489, Erskine Rd. AGP LUBBOCK, TEXAS 79408 Phone 809 & PO -3.8202 • • • • • • ••••••••••••••••••••••• 1 2 NMA July· August 1967.