Docomomo US National Symposium 2014: Modernism in Texas

The Chapel of St. Basil, designed by Philip Johnson in 1997, on the University of St. Thomas campus in Houston. Photo by Kelly Little. 

Fans of Modern architecture flocked to Texas this March for the second annual Docomomo US National Symposium.  The symposium, which took place at the Philip Johnson-designed University of St. Thomas, examined Modernism's legacy and considered its future in Houston and throughout the country.  The conference was co-hosted by our friends at Houston Mod.

Charles Peveto, President of Mid Tex Mod, with
Liz Waytkus, Executive Director of Docomomo US. 

The symposium kicked off with a chapter forum at the Brutalist-style Alley Theatre in downtown Houston.   Leadership from Docomomo US chapters throughout the country came together to discuss issues facing their organizations including general chapter operations, the challenges of building membership, and the importance of social media.  The forum was followed by a walking tour of downtown Houston and a kick-off reception.  Friday and Saturday were filled with an impressive series of presentations by leading architectural historians, archivists, architects, preservationists, and educators about Modern architecture and preservation.  Specific topics ranged from Texas Modernism, the current state of preserving Modern buildings, the ground-breaking work of architectural archivists, and the challenge of preserving the ephemeral.  The symposium provided a national audience of Modern enthusiasts the chance to see many of the significant Modern resources we have here in Texas:  attendees learned about the work of O’Neil Ford at San Antonio’s Trinity University, the Superdome, the El Paso Public Library, radical Architect/Artist Doug Michels and his art agency Ant Farm, and how Modern architects dealt with the abundance of sunlight and heat here in Texas.  The sessions were followed by a bus tour of Modern Houston.

More information about the symposium is available on the Docomomo US website at http://www.docomomo-us.org/news/thats_a_wrap_houston.  

Mid Tex Mod would like to thank Docomomo US and Houston Mod for organizing the symposium, and we join Docomomo in recognizing the sponsors, supporters, and volunteers who worked to make the event a resounding success: AIA Houston, Debner and Company, DSGN, Kuhl-Linscomb, Lantz Architects, Minnette Boesel Properties, Mitsubishi Electric, Susan Vaughan Foundation, SWCA, Texas Architect, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, University of St. Thomas, the Menil Collection, Brochsteins, and the Alley Theatre. 

Stay tuned for the next Docomomo US National Symposium, planned for June 3-7, 2015 in Minnesota. 

Attendees toured Rothko Chapel before an evening reception at the Menil Collection. Photo by Kelly Little.

Mid-century Modern: It’s About Time

Seminar by the San Antonio Conservation Society

Friday, May 4, 2012

AIA- San Antonio Center for Architecture

200 East Grayson Street

Located in the Pearl Full Goods Building

Mid-century modern (1930’s to 1970) architecture and design is coming of age in San Antonio. As part of National Preservation Month, the San Antonio Conservation Society is convening a half-day seminar, with optional bus/walking tour, to heighten awareness of this dynamic period in San Antonio’s architectural history. By engaging organizations and institutions with a common interest in this period and with an audience of design professionals, students, and laypersons alike, the goal is to weave the history of mid-twentieth century design into the

tapestry of San Antonio’s past as well as its future.

All events begin at the AIA-San Antonio Center for Architecture. Free parking is available in the Koehler Garage on Level 3 and above. Enter the Pearl complex off East Grayson Street and follow signs to the garage.

More information

O'Neil Ford's Campus Architecture: A Sense of Home and Place

By Isabel Howard

Not long ago, in a conversation with a friend, I mentioned the architect O’Neil Ford and the fact that he had built my grandmother’s house, my high school, the university across from my house, and the church in which my grandmother’s funeral was held. My friend looked at me seriously and said, “O’Neil Ford is the architect of your life.”

This couldn’t be more true – O’Neil Ford is the architect of my life, and a fairly great portion of my time, throughout my four years at Middlebury College, has been spent attempting to understand why. When I arrived at Middlebury, after having spent a gap semester in Texas and Mexico, thoughts of my high school wouldn’t leave my mind. I consigned my feelings to nostalgia – a normal state of mind, I thought, considering my distance from home. It wasn’t long, however, until I realized that it wasn’t just the people that I missed – it was the place. My mind would go back to the outdoor courtyards with their hard wood benches and the low walls surrounding those courtyards. I thought about the small fist-size stones that were set to pave the mini courtyard where the benches were, and I thought about the way that the irregular paving stones, round on top, would cause the soles of our shoes to bend over the rocks we balanced on them. My mind went back to the way the library scanner’s dinging would bounce off the gleaming, cold tiles on the library floor. Yes, I missed many parts of high school – the teachers, the friends – but most of all, I missed the place.

It didn’t take much time – just four months of being removed from Texas– for me to realize that this place was unique – that my school, Saint Mary’s Hall, was a school not like many others. I realized that I talked about my school in a different way than the way in which my friends spoke of theirs. My school wasn’t just a place – it was a home.

Ford’s ability to make a home environment within a school setting began with his work on Trinity University during the campus’ move from Seguin to San Antonio in 1949. Trinity’s new campus, like that of Saint Mary’s Hall, was built on an empty (and at that time) rural site. In the case of Trinity, the site was an old quarry, the tallest part of which gave striking views of downtown. The dorms, which maximize the use of such a natural site, give students the best access to views, to nature, and to each other. One cliff in particular, between the student center and the easternmost dorms, creates a natural grotto of vines and trees through which a stream runs over mossy, shaded rocks and into shallow moss-filled pools.

I grew up just around the corner from Trinity and have many memories of riding my bike on the campus trails. As I grew older, I realized there was much about the campus still to be discovered. In high school, after my tennis practices on the Trinity courts, I would walk around the campus for hours and peek into empty buildings, which were dark with age and cool from the tile floors. Outside, after my way through one breezeway and then another, I would step out onto the neighborhood streets and make my way back home.

In 1949, Ford was directed by consulting architect William Wurster at Trinity, “Get rid of all this anonymous Texas space. Bring the buildings close together. Create significant spaces.” Looking at the Trinity campus now, one can see that Ford put Wurster’s advice to use. Each aspect of the campus, from the brick-walled, tile-floored buildings to the small courtyards and gathering spaces, comes together to ensure that Trinity is a school that truly feels like home.

Isabel Howard is from San Antonio and recently graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in History of Art and Architecture. The blog entry above was a partial excerpt from her thesis, At Home in the Campus Architecture of O’Neil Ford.

More about the upcoming O'Neil Ford Symposium

Ford Symposium to Honor Architect of Trinity University

Daylong seminar to explore the legacy of O'Neil Ford, influence on other campus designs

SAN ANTONIO - Scholars and architects from across the United States will gather at Trinity University on Saturday, Feb. 18 to discuss the ground-breaking designs of Trinity's primary architect, O'Neil Ford, and explore his legacy and influence on other educational institutions.

The daylong seminar O'Neil Ford and the Future of Trinity, will provide a forum to review the work of one the most important modern architects in Texas and to explore ways of honoring his legacy at Trinity. Speakers will examine Ford's work at Trinity in relation to education, history, and other Texas campuses as well as to mid-century American modernism.

The symposium will also explore new approaches to landscape architecture, campus planning, and the reuse of mid-century buildings. A panel discussion with San Antonio architects and a tour of several of Ford's buildings at Trinity will conclude the day.

Ford had a 33-year association with Trinity, beginning in 1948, that included consultations with landscape architects Arthur and Marie Berger. In departing from the established, familiar patterns of campus designs at the time, Ford placed the landscape first and emphasized pedestrian movement through modestly-scaled spaces. In so doing, he honored the collegiate tradition of the eighteenth-century picturesque Enlightenment landscape in England. The result was to link the development of the mind and self with the process and experience of walking in planned landscapes.

Kathryn O'Rourke, assistant professor of art and art history at Trinity and symposium organizer, said the University's greatest assets are its campus and its faculty. "Both transform students and are among the only elements of a Trinity education that students can't take away when they leave," she said, adding that the campus and faculty "define the Trinity experience and linger in the memory long after graduation."

O'Rourke added, "Ford's buildings at Trinity, together with the landscape, convey a strong sense of place." She highlighted his distinctive design elements as an innovative and cost-efficient lift-slab construction system, landscaping filled with hearty native plants, and repeated patterns, elements, materials, and forms that create a coherent campus deeply connected to the city and land.

As Trinity enters its next 60 years at the "Skyline Campus," O'Rourke said the symposium will enable scholars "to reflect on Ford's work and consider ways of using the principles that defined his campus to shape it further in support of study, scholarship, and service in the 21st century."

Ford valued:

· The importance of place and distinctive characteristics rooted in local history

· The integrity and economic use of construction techniques, expressions, and materials

· The engagement with architectural history

· An urban fabric that is "walk-able" and "live-able," with cities shaped for people, not cars

· The historic preservation and care of the landscape

· Education, community, and equality

· Environmental sustainability

The symposium will begin with a continental breakfast at 8:30 a.m. in the foyer of the Chapman Center on the Trinity campus. Speakers, lunch, and the tour are included in the $20 registration fee. To register, click here.

Modern from a Young Photographer's Perspective

These gorgeous architectural images were taken by young photographer, Catherine Braden (age 10) on a tour of mod in San Antonio.

Read more about the tour.