Texas Architect

"Natural Beauty"

EIGHT MILES SOUTH of Falfurrias lies a large oak mott, home to some 1,000 trees, all constrained by the divided north and south lanes of U.S. Highway 28 I. The 12.5-acre site, which housed an existing rest area, is considered by many a gateway to the Lower Rio Grande Valley. It is also home to the Brooks County Safety Rest Area (TA, March/ April 1998), which won unanimous praise as the jury favorite in the 1998 Texas Society of Architects Design Awards program for its careful details, controlled imagery, and serene peacefulness. The project, designed by Richter Associates Architects of Corpus Christi, is a testament to the power of intricate details and common materials when combined with a sensitive approach to public architecture; juror Cal Lewis, FAIA, said the project was "clearly the best we saw. [It is] of national quality that would stand up with any piece of architecture in any awards program."

The site was originally home to several 1970s-era buff-colored brick picnic arbors and restrooms, which, says Elizabeth Chu Richter, were "not sited with any sensitivity or cohesiveness. The setting was welcoming, but the buildings were not." The Texas Department of Transportation knew, says Chu Richter, that encouraging travelers to stop at a welcoming, inviting place could enable safer journeys; the area is also a long-time community gathering place, and is listed on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail. In addition, the architects realized that as a border gateway, the project should reflect the historical and cultural context of the region. For inspiration and reference, the firm turned to the Los Caminos del Rio preservation project. "Our two primary influences were the natural beauty and the vernacular architecture," says Chu Richter. "We wanted the design to grow out of the earth . . .and to echo the historical references in scale, form, and texture."

On the surface, the project's components seem fairly simple: restrooms, pathways, picnic arbors, a containing wall. The regular, formal elements-a grassy quadrangle, anchored by four toilet buildings connected by flagstone paths-are centered among irregularly placed brick walls and picnic arbors, around which winds a quarter-mile birding trail. The low, wide containing walls at the perimeter, which link the arbors, gradually rise up and down, "protecting" the site from the highway while inviting "spontaneous interaction" from visitors, particularly children, says Chu Richter. Weaving through and rocked in the trees, the arbors facilitate gatherings of varying sizes, as do free-standing tables without cover, conceived in the spirit of "throwing a blanket down," says Chu Richter.

Each piece, by itself, suggests a randomness, but when taken together, there is a careful order to the place. The center hierarchy-the quadrangle-becomes less formal as it radiates outward, from the flagstone paths that turn to gravel to the diminishing lights at the edges of the trails: To allow users to enjoy nature, the elements become more natural. Every building or wall was deliberately sited, not only to save trees, but to enable privacy, to allow a sense of connection or separation depending on the needs of the user; each, though built of the same materials and with the same craft, maintains its own identity. That order impressed juror Lewis: "You get into a natural setting and the normal tendency is to deal with random objects. . . instead here they have taken this very natural setting and organized it and gave it a strength that didn't exist."

The details in the restroom buildings and picnic arbors are decidedly low-tech, but reveal an inspired craftsmanship. The Mexican adobe bricks were laid up in a pattern that incorporated concrete chunks from old buildings on the site. Masons were taught to lay a broken concrete piece occasionally, which threw a "wrinkle" into the coursing, says David Richter, FAIA. "We were playing with an obscure time frame. . . . The details are contemporary, but the way they are put together is remiscent of the past," says Richter.

Many of the details are intended to remind visitors of the natural environs. In the restrooms, glass, supported by wood beams, forms the ceiling in the lavatory sections; the openness "lets people appreciate the canopy of trees," says Richter. The remaining ceiling sections were constructed of shored pipes, which were topped with tented tiles and in turn, covered with concrete. A mosaic tile mural in blacks, reds, and yellows evokes the waving branches and shadows of trees in the compound, says Richter. The palette is much like the landscape: sage, burnt orange, browns, greens. The sense of materials and the way they were assembled also affected the jury's opinion of the rest area. "This [project] has a number of different materials, but each of them is in complete control, every one of them is thought through for what its. role is in the composition," said Michael Palladino.

In the end, the architects realized the space they needed to create should be not simply public, but civic as well. The distinction may seem slight, but to the architects it was crucial. "The project belongs to the public, but is civic in the way it draws respect and in its dignity," Chu Richter says. "Because of the sense of community, we wanted to design a place that has a civic sense, that instills pride and memory. . . . The idea is that it is not just a building or one structure. It is a whole place, as well as imagery. When it involves people, they become a part of that imagery."

Beyond these lofty goals, however, is the reality of a place that is pleasant, welcoming, serene. "As juror Julie Snow said, "One issue is what appeals to architects and what appeals to the public; I think this piece really spans that gap. It's something that we as architects all immediately agreed upon, but it's also something that would make the general public just say "Wow." TA