Corpus Christi Caller Times

"Winning Style"

Contest awards celebrate standout designs

After operating a Southside banking center from a mobile home for about a year executives of Citizens Bank decided it was time to upgrade their presence.

The management of the local independent bank commissioned architect David Richter to design a facility that would show the bank's long term commitment to a rapidly growing part of town. "We were looking for a building that would extend our business and add to customer convenience," said R. Jay Phillips, Citizens Bank president.

"We wanted to find a design that would enhance our image and at the same time blend nicely into that portion of the community," Phillips said, "David Richter guided us through that process."

The Citizens Bank branch, at 6230 S. Staples St., was among six projects to win honors recently in a competition sponsored by the Corpus Christi Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). There were 30 entries in the first local architectural design contest since 1991. The contest has been held every three years in recent times so that there will be sufficient selections for the jury to pick from, said Bibiana Bright Dykema, president of the AIA's Corpus Christi Chapter.

The judging was done by four faculty members of the Texas A&M University College of Architecture. "Good architecture is associated with dense urban areas. It was nice to see such good work coming out of Corpus Christi," said Joe Self, one of the judges and a Texas A&M assistant professor of architecture. The Citizens Bank branch was one of two projects to win Honor Awards, the top category.

Richter Associates Architects Inc. won the other top award for his design of an expansion of the children's education building at First Baptist Church. He also won merit awards for his design of the Falfurrias State Bank building in Falfurrias and the Corpus Christi house of Jorge and Guadalupe Rangel.

Chuck Anastos Associates Inc. won a merit award for the interior remodeling of M.D. Surf & Skate. Wilson Kullman McCord Inc. won a merit award for the design of the San Patricio County Juvenile Center.

Lawrence Speck, dean of the School of Architecture at The University of Texas at Austin, said that good architecture works at three levels. "It is economically good for a community, enhances people's everyday lives and help people interact with each other. The reason San Antonio has millions of visitors every year is because it is a gorgeous place with wonderful buildings and textures. Good architecture creates an environment that makes wonderful economic sense." he said.

Speck, who is also a practicing architect, said that good architecture can spur investment in a community. Speck said that architecture enhances peoples' everyday lives. "Value in our soul comes from being in buildings that are wonderful, buildings that nurture us," he said. "Good architecture promotes social interaction:' Speck said. Self said that good architecture can have a snowballing effect to get more people involved in their community. Another judge in the competition, Michael D. Murphy, said that "buildings individually and collectively shape a community. Buildings help us symbolically define who we are."

"If an architect does well with materials that are intelligently put together it represents a substantial investment in the wise use of resources," said Murphy, a Texas A&M University associate professor of landscape architecture and urban planning. "The architects have done a good service to the community and these awards honor that service," he said.

While good architecture can be enjoyed by the community at large it also conveys satisfying results to the owners. Verlyn Nolen, president of Falfurrias State Bank, said that since the bank moved out of its double wide trailer in September 1993, it has gained nearly $2 million in deposits.

Richter's distinctive design is a big part of the reason. "The new building established an image of permanence. We have had response from people in Falfurrias and the surrounding areas," he said. Richter and other architects honored say a successful project requires a team relationship with the client. "Interplay between the two parties is essential and it often helps if the client has an understanding of art. During this critical stage, architects serve as the owner's representative and work to see that the design is implemented," Richter said. For businesses and organizations, architects spend time learning about the client by meeting with its leadership and observing how the entity functions.

The Rev. Paul Armes, pastor of First Baptist Church, said that Richter attended church services and countless meetings with the church's building committee during the planning stage of the children's building. "David was careful to understand who we are. He got to know the feelings of our hearts. He understood our needs and incorporated those needs into the design of the building very effectively," Armes said. "Although the project received an honor award during preliminary discussions in the judging it did not make anyone's short list for honors," Murphy said.

"But opinions changed as the panel began to realize how the project synthesized components in existing structures, integrating them in a common design with the church wing addition," Murphy said. Said Richter, "We have done other projects where the building has been so self-effacing that one couldn't even tell we had been there. We didn't feel the need to go that far here. In fact. We felt like a little more energy and a little more exuberance was appropriate."

Richter said his team was careful to maintain the existing cornice lines and careful to lay out the addition in a scale that meshed with the existing structure.

In creating the Citizens Bank branch, Richter placed the elongated building parallel to the street to present the most impressive view to passing motorists. "The front is bent and bowed to enhance the feeling of motion established by a colonnade, anchored at one end by a pedestrian walkway and at the other by a canopy over the drive-in windows creating a symbolic and visible balance between these two modes of customer contact," Richter said. "In the design process," Richter said, "he recognized that the building, now in an open field, soon would be surrounded by other structures." He said the structure will carry itself equally well in both environments.

The building was constructed using Mexican brick so it would blend into the style that dominates the nearby residential neighborhood. Mahogany trim, vaulted canopy ceilings and Mexican sandstone floors were other features, Richter said.

Said Self: "Citizens Bank was incredible. The sensitive way materials were used makes this the outstanding project of all the ones we saw." "The pillars suggest solidness and carefulness. They make you feel confident." Self said. After the judging, panel members said they were surprised to learn Richter's firm had won four of the six awards. "His signature is not very obvious. And that is a very good statement," said John Only Greer, Wallie Scott endowed professor of architectural practice and management at Texas A&M. "It shows he is trying to be of service and responding to the environment and the owners' needs," said Greer, a former Texas A&M University College of Architecture dean.

Robyn Abrams assistant professor of architecture and landscape architecture at Texas A&M, said her top choice was the remodeling of the M.D. Surf & Skate by Chuck Anastos & Associates. "It was extremely low budget and a very quick time frame. I'm not just looking at design but at the conditions that lead up to the design. I am looking at the constraints they had to overcome," Abrams said. Anastos said his firm had 45 days to complete the project and a low $15-per-square-foot project budget. To minimize new construction costs, Anastos said existing steel bar joists were painted and left exposed. The existing concrete slab was shot-blasted, scored with a skewed grid and hand-stained and sealed.

"Panels of clear and sandblasted wire glass, natural birch plywood and millwork, painted gypsum board, galvanized steel grating and frames, left-over ceramic tile and inexpensive track lighting create a spatial amusement park for the young and old clientele alike. Shoppers participate in and interact with the architectural elements and store merchandising simultaneously providing a celebratory shopping experience," Anastos wrote in the project's cover letter to the judges. In changing the lighting, Anastos substituted halogen bulbs for fluorescent lighting. "Halogen produces a cleaner light than fluorescent and therefore makes clothing and other merchandise look better," he said. Mark Dulaney. M.D. Surf & Skate owner, said that after attending trade shows in California and Dallas, he wanted a store took that would be on the leading edge. "In business you have to do things to stay ahead of the times or you will be left behind," he said.

Wilson Kullman McCord Inc. used a mission style design to help the 18-bed San Patricio County Juvenile Center fit into the nearby Sinton residential environment. Bill T. Wilson II. vice president, said the facility was designed as a friendly fortress with the use or traditional materials and forms evoking a comfortable sense of place. "The detention facility has properties that follow the aesthetics of the area, drawing from historic structures in Goliad and other area communities," Wilson said. "Law enforcement symbolism is used to reinforce the purpose of the facility," he said.

Glass-block windows were used to introduce natural lighting and provide "gun-portal" slots which mimic regional historic Spanish fortresses. "Detention facilities are difficult to design.," Wilson said. "Oftentimes design and aesthetics become a secondary consideration." Self said he thought the project was a successful blending of utility and design. And it avoided a pitfall he has seen in other detention facility projects - a tendency by architects to conceal their true purpose.