Design Alabama: The Public Forum for Design in Alabama, Volume 1, Issue 1, 1988

              VOLUME I
ISSUE I
$2.50
:·
THE PUBLIC FORUM FOR DESIGN IN ALABAMA
Dislu AuiAMA, lie. IS'"SurPomo av:
THE ALABAMA STATE COUNCIL ON
THE ARTS
THE BLOUNT FOUNDATION
THE ALABAMA POWER COMPANY
MR A. F. DELCHAMPS, JR.
THE MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER/JOURNAL
ChairQerson
Philip Morris ";;,
Southern Living'
Vice Chairperson
Charles Raine ·
~us .. kegee Uniliersity
"'"" "~
Secretary
Nancy Hartsfield
Aupurn University _.,._,_. :m
Margaret CarP.eAter
Compos-it. l_!lc:
" -" ;i' "::) ,~: ~"' Howard Garrett ,.. ,
·" Howard Garrett & Assoc.
·"' , Cparles Greiner.:~--
.. ~ Greiner, vare & Partners ·
-;c· *
Joseph Lee
Al~bama A & M University
· \Janet Miller' '
Tiller/Butner/Rosa Architects
Sue Morrow Parker
University of Alabama
Ken Penuel ·
Alabama Power Co.
:(.' ·,
" bloyd Philpot
lntergraph Corp.
--~ .
. , Landscape ~~[h~g~t. Tqskegee w ,
·Anne Wright
Streetscapes, Mobile
Represe~tative ~ary Zoghby
Mob1le ·
••
Bec!<J Mullen
Executive Director
,~,~
ON THE COVER:
BIRMIIIGIIAM PuBLIC LIBRARY
.THEHW ''
~Nnw. .......,
. OF THE a-. . - P.- ..c l.awlv
SYSTEM
WELCOMES VISITVa
laAIIATICALLY AT ITS
- DOWITOWI COlliER WITH
A 8USS EIICUISED LOUY
THAT EXTE& UPWARD
EDITOR: BECKY MUlLEN •
ART DIRECJOa: lUCY. HARTSFiELD •
T A B L E 0 F C 0 N T E N T S
FEATURE
"BUILDING BETTER LIBRARIES"
Birmingham Public
Library is an exemplary. client of
design.
ARTICLES
"GENESIS OF A GOOD IDEA: DESIGN ALABAMA"
History of the formation of the
organization and its objectives are
explained.
"LOGO COMPETITION"
Birmingham firm wins the competition for
Design Alabama's logo.
"BEST OF SHOW" .
Alabama's advertising organizations recognize
outstanding work in their profession.
"MOBitE•s AIRPORT BOULEVARD,
WHEN DOES A STREET BECOME A BOULEVARD"
The Mobile community wants its "strip" to
be an asset to the city ratber than the
liability it has become. They--are--taking
steps to make it happen.
"MY MOTHER DOESN•T KNOW WHAT I DO"
Industrial Design affects the quality of
_ our lives.-in way.s we take-fBf:i}f-atlted1~. __....:c..,..,.,_,_
This article explains what it is.
"HOW PRESERVATION SNOWBALLED IN SELMA"
A profile of Selma's many successes with
preserving architectural treasures and
bringing vitality to the downtown.
DEPARTMENTS
· Project• News
Work of statewide significance
Details+ Of Interest
Noteworthy observations
7
1
3
12
14
18
22
4
16
Design• Makes A Difference
"SKYLIGHTS" 21 .. '
PresseViews
THE HUNTSVILLE TIMES
"HAVE LOCAL ARCHITECTS
LEFT THE DELIGHT OUT OF CITY
LANDSCAPE?" 24
Design Alabama is a publication of Design Alabama, Inc. We welcome your comments and encourage
submission of articles, ideas for future. issues and especially items for our departments. For complete
information contact:
Becky Mullen
Design Alabama, Inc.
Alabama State Council on the Arts
One Dexter Avenue
Montgomery, AL 361 30
(205) 261 -4076
The first Issue of Design Alabama was designed and produced on a Macintosh"' SE utilizing PageMaker,
MacDraw and MacPalnt. Proofs were printed out on a LaserWrlter"' Plus and final output was on an L300.
Design Alabama would like to express our appreciation to Compos-n for the use of tllelr LaserWrlter,
proofing, and paste-up and B.A.S.S., Inc., for the use of t11e1r L300. A major contribution was the prlntlllg of
tills lss8e by Soutllern Publcatlons. .
Special Thanks for this Issue to:
Southern Publications
John Hartsfield Advertising, Inc.
Compos-it, Inc.
Tom Ford, Southern Living
B.A.S.S., Inc.
- l
GENESIS
OF A GOOD IDEA
DESIGN ALABAMA
"WE WANT Goon DESIGN IN ALABAMA To BE LIKE
BREATHING, A NATURAL PART OF LIVING AND DoiNG
THINGS."
-PHILIP MoRRis
eople who provide communities with opportunities in
the arts most often need technical assistance and
grants support. State arts agencies are one resource,
serving the public through programs whic~ focus on the differ·
ent artistic disciplines. The design arts have evolved as a new
area of programming over time as design is recognized as the
process of making any place a potential work of art. The Ala·
bama State Council on the Arts began to address the need for
a design program in 1985, during a period of new growth and
development within the agency. ··
Executive Director AI Head states, "It seems to me Alabama
is a state where growth has not been an exercise of design, but
rather a series of knee-jerk reactions to changing times. Our
built environment is now dotted with examples of poor plan­ning,
aesthetic indifference, irreparable loss and missed
opportunities. Amidst the negative, there are also some excit·
ing signs of progress and realized potential."
D nan effort to provide opportunities for state support of progressive
design projects, the Council applied for a planning grant from the
National Endowment for the Arts, Design Arts Program. After receiving the
grant a project director was hired and an advisory panel of design profes­sionals
was established to determine the best way for the Council to
provide services. Communication and public education and awareness
were soon identified as the primary issues to be addressed, because
understanding about design will heighten public demand for aesthetic and
functional integrity within communities.
"I think many people still think of design as a luxury, something extra that
might be nice to have but isn't essential. Those who practice design and
those growing numbers of Alabamians who have experienced what design
can do understand it is not a luxury- that it can affect our environment
in a profoundly rewarding way," said Philip Morris, Executive Editor of the facts before the public, that good architecture, landscape architec­SOUTHERN
LIVING magazine and member of the advisory panel. Good ture, interior design, graphic design, industrial design and the rest are
design results from effective communication among the variety of people essential to quality of life in the state, it will have done something very im-who
are involved in a project, especially the client and users who have im- portant."
portant insights beyond fundamental needs. Most often the involvement
of different designers is required, for example a landscape architect, and
an interior designer wi II be employed in addition to the architect and they
ra1ne of the first projects Design Alabama engaged in was the plan­~
ning and production of this journal, and it will be our most impor-all
need a working knowledge of the interfacing disciplines. Opening tant tool for communication and the exchange of ideas. Your comments,
lines of communication and information among professionals in these ideas, and article suggestions are encouraged and appreciated.
disciplines, the clients who employ them, and the public will help create We are currently planning production of a video focusing on the design
a climate for better design in Alabama. identity and excellence which exists in Alabama. Also in the planning
stages are design exhibition and competition concepts, programs for
Iii) he panel came to the conclusion that forming a statewide design teachers to use in elementary and high schools, and a design awards
Lllawareness organization would provide a vehicle for long-term program focusing on outstanding clients of design and client/designer
achievement of these goals,. and serve as an important information relationships.
resource for communities in need of assistance. This organization would
work with targeted "publics", decision makers, clients of design, non­profit
groups working to enhance the quality of life in communities, and
designers. The organization would not serve the design-professions, but
serve the public by reinforcing the fact that design is a quality of life issue.
By communicating design news statewide, providing Alabamians with an
education about design, and generating awareness and excitement about
progressive development in Alabama., ·Such an organization could be in­strumental
in enhancing the quality of life, and perhaps the economic
health of this state.
This concept presented many challenges. Alabama is a farge geo­graphic
area. The scope of the design disciplines included is very broad,
Design Alabama is open to membership. Individual, student, corpo­rate,
sponsor, and organizational (non-profit) are the categories.
(Membership information is on the back cover of this issue.)
Klls part of their ongoing commitment to design, the St~te Arts
rilcouncil makes funds available to non-profit organizations and
cities for design fees, feasibility studies, and other design related projects
through the agency's grant program. "The current design arts initiative
has become one of our most important areas of attention. Our leadership
in the design arena may well have the most profound impact of any of our
endeavors. We anticipate that our commitment will grow significantly and
can only hope momentum will develop statewide," says AI Head. The
and the targeted audiences represent a broad range of interests and areas creation of Design Alabama is timely, as so many of the state's commu­of
expertise. To more clearly define the comprehensive goals was an inter- nities are engaged in projects that wi II enhance their environment. Down­esting
task in itself. After further exploration, a board of-directors was towrr revitalization, beautification programs, cultural facility develop­formed
making the concept a commitment with the name Design Ala- ment, and improving city signage are examples. · A continuing partner­bama.
The board members are approximately 50% designers with repre- ship with the State Arts Council is enabling Design Alabama to evolve and
sentation of each discipline, and 50% non-designers who have an grow. There has been widespread enthusiasm for the organization, indi­interest
in the goals of the organization. Philip Morris now serves as. eating a future of design awareness in Alabama. • BECKY MULLEN
Chairperson and says that "If Design Alabama does nothing more than get
ARCHITECTURE LANDSCAPE
ARCHITECTURE
INTERIOR
DESIGN
URBAN
DESIGN
INDUSTRIAL
DESIGN
GRAPHIC
DESIGN
FASHION
DESIGN
Architects Landscape architects Interior designers Urban designers and Industrial designers Graphic designers Fashion designers
practise the art and specialize in exterior organize spaces planners are con- are responsible for create effective are style arbiters who
science of creating, environments. They inside buildings, cerned with the function and aesthet- visual communica- interpret the mood of
preserving and remod- apply creative and making them func- functional and visual ics in the manufac- tion. "Graphic" refers a generation, intuit
eling buildings. technical skills to tional and pleasing to relationships be- tured products people to the art that com- popular taste, and
Ideally they work to overall site plans, be in. The designer's tween people and use every day. Tooth municates, and understand merchan-articulate
an image of lan~scap~ grading presentation to the their physical envi- brushes, toasters, "design" to the aes- dising and business
the client who owns and drainage, irriga- client usually in- ronment in the cars, computer thetic arrangement of principles. They
the building, what tion, planting, and eludes floor plans, broadest sense. terminals and tele- the elements, includ- attempt to resolve the
happens there, and construction details. color charts, photo- Among other things, phones are examples ing type, illustration, contradiction be-what
it means to the Their task is to graphs of furnishings, their work results in of items industrial and/or photography. tween art and industry
community. Once the preserve and enhance samples of materials unified plans and designers make A graphic designer in order to construct a
aesthetic and func- the environment and for upholstery, draper- proposals for trans- usable and desirable analyzes the client's collection of clothing
tional aspects of a define space between ies and wall cover- portation systems, in- for human beings. product and/or and accessories with
design are conceived, and around buildings, ings, and often color dustrial parks, sub· Colors, textures, message in relation to a unique sense of
engineers and other including entrances renderings or divisions, downtown smells and sounds are a targeted audience, style and taste, ena-professionals
are and functional or sketches. Every renewal projects,"·and some of the elements and through concept bling people to create
consulted to make the decorative areas. aspect of the interior shopping malls. They they consider, and in and art direction a personal statement
building work accord- Planning street- is the concern of the formulate plans and addition, any me- produces an appropri- about themselves in
ing to the laws of scapes, gardens, designer from the first policies to meet the chanica! or electrical ate advertisement, TV the way they dress.
physics, safety and parks or gateways are presentation to the in- social, economic, and components of a prod- commercial, magazine
access codes, and ne- also examples of jobs stallation of the last physical needs of uct must work prop- format, brochure, or
cessities such as forthelandscape accessory. communities, and erly, efficiently, and any number of other
electricity and plumb- architect. they develop the safely. (See the visual communication
ing. Architects are re- strategies to make article starting on projects.
quired to have a work- these plans work. page 18.)
ing knowledge of all This involves identi-these
building fying urban problems
elements. and opportunities,
analyzing and
implementing
options, and evaluat-ing
results.
DesignAiabama 2
R. MEADOWS AND FOWLER:
(back row left to right) Bob
Fowler, Karlenne Hager, Jeff
White, Roger Meadows, (front)
Vicki Henderson, Kathy Evans,
Susan Mauk Hicks, Phyllis
Smith, Theresa Barnett.
BIRMINGHAM FIRM WINS 11 :;g:~:ation
THE
BIRMINGHAM
FIRM OF
R. MEADOWS & FOWLER
WERE WINNERS OF
A STATEWIDE
COMPETITION FOR THE
DESIGN ALABAMA
LOGO
needs an identifying
symbol or logotype,
to become its signa­ture
and create an
expression of its
image. Design Ala­bama
wanted a
straightforward
logo reflecting the integrity of the
design professions and a commitment
to excellence. A competition was
held, in keeping with the spirit of the
organization and its goals.
The competition was announced to
designers in all disciplines, artists,
and students living in Alabama.
Recognition at the state level was the
prize. Forty-two individuals, includ­ing
graphic designers, industrial
designers, architects, and commercial
art students submitted ideas, and the
jury chose from approximately
seventy entries.
Serving on the jury were Mr. Tom
Ford, Executive Art Director for
SOUTHERN LIVING magazine, Mr.
Leo Wright, Director of the Creative
Department of Luckie & Forney
Advertising in Birmingham, and Mr.
Charles Raine, Associate Dean/
Department Head, School of Archi­tecture
at Tuskegee University, who
serves as Vice-Chairperson of the
Design Alabama board. They were
impressed with the number and
quality of the desigl}s, and it was
apparent that a great deal of time and
effort had been spent in preparing
them. A wide range of approaches
were presented, but the jury was
CBsig!Aktxrna
looking for flexibility and classic
design. Legibility was a concern
because the logo would be repro­duced
in a variety of uses and sizes.
The field was narrowed to three,
from which it was difficult to choose
the winner and two honorable
mentions. The jury felt that the win­ning
design met the criteria and could
be reproduced well for use on diverse
projects. They also liked the fact that
the word "design" is emphasized.
The board of directors of Design
Alabama agreed with the jury and
approved the selection.
The winner was the corporate com­munications,
marketing and design
firm of R. Meadows & Fowler Inc. of
Birmingham. Roger D. Meadows,
Chairman of the firm, and staff
members Susan Mauk Hicks, Theresa
Barnett, Kathy Evans and Rick . ·
Plasters were members of the team
who worked on the project. RM&F
has been in business for 15 years and
serves clients primarily in the South,
but also in Detroit, Minnesota, and
New York. Mr. Meadows worked for
IBM for six years under Paul Rand,
and it was his experience there that
led him to pattern his own business
after IBM's "Design Center" format,
organized internally by IBM to
"provide comprehensive creative
support services to the company's
communications, marketing and sales
effort." Mr. Meadows found this
format to be the method for getting
the best, long-term results where
design is concerned, and as the firm's
promotional brochure states, "Design
is the single thread that permeates the
corporation and secures its image.
It is the corporation's visual
expression."
It's interesting that this team effort
resulted in the winning logo, because
this same philosophy is one that
Design Alabama is being built
around; effective design is produced
through the collective efforts of a
number of people who have different
roles, and who work together to
develop solutions to a design prob­lem.
R. Meadows & Fowler has been
enthusiastic about Design Alabama,
and have contributed the design work
for correspondence materials using
the new logo.
Honorable mention was given to
Ralph Dobbins, a student at Besse­mer
State Technical College, who
recently became Art Director for the
Rhino Agency, a full service adver­tising
agency. Eric Smith, Senior
Designer for Intergraph Corporation
in Huntsville, was also given an
honorable mention. Mr. Smith is
responsible for one-third of
Intergraph's advertising, some of
which is international.
The reputable design firm, the
student, and a designer for a large
corporation reflects the variety of
individuals Design Alabama plans to
work with to meet our goals. Compe­titions
stimulate discussion and
interest, as well as attract attention to
a design problem . We will encourage
this kind of activity in our efforts to
provide Alabamians with opportuni-ties
to learn about design. e
Two Honorable Mentions were awarded in the
statewide design competition for the logotype.
(left) Designer: Ralph Dobbins
(above) Designer: Eric Smith
3 Volume 1, No. 1
- Pro ect£.News
Project News is a
regular feature of
Design Alabama
and provides an
opportunity to keep
up-to-date on design
projects having an
impact on our
communities.
LAKESIDE ELEVATION
ENTRANCE ELEVATION
DeslgnAiabama 4
ARCHITECTURE
Bullock - lice Associates Architects
Inc., of Mobile announce the award of the
construction contract for the Environ­mental
Protection Agency's Eastern
Radiation Laboratory at Gunter Airforce
Base in Montgomery.
The laboratory is a· 53,000-square-foot
facility housing chemical laboratories,
physical laboratories and administrative
offices for the EPA's Radiation Programs
Office. Cost of construction for the facility
is $6.5 million with occupancy expected by
June 1989.
Bullock- Tice has also completed designs
for a prototypical pavilion for Mobile's
Parks and Recreation Department.
The pavilion is an approximately 120' X
90' long span glu-laminated truss struc­ture.
Facilities include court games and
accommodations for musical events. The
first pavilion is to be built at Trinity Gar­dens
Park in Northeast Mobile.
!I D D
D D D
Chambless & Associates and
Blondheim & Mixon, Inc. are associ­ated
architects working to complete plans
for the new state office building commis­sioned
by the State of Alabama, now
under construction in the Alabama State
Capitol area. The 700,000-square-foot
complex covers two city blocks and is
defined by Ripley, Monroe, Jackson and
Pelham Streets. It is scheduled for
completion in December 1990 and will
house 2,500 state employees. The
historical and architectural significance of
the Alabama State Capitol complex sug­gested
the need to provide a civic place
and complete the presently unfinished
spatial composition of the area. External
courtyards as urban-scale rooms provide
the naturalligflt for the offices and serve as
public gardens. The corridors are perceived
as "internal streets." These streets converge
in a multi-storied, sky lit rotunda which is
the functional and compositional focus of
the building. Professor Peter Magyar of
Auburn University served as design
consultant on the project.
Barganier/McKee/Sims Architects
have designed the new Montgomery
Museum of Fine Arts, now under
construction in the Wynton M. Blount
Cultural Park. The 45,000-square-foot
structure is almost double the size of the
previous facility. The Museum entrance
will open into a reception gallery that
leads to permanent and special exhibi­tion
galleries, the Museum theatre,
traveling exhibition g'allery, gift shop
and terrace cafe. In addition, the new
facility wi ll provide a special children's
area, a properly equ ipped auditorium,
sufficient storage and preparation areas,
increased office space and a conference
room and library. The Museum:s design
will serve to enhance the displ9-yed
works of art and, equally important,
faci I itate expanded education programs
for the public-an increasingly signifi­cant
role in today's art museums.
Expected date of completion is Spring,
1988.
THE NEW MONTGOMERY MUSEUM OF
FINE ARTS IS SCHEDULED TO BE
COMPLETED IN SPRING OF 1988
Kidd/Piosser/Sprague/Architects/
Inc. of Bi'rmingham have designed the
new corporate headquarters and distribu­tion
center for Parisian, Inc. which is
nearing completion. The complex will
consist of a four -story corporate office
building and an adjacent distribution
center on a large wooded site in
Birmingham's Oxmoor West Industrial
Park. The 290,000-square-foot facility in­corporates
highly efficient merchandise
processing and state-of-the-art compu­terized
office functions.
The complex fronts a gently curving
lake along Industrial Drive. Visitors and
employees will enter through a granite
portal incised with the company name.
Beyond it, a landscaped plaza leads to a
dramatic rotunda that links the office
building and distribution center. The
rotunda, rising to 50 feet in height,
features granite and marble floors and
window detailing with niches for mer­chandise
and promotional display.
Another special feature in the complex is
a waterside terrace that mirrors the shape
of the lake.
Emory Cunningham, Chief Executive
Officer of Southern Progress Corpo·
ration, announced that Southern Prog­ress
has signed a joint venture agreement
with two architectural firms, Jova/
Daniels/Busby/Incorporated of
Atlanta and Kidd!Piosser/Sprague/
Architects/Inc. to design a new South­ern
Progress headquarters building. The
28-acre site is on the north side of Lake­shore
Drive and adjacent to Samford Uni­versity
on the east side of the campus.
Kidd/Piosser/Sprague is working in asso­ciation
with Morris Architects of
Houston on Central Bank of the
South's new 300,000-square-foot
administrative headquarters which will
serve as the electronic nerve center for the
statewide bank. The $20 million project­the
largest on Birmingham's Southside in
recent years-is scheduled for completion
in early 1988.
"We wanted a building with a campus­like
atmosphere," said Harry Brock, founder
and Chief Executive Officer of the bank
holding company. The three-story brick
and precast concrete building will face a
formal plaza, which will be partially en­closed
by a wing devoted to public .
functions and training facilities. Classically
inspired pavilions link parking for 600 cars
with arcaded passages to a central secured .
entry. On the interior, a three-story ga[lery
will bring natural light into the depths of
the building and provide an organizational
focal point for people in the building. This
gallery steps back at each level to create
"terraces" that overlook the central space.
Designed to be highly flexible in
response to the changing requirements of
the banking industry and electronic tech­nology,
the building incorporates special­ized
distribution systems that integrate tele­communications
and data processing,
special power requirements, and systems
furniture in open-office areas. Large floor
areas facilitate maximum operational effi­ciencies
in item and information process­ing.
RENDERING OF THE NEW PARISIAN, INC. CORPORATE
HEADQUARTERS AND DISTRIBUTION CENTER
Evan M. Terry Associates have com­pleted
the construction documents for the
new Hoover Public Library. The new
library will blend with the existing Munici­pal
Center in both form and material.
However, to encourage broader public use,
·it will have a more inviting entrance and
extensive outdoor patio areas. The building
will include community meeting rooms and
a 250-seat auditorium. The estimated com­pletion
date is March of 1989.
Also on the boards at Evan M. Terry
Associates is a new home for the non­profit
Alabama Wildlife Rescue
Service at Oak Mountain State Park. This
project is the first of its kind in the United
States. The unique design challenge is to
develop a series of buildings which offer
the animals progressively less and less
restraint and shelter as they heal, minimiz­ing
human contact while. allowing the
public to watch the rehabilitation process
in a near-natural setting. Even the food and
water pans will be flushed and refilled
remotely. Money is now being raised to
begin the project so there is no projected
completion schedule. Contact Anne Miller,
Executive Director of the Alabama Wildlife
Rescue Service, at 663-7930.
L A N D S C A P E
ARCHITECTURE
In addition to working with Kidd/Piosser/
Sprague on the Parisian, Inc., and
Central Bank of the South projects,
Nimrod Long and Associates Inc.
are currently in the construction admini­stration
phase of a 2.5 million dollar
renovation of Linn Park, formerly
known as Woodrow Wilson Park. A
strategically located six-acre urban green
space in downtown Birmingham, the
park is on an axis -between the Court­house
and City'Hall and terminates one
of Birmingham's·main downtown
corridors, 20th Street. The renovation
project is funded by both the public and
private sectors: the City of Birming·
ham and an organization named the
Friends of Charles 'linn Park.
· With an estimated completion date of
early Summer 1988, the park will boast a
strong pedestrian access linking the
important edges of the park. It will also
contain a large central fountain feature
and promenade, outdoor dining and en­tertainment
pavilions, and all new site
furnishings, such as seat walls, benches
and lighting.
COMMENCEMENT OF WORK CELEBRATioN, liNN PARK.­SIGN
DESIGNED BY
GUY ARELLOJDESIGN & ILLUSTRATION
5 Volume 1, No. 1
INTERIOR
DESIGN
BeiiSouth Services, Inc., has
selected Kidd/Piosser/Sprague/
Architects/Inc. to design the interior
architecture for their new headquarters
building, a 425,000-square-foot facility
now under construction in the Colon­nade
complex at U.S. 280 and Interstate
459 south of Birmingham. The firm will
use its in-house CADD system to
document the project and create a
database for BeiiSouth Services.
DesignAiabama 6
GRAPHIC
DESIGN
Guy Arello/design &illustration
has been awarded the environmental
graphics portion of the Birmingham
Zoo's new Social Animal House. The
environmental graphics consist of
information about the animals in each
exhibit, panels detailing social behavior
in the wild, and other general interior
signs. Guy Arello, Creative Director, and
Skip Pennington, Art Director, will have
primary responsibility for this project
and will work in conjunction with
internationally known exhibitory
designer David Manwarren. The Social
Animal House will include wolves,
gorillas, orangutans, and many other
social species. It is scheduled to be
completed sometime in 1989.
A prominent new design by Cunning·
ham, Black and Farley, Inc. of
Montgomery is the new logo for Alfa,
formerly the Alabama Farm Bureau. A
heavy media blitz during the name
change and subsequent promotions,
including a two-color brochure explain­ing
the change, a number of four-color
ads and a four-color Business Alabama
insert have helped create an impres­sively
strong awareness of the
company's new name. The design offers
continuity by retaining much of the same
look and feel of the old Farm Bureau
logo, yet it also projects a new image­one
that adjusts to changing times while
_ still remaiQing an old frien Q..__ ~
The Montgomery Area Chamber of
Commerce was considering the search
for an umbrella marketing theme,
meaning one look or one approach that
could serve equally well for their Con­vention
and Visitor Division and their
Economic Development Division and,
thus, make their marketing efforts more
uniform. The Chamber chose Cunning­ham,
Black & Farley, Inc. to execute the
design. The most important considera­tion
for Economic Development was
Montgomery's central location in the
Southeast; the Convention and Visitor
Division, however, felt a strong need to
tie the theme to Montgomery's arts ex­plosion,
particularly the new multi-
MONT'GOMEKY million dollar [i] Alabama
~~~ ;;~~;; Shakespeare
Cenm· Stage i1t the South Festival.
"Center Staga in the South" was created,
which addressed those two primary con­siderations
at once.
The deadline for submitting informa­tion
for the next issue is March 10,
1988. Information about projects
should include the project name, the
client, location, what stage the
project is in, size, estimated comple·
tion date, any unusual or special
details of interest, and be accompa­nied
by renderings, black and white
photographs, or camera-ready art
when possible. Projects included will
be based on statewide importance
and timeliness.
CHILDREN DON'T ALWAYS
USE ENVIRONMENTS IN THE WAY THE DESIGNER INTENDED.
Designers and Children:
Intention vs. Interpretation 1Environ"!e~~a1 h _ mages m was -
ington D.C. produced a video entitled Places As Art that was sponsored
by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1986. It explores what places
mean to us, and uses case studies to show how some of the great
places in this country have been made.
The following article is about a video tor children being produced at
Auburn University, the result of a spin-off idea from this concept.
r:J everal of us were discussing E:J children recently-about
their curiosity and the fresh in­sights
they bring to the everyday
world. This led to a discussion of
hovt childreo might respond to the
Places as Art concept of the
National Endowment for the Arts.
As a small group of designers and
planners, we mused about how
children perceive and use designed
environments in ways different
than we had intended.
We wondered aloud how children
might appreciate art or good
design. "For example," someone
asked, "how might a child differ­entiate
architecture from mere
shelter?" This raised the larger
. question of how children perceive
and use designed environments.
Since the image varies with the
viewer, we could ask, "Do chil­dren
respond to designed environ­ments
in the way the designer
intended in the design process?"
And there lay the challenge:
Could we determine a child's
perception of places as art? If so,
how? By watching and listening to
children interacting with each
other in various places? By asking
their opinions? By seeing their
own artwork?
This is the subject of a forthcom-childhood
experience of designed
environments, in contrast to the
more judgmental aspects of adult
perception and reaction to those
environments. The video is for
children and is meant to stimulate
awareness of art, architecture and
design in children. The underly­ing
theme is that a personal inter­relationship
must be developed
with a place in order for it to
become art.
Others involved with the author
on this project are Bill Bullock,
IDSA and Richard Rome, ASLA,
along with quite a number of
children who graciously tolerated
questioning, photographing and
tape recording their reactions to
designed environments across
Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana
and Arkansas. Production of this
forthcoming video is being
supported in part by a grant from
the Samuel G. Wiener Fund for
Advancement of Architecture,
which is administered by the
School of Architecture at Auburn
University. Duplication and
distribution of the production in
Alabama is being underwritten by
the Alabama State Council on the
Arts. It should be playing in local
schools and libraries statewide
next year. •
ing 20-minute video production By Darrell Meyer, Chairman
which was a result of this discus- Graduate Program in Planning
sion. It is an exploration in search Auburn University
of the right questions-rather than
answers to what could be the
wrong questions. The focus is on
the questioning aspect of the
- 1. ~
B U I ,L D I N G
B E T T E R
LIBRARIES
BY PHILIP . MORRIS
PHOTOGRAPHY: JOHN O'HAGAN
0 n ·a corner in downtown Birmingham
stands a large, four-story building with a
riveting feature: a grey-glass prow command·
ing the corner and reaching a fine point high
above the street. Over the doors in crisp white
lettering-Birmingham Public Library.
ALTHOUGH THE
BIRMINGHAM PUBLIC
LIBRARY•s NEW
CENTRAL LIBRARY IS
ESSENTIALLY A BIG
LIMESTONE·CLAD BOX,
THE ENTRANCE CORNER
FRONTING 21ST STREET
NORTH AND PARK
PLACE GIVES IT A
MEMORABLE CIVIC
LANDMARK QUALITY.
THE STEPPED
CONFIGURATION OF THE
LIMESTONE AND GLASS
REFLECTS THE STEPPING
OF FLOORS ABOVE THE
LOFTY LOBBY.
ARCHITECTS:
MORRIS·AUBRY,
HousToN.
F or recent design of a public
building in Alabama, the new
Central Library of the Birmingham
Public Library stands a triumph. The
building is strikingly handsome and
spirited, it functions well, it came in
under budget, and it has been wel­comed
with enthusiasm by the public.
It merits an architectural award, but
the real prize should be shared by the
Birmingham Public Library board
and staff. Since 1977 when a bond
issue provided funds for a major
library building program they have
been a model client for architecture
that is both fine and functional.
"The system had a collection of
unimaginative buildings built in the
1950s and 60s," says George Stewart,
director of the Birmingham Public
Library system. "With a major bond
issue earmarking about $18 million
for libraries, the board realized it had
a once-in-a-lifetime chance to
reshape a system, and they took it
very seriously."
Leading the architectural push for
excellence was Don Long, a Bir­mingham
attorney who was put on
the board in 1972 and elected its
president in 1976, the year before the
bond issue. "I had always been
interested in the arts, and architecture
was always a part of that interest,"
he says. "Our main thrust from the
start was twofold. Function and
quality of design."
Long appointed an architectural
committee, including himself and
Stewart, that initially dealt with the
new Central Library and went on to
set standards for a series of new and
remodeled branches as well. Included
were board members Deenie (Mrs.
John) Drew and Geraldine Bell.
Asked also to serve were Dr. Edward
Lamont, then at UAB, and David
Farmer, who was director of the Bir­mingham
Museum of Art at the time.
"What I tried to do as president of
the board was to steer the board in
the direction of good design, " recalls
Long. "We looked at the current
literature on library design, mainly
architectural journals and national
library journals like Library Science.
We explicitly sought those who had a
record of excellence in library
DesignAiabama 8
design."
The search did not stop at Bir­mingham
city limits or the Alabama
state line, a move that caused criti­cism
of the board. The process began
in March 1977, with the bond issue
passed in June of that year. Before
the contract for design of the new
Central Library was awarded in
January, 1978 the committee had
read, traveled and interviewed in an
intense manner.
A list of I 0 firms, both local and
national, was initially selected. If
their work had not been seen by
members of the committee, they went
to see it. This visitation (done on
members' own time) took them as far
afield as Jacksonville and Orlando in
Florida, Boston and Houston. The
field was narrowed to five firms:
Hugh Stubbins of Boston; Curtis &
Davis of New Orleans; Davis­Speake,
Birmingham; Kidd/ Plosser/
Sprague, Birmingham; and Marris­Aubry
of Houston.
It was in Houston where the real
choice was confirmed. The firm of
A GRAND LOBBY OR 11WINTER GARDEN11 ANIMATED WITH FICUS
TREES PLANTED IN THE TILED FLOOR MAKES AN ALL -YEAR PUBLIC SPACE.
READING AREAS ON FLOORS ABOVE OVERLOOK THE SPACE AND THE
SURROUNDING CITY BEYOND THE GLASS.
Public
Library
Levell
Morris-Aubry had designed
Houston's new central library,
similar in scale and location to
Birmingham's. The design had won
both an American Institute of Archi­tects
award and, more importantly,
the National Library Award given
jointly by the AlA and the American
Library Association. It was one of
several libraries designed by Marris­Aubry.
"After we got to Houston and saw
that library, I said 'I'm ready to go
home," says Deenie Drew. "Even
before we went inside we sat down in
r
the plaza and said 'This is it,' It was
the first one we saw with an escala­tor.
You could see people on it
through the glass walls. You know
how it is in a library, you don't
always know where you want to go.
The escalator makes it easy."
Members of the Birmingham
Public Library board and staff went
back to Houston three times, and they
invited Houston Public Library staff
to Birmingham, asking them for clear
appraisals of good and bad points
about the building. When the choice
was made official, Morris-Aubry was
selected as the primary architect and
asked by the board to associate
locally with the firm of Kidd/ Plos­ser/
Sprague (Kidd/ Plosser /Sprague
had been the board's second choice
for the job).
Library Director Stewart praises
the board. "The key to success, I
think, is that the board considered
selection of the right architects their
biggest contribution to the project.
They did not get involved in nitpick­ing,
like where shelves go and the
like. Fortunately, this board is set up
to be independent. They could resist,
and did, the extreme pressure brought
to bear about going elsewhere to get
an architect. Most boards don't have
that freedom."
T he design process now took
precedence. In this phase, the
interplay shifted to one between
library staff and the architects. The
original goal-to have a new central
library that was a substantial piece of
architecture and that also really
works-guided ·development.
"We had seen a number of build­ings
that might win an architectural
award but would never get a library
award, " recalls Stewart. "Architects
don't run buildings, so there can be
architectural features that don't serve
day-to-day functions. But we had
good architects who were open to
input."
Birmingham~ibrary staff
did initial programming for the new
Central Library (and each subsequent
project). Staff and architects worked
as a team. There were serious revi­sions
in initial proposals by the
architects. Both staff and board had
become familiar with architectural
jargon, and they were not hesitant to
become active participants in the
design process.
"I think a client does an injustice if
they just tum the whole thing over to
the architects," Stewart says. "That
happ~ns a lot. And since most clients
do only one building they learn the
lessons too late."
The design process was structured
well by the board. The normal phases
are three: initial schematic design,
design development and construction
documents. Architects were required
to make formal presentations to the
board for all three. There was an
initial design with a model, a more
refined and detailed plan, and a final
design that included interior finishes
and furnishings.
Stewart describes the completed
building as "a cheap box," though it
doesn't look at all cheap or like a
box. He is, in fact, praising the
architects for doing design miracles
on a limited budget. The Central
Library contains 133,233 sq. ft. on
four floors. It has 375,000-volume
capacity, 650 reader seats, opened in
September of 1984.
And the word "opened" here carries
rich meaning. If one quality stands
out here it is openness, both to the
city comer it fronts and in its interior
space. It is, indeed, a box clad in
Indiana limestone to match that on
the restored original 1927 library
across the street. Libraries are,
mainly, large warehouses for books.
That this one is kind to people is no
accident. It is a true "peoples palace."
SPACES INSIDE THE LIBRARY ARE OPEN AND
WELCOMING, ALMOST LIKE A GREAT DEPARTMENT STORE.
Circulation has run consistently 40
per cent higher over the years since it
opened. Various sections are open to
view from the central skylighted
space that contains-yes-the escala­tors.
T he architectural move that
transforms the box into a fine
work of architecture comes at the
comer. The glassed-in court that
serves as entrance to the library at
Park Place and 21st Street North
signals the library as an important
civic building; converts an
unimportant site into a cornerstone of
the neighborhood; and transforms the
AT THE CORE OF THE CENTRAL liBRARY IS A BANK OF ESCALATORS
WHICH MAKE MOVEMENT FOR THOSE SEEKING A PARTICULAR DEPARTMENT
EASY. AT THE FOURTH FLOOR LEVEL IS A GREAT SKYLIGHT AND A
GALLERY WITH CHANGING EXHIBITS.
box into an expressive mass.
Inside, the glazed comer contains a
lofty public room, a winter garden as
they are sometimes called. It serves
as an enclosed, all-weather plaza for
the library. And as the space reaches
upward toward the point, floors step
out like trays, recapturing space for
reading areas that overlook the winter
garden and city buildings beyond.
"The architecture came from
Morris-Aubry's imagination,"
Stewart says. The total cost was
about $100 per square foot including
furnishings. "We got an imag~
building for a low budget," he adds.
Don Long points out that they were
also lucky on two counts. "If you
recall, interest rates at that time had
gone through the roof. So we had the
bond money in the bank drawing
interest. And because of the high
interest rates there were few construc­tion
projects underway. The bidding
was very competitive. Our basic bid
came in at $8.6 million, and we had
expected it to cost $9.5 million."
Total cost ran about $12 million,
including $1.7 million in furnishings.
The savings helped in the complete
restoration/renovation of the original
library, now Linn-Henley Research
Library across 21st Street. They make
an impressive pair: the one open and
as democratic in feeling as a depart­ment
store, the other classical and
clubby which suits its present func­tion
housing special collections.
The Central Library was the first
and largest of an impressive run of
branches and remodelings by Bir­mingham
Public Library, possibly the
finest collection of new design
commissioned by any public body in
the state in recent years. This work
includes three regional libraries (see
photos) and a number of smaller
ones, all designed by Birmingham
firms.
The selection and design process
developed for the new main branch
worked for the others as well. What
were the main lessons? "I guess the
principle place to start is to put design
quality at the top of your list, along
with a functional building," says
Long. "Good design is not just
expensive materials, as some people
9 Volume 1, No. 1
and some architects seem to think.
Good design comes from good
architectural imagination. It really
doesn't cost more. It didn 't cost
us more."
L ong urges public clients to exer­cise
careful choice. "I'm not
sure there are that many architects
who can build in a budget and pro­duce
quality design. You have to
look at their work." And as for public
LEFT: J HE GREY GLASS WEDGE OF THE NEW CENTRAL LIBRARY ENTRANCE MAKES
A VISUAL FOIL TO THE ORIGINAL NEO-CLASSICAL LIBRARY (1927) ACROSS THE STREET. THE
SAME LIMESTONE WAS USED ON THE NEW BUILDING.
RIGHT: Now THE LINN-HENLEY RESEARCH LIBRARY, THE OLD LIBRARY. HAS BEEN
FULLY RESTORED AND GIVEN A NEW NEO-CLASSICAL PORTICO ENTRANCE ON ITS LINN PARK
SIDE. ARcHITECTs: KmD/PLossER/SPRAGUE, BIRMINGHAM.
boards that lack the independence
from political pressure that the Bir­mingham
Public Library board en-joyed
in its selection process, Long
calls for an education process.
"People will say they don't know
good design, but when you show it to
them they know it, even if they can 't
tell you exactly why."
He thinks it 's worth the effort, even
a fight. "The quality of public archi­tecture
is important. A lot of good
things happen to the human spirit
when people come into contact with
quality design." Thousands of
visitors do daily now in the Birming­ham
J>ublic Library system. e
IN ADDmoN ro CENTRAL LmRARY, BIRMINGHAM PuBLIC LmRARY HAS
DesignAiabama 10
19 BRANCHES. SINCE THE 1977 BOND ISSUE, 10 OF THEM HAVE BEEN .BUILT
OR REMODELED. THREE REGIONAL LffiRARIES HAVE BEEN THE MOST SIGNIFICANT
IN TERMS OF SIZE AND BUDGET.IIERE IS A BRIEF LOOK AT EACH.
SPRINGVILLE
ROAD
REGIONAL
BRANCH
This new branch in
Birmingham's eastern area
filled a great need when com­pleted
in 1981. Designed by
Architects Kidd, Wheeler, Plos­ser
(now Kidd, Plosser, Sprague) of Birmingham, the 17,000 sq. ft.
building signals a strong civic presence with a large central block and
dramatic entrance arch expressed in tile. Inside is a skylighted
rotunda with skylight above. The three main zones-youth services,
adult services and reference-extend from this central space which
is anchored by the circulation desk. Raised cei lings and skylights
extending the length of the wings continue the architectural thrust.
The site and parking areas are well landscaped, with Nimrod Long &
Associates the landscape architects.
Jeff Northrup, regional coordinator for Springville, says, "Most
people have a very positive reaction to the building. They are pleased
to have something of this quality on their end of town. Business here
has exploded. We circulate an average of 30,000 items a month. We
have had some problem with heat from the skylights. But the build­ing
has served its purpose very well."
A ROTUNDA WITH THE CIRCULATION DESK UNDER A SKYLIGHT CONTINUES THE
MONUMENTAL CIVIC CHARACTER OF THE SPRINGVILLE REGIONAL LIBRARY INSIDE.
WINGS HOUSING VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS EXTEND OFF
THE SPRINGVILLE ROAD LIBRARY ROTUNDA, USING
SKYLIGHTS AND A RAISED CENTRAL CEILING TO CREATE
ARCHITECTURAL PRESENCE.
(above)
SPRINGVILLE ROAD RE­GIONAL
BRANCH IS A NEW
BUILDING WITH A DECIDEDLY
CIVIC PRESENCE ESTABLISHED
BY A LARGE CENTRAL BLOCK
DECORATED WITH AN ARCH OF
TILE SET IN THE FACADE. THE
SETTING IS WELL LAND­SCAPED.
ARcHITECTs: KmD,
WHEELER, PLossER. lAND­scAPE
ARCHITECTs: NIM­ROD
LoNG & AssociATES,
BIRMINGHAM.
FIVE POINTS
WEST
REGIONAL
BRANCH
This was an unusual
conversion of a for­mer
cafeteria build­ing
into a regional
library. The location
in a commercial area along Bessemer Highway
reflects some new library thinking: to put com­munity
libraries in areas where people go for
other purposes, rather than in the middle of
residential neighborhoods. Reuse of the exist­ing
building demanded adaptation to certain
givens, including a floor area of 10,000 sq.ft.,
considerably below what is considered opti­mum
for a regional branch. Architects on the
renovation completed in 1983 were Giattina,
Kirkwood and Partners, Birmingham. Project
Architect Joel Blackstock, AlA, says the en­trance
to the library was placed midway along
a landscaped walkway running perpendicular
to the street. The location was chosen to serve
both walk-in traffic from Five Points West
Shopping Center located to the east and the
library parking lot on the west side of the build­ing.
(Libraries demand a single entrance for
security and control.) The library exterior was
refaced and fitted with glass at strategic loca­tions
to open up the building. Since views were
not advantageous, the landscaped walkway
leading down the side of the building to the en­trance
doubles as a view garden for reading
areas. Blackstock describes the interior ar-
. rangement as "layering". There is a layer of
reading (inside the glass side wall), a layer of
display shelves for browsing, a layer of tradi­tional
50-inch high bookshelves, then the cen­tral
circulation area and beyond that staff of­fices
and work areas. The children's area is
located at one end of the rectangular building.
Virginia Guthrie, regional coordinator for
Five Points West, says the given of limited
space was difficult to work with, but despite
that she notes that library users "like the ex-
AVONDALE The Avondale
R E G I 0 N A L project is an
8,200 sq. ft. ad-
B R A N C H dition to an exist-ing
20-year-old, 5,000 sq. ft. library to bring it
up to regional branch size. Located on the edge
of Avondale Park in Birmingham's near east
side, the addition/remodeling completed in
1982 was designed by Giattina, Kirkwood and
Partners (now Giattina, Fisher & Company) of
Birmingham. The architects decided on a
simple, boldly-scaled triangular addition with
a large expanse of glass wall overlooking the
park. The addition maintains compatibility
with the original understated modern building
repeating the brick color but not the form. The
entrance was refocused to bridge between
original and addition.
Edith Harwell, regional branch coordinator,
commends the design for taking advantage of
the park view. She also praises its "peaceful,
fiVE POINTS WEST LIBRARY
IS LOCATED IN WHAT WAS A
CAFETERIA BUILDING IN A
BUSY SHOPPING AREA. Ali
ENTRANCE WAS ESTABLISHED
MIDWAY ALONG THE SlOE OF
THE BUILDING TO SERVE BOTH
WALK-IN TRAFFIC AND A
PARKING AREA BEHIND THE
BUILDING. ARCHITECTS:
GIATTINA, KIRKWOOD &
PARTNERS. lANOSCA~E
ARCHITECTS: NIMROD LONG
& AssociATES.
A PAVILION WITH A DOUBLE
HIPPED ROOF DESIGNATES
THE fiVE POINTS WEST
ENTRANCE. SINCE THE SITE
HAD NO LANDSCAPE AMENI­TIES,
THE WALKWAY WAS IN­TENSIVELY
LANDSCAPED.
THIS LANDSCAPING IS ALSO
VISIBLE FROM WINDOWS
ALONG THE READING AREA
(LEFT).
fiTTING VARIOUS USES
WITHIN LIMITS OF THE EXIST­ING
STRUCTURE TOOK MUCH
COORDINATION BETWEEN LI­BRARY
STAFF AND ARCHI·
TECTS. I.JBRARY VISITORS DE­SCRIBE
THE LIBRARY AS SPA·
CIOUS, DESPITE THE TIGHT
SQUEEZE.
panse'; of the place. Skillful design was ob- first time any of us had worked with archi­viously
the reason for this perception. "The tects. It was a learning experience, conveying
large reading area is used 99 percent of the to them what we needed to make the building
time, and our conference room is booked work. And they told us what the architecture
almost continuously for community meet- needed to do. We think, given the limitations,
ings," reports Mrs. Guthrie. "This was the it worked out well."
restful" interior that defers to the view. "The
reading area has been located along the
glass wall facing the park," she explains.
"We have had some problems with supervi­sion
since the stacks were located between
the circulation desk and the reading are.a.
We are making some changes in arrange­ment
to solve it. The reading room over­looking
the Avondale Park rose garden is a
delight."
A GLASS WALL FRONTING THE PARK LETS THE
AVONDALE LIBRARY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ITS SETTING.
THE AvoNDALE REGIONAL
LIBRARY WAS ESTABLISHED
WITH AN ADDITION LARGER
THAN THE 20-YEAR-OLO
ORIGINAL BUILDING. THOUGH
COMPATIBLE WITH THE EXIST·
lNG, THE ADDITION MAKES A
BOLD OUTLINE FACING AVON­DALE
PARK. ARCHITECTS:
GIATTINA, KIRKWOOD &
PARTNERS.
11 Volume 1, No.1
DesignAiabama 12
In February of everyyearthe state's six professional advertising organizations hold
their annual awards ceremonies. These pages present a retrospective of projects
meriting an Addy in the "Best of Show" category in last year's competition.
KITE INVITATION TO OPEN HOUSE
DESIGN: SLAUGHTER/HANSON & ASSOCIATES
CLIENT: SOUTH JEFFERSON CO.
LeanOnTheGreen.
TV IMAGE SPOT
DESIGN: GILLIS, TOWNSEND, BOWLES, HANLON, INC.
CLIENT: FIRST ALABAMA BANK
+ The Birmingham Advertising Club recently won
an award from the American Advertising Federation for
"Educating the Public About Advertising," and are using
the cash prize to buy books about advertising tor Birming­ham
libraries. Slaughter/Hanson & Associates of Bir­mingham
and Dothan tied themselves with the Kite Invita­tion
for Meadow Brook Townhomes developed by South
Jefferson Co. and a brochure/invitation for PlainClothes,
an exclusive clothing store.
+ The Dothan Advertising Federation covers the
wiregrass area including Houston, Coffee, Dale and Ge­neva
counties. They are a small club, but have a very di­versified
membership. Slaughter/Hanson's Christmas
card entry for the Bradford Group was voted "Best of
Show."
+ The Montgomery Advertising Federation was
named Club of the Year by the American Advertising Fed­eration
for 1986-87 in Division IV. They are among almost
90 clubs in this Division across the United States. First
Alabama Bank's "Lean on the Green" television image
spot won Best of Show and was produced by Gillis,
Townsend, Bowes, Hanlon, Inc. of Birmingham.
+The Huntsville Ad Club has recently established an
Ad Review Board in conjunction with the local Better Busi­ness
Bureau. They chose two Best of Show winners, one
Out-of-Town and one Local. First Alabama Bank's "Lean
on the Green" television image spot won in both the
Huntsville and Montgomery markets, and lntergraph's
1987 Calendar designed internally by lntergraph won in
the local category.
+ The Advertising Federation of Greater Mobile
is proud to announce that past-president Cece Hylton was
awarded the AAF's 7th District Governor's Award for Out­standing
Volunteer Service. A poster produced for John
Word's Restaurant ~Y the J.H. Lewis Advertising Agency,
Inc. won in the B.est of Show category.
>.
+ The Greater Tuscaloosa Ad Club was recognized
for producing the "Best Public Service Campaign" in or­ganizations
with membership under 100. And they also
POSTER
DESIGN: J. H. LEWIS ADVERTISING
CLIENT: JOHN WORD'S RESTAURANT
, WEWaw-'TQUmSUREwblht'd SI~. ,\Iil'f aN. hr~d 11to.oa
llllkia«wo.~'s skirufor)'W'l. l~lorukllltll'ss•insf«us? llo._... ................ _,.~lol ... ""'ol<"""""
"OIIylla~•IM.It't Swi:ee:c:UHiy. Fr.l\tTII&IIMiiiOiotf!t'r
it~r.eB~sarilf:ililryr.ars.·Heu.~uO¥a"aM-ei.F~taS
..... ..-.o~-..tiMrdnr.ne..._~..,•we~
W.ktloio .... _..loio,.,...do.-u,.,....._W......,
~dle--...aty....CIIIec:w.a:...til•cr.ataeaeol
,...;.ty.joooopol"oool ... lib<Wno.
EXCERPT FROM BROCHUREnNVITATION
DESIGN: SLAUGHTER/HANSON & ASSOCIATES
CLIENT: PLAINCLOTHES
BROCHURE SYSTEM
DESIGN: CRUCE & ASSOCIATES
CLIENT: ALABAMA FEDERAL
CALENDAR
We Jwpe all the pieces
fall into place .
for you to enjoy the true
Jwliday spirit.
The Bradford Group
Dmg aud Alcohol Recol'PJ:IJ Cente1s
CHRISTMAS CARD
DESIGN: SLAUGHTER/HANSON & ASSOCIATES
CLIENT: THE BRADFORD GROUP
DESIG.N: INTERGRAPH CORPORATION
13 Volume 1, No. 1
Airport Boulevard in Mobile is
an all too familiar "strip,"
but demand for
improvement of this cross
section of the city has resulted
in Jhe development of a Master .
Plan by the Landscape
Architecture Department at
Auburn University. The plan has
been endorsed by Mayor Arthur
Outlaw and is representative of
the comm~nity•s wish for a
better environment.
The public meetings in Mobile concerning Airport Boulevard were well aHended.
MOBILE·-s ·AIRPORT BOULEVARD
" ... there was one
critical difference
between this street and the
thousands -of others jusUike it;
there was considerab-l--e-- ---­community
support for its
change."
DesignAiabama 14
WHEN DOES A STREET BECOME A BOULEVARD?
by Richard Rome • Chairman of the landscape Architecture Program at Auburn University
Mobile's Airport Boulevard is a great place to
be if you are hungry for fast food, but a bad
place to be if you are in search of what makes
Mobile special. It is a typical "suburban shopping
strip" littered with every imaginable kind of land
use but giving no clue to the identity of its loca­tion.
It is "the strip" which exists in every Ameri­can
city with a population of over 30,000, but
"Does it have to be that way?" This is the question
Mobile residents asked their elected officials.
A telephone call from Teko Wiseman, Chairman
of the Keep Mobile Beautifu l Commission, re­sulted
in an initial tour of Airport Boulevard. The
complexity and magnitude of the problems were
obvious. However, there was one critical differ­ence
between this street and the thousands of
others just like it; there was considerable commu­nity
support for its change. This desire for change
was documented by consumer survey and con­firmed
by conversations with influential citizens of
the city. Peggy Seibert and Councilwoman Jane
Baxter were involved from the very beginning of
this project, and they were representative of the
broad-based community support for change along
Airport Boulevard. It was this support which
enabled a quarter-long design studio to be estab­lished
within Auburn's Landscape Architecture
Program to undertake the "Improvement of Airport
Boulevard in Mobile."
To begin the work, students and faculty visited
Mobile with fresh eyes, as if for the very first time,
noting its strong and weak points. Sue Lyons, a
tour guide with the Mobile Chamber of Com­merce,
was spirited and gracious, making Mobile's
history and heritage come alive for the visitors.
Councilwoman Jane Baxter hosted the group at her
home off of Airport Boulevard, and invited guests
who offered many viewpoints regarding what was
needed to improve it. After spending the night with
host families in Mobile, the students assembled the
following morning for their first taste of the project
site, breakfast at a franchise restaurant in the heart 1 l
of the commercial development. The task ahead
was clearly identified. The expression, "there's no
there, there," clearly applied to Airport Boulevard.
The students spent a day sketching impressions of
Airport Boulevard from Government Street to the
Airport and back again, an eight mile cross section
of the city. The University van was literally filled
with paper, but more importantly, it was filled with
images; good, bad, strong and weak. The design
process had begun.
Upon returning to Auburn the students began to
analyze what they had seen, heard and experienced
first hand. Land use studies, traffic studies, visual
quality analyses and topographic studies were
utilized to discover the opportunities along the
boulevard's right-of-way. The team effort by the
citizens of the community and trained designers
produced a basis for the development of a master
plan. The master plan which evolved offered
different approaches to problem solving as well as
the opportunity for the creation of a unique aes­thetic
image. The ideas of "continuity" and "gate­way"
emerged as dominant themes in the planning
phase.
An overall concept evolved from the studio
deliberations of Airport Boulevard: A physical
history of the development of Mobile from "Sea­port
to Airport," from "History to Progress." It was
clear that this corridor represented the develop­ment
of the city from its early history on the shores
of Mobile Bay to its aspirations for progress as
evidenced by the new airport terminal building.
THE MASTER PLAN
The Master Plan established a spatial corridor
which links all of the diverse land uses along the
street. The design did not attempt to hide all that is
bad as much as it hoped to provide a strong frame
Above are excerpts of the rendering presented to the City of Mobile.
TopLeH: "The proposed gateway for the city .. .-emphasizes water, proclaims Mobile's rich heritage in th,e shipping BoHom renderings address the issue ofsignage and offer
Mobile's rich historic heritage in a contemporary context. industry. At the same time it provides a welcome for design guidelines. They promote the idea of "tasteful use
Preceded by the six flags which have flown over Mobile, a newcomers to the Mobile area. The gateway sculpture of signs which provide essential information while blend­landmark
of contemporary design has been placed which, gestures outward pointing west, reinforcing the idea that ing compatibly with overall development."
through the integration of sculpture, landform and water, Mobile is still a growing and progressive city."
of reference for the motorist in transit along the
street. Some individual problems will require the
energy and efforts of the landowners along the
boulevard, but the Master Plan provided a frame­work
in which all these problems could be ad­dressed.
Ideally it will give each landowner an
image of a larger picture in which he can see
possible solutions to his own problems more
clearly.
Gateways
Gateways evolved early in the project as an
important idea. They occur wherever change
occurs, alerting the motorist to new environmental
circumstances such as the entrance into a residen­tial
neighborhood or arrival into a prominent
shopping area. Some gateways are natural , such as
the presence of large existing trees, whereas others
are architectural landmarks such as large, promi­nent
buildings. In addition to denoting entrance,
gateways signal exit and can provide a link be­tween
disparate elements within a city's fabric.
Planting
Landscape planting deals with the use of natural
plant materials to create environmental quality,
define spaces and introduce a humane element in
architectural and engineered creations. The plant­ing
in the Master Plan addresses the recognition of
different land uses, the selection of hardy species
that can tolerate and thrive in adverse conditions,
and the need for continuity in a discontinuous
setting. There is a major emphasis on the establish­ment
of a rhythm and a sense of flow along the
corridor, using plants to link areas and highlight
distinct districts. Tree species with strong connec­tions
to the heritage of Mobile are proposed to
shade residential districts whereas more hardy and
fast growing species are proposed to define com­mercial
centers. Concern for seasonal interest and
ease of maintenance were factors in the individual
plant selections.
Street Furniture
The term "landscaping" as it is used in this project
incorporates more than just plants. The Master
Plan uses street furniture as an important landscape
element. In order to organize the environment,
streetlights and traffic lights were incorporated into
design elements which also provide space for street
identification and traffic direction. In residential
areas which already have overhead street tree
canopies, pedestrian scale sidewalk lighting was
introduced. Bus shelters were designed to provide
alternatives to the mini-billboards now used, and to
provide safe places highly visible to the pedestrian,
a forgotten person on the existing boulevard. A
unique planter design was developed to identify
important intersections while establishing a link to
Mobile's architectural past and cultural diversity.
All of these ideas were accomplished with respect
to the need for traffic safety and motorist visibility.
Guidelines
Design guidelines for such things as signs, curb
cuts and the landscaping of parking lots adjacent to
the street were developed. The lack of guidelines
in the past has resulted in an environment that is
confusing, dangerous and counterproductive. to its
intended purpose-the safe and efficient transport
of people and goods. Everyone involved in this
project has come to believe fervently that "Good
design makes good sense." e
Mayor Arthur Outlaw and the Mobile City
Council have selected Fred Rux as Landscape
Architect and Wolpert Engineers for the project.
They are moving forward with preliminary
planning and cost estimates.
/
(ABOVE AND BELOW)
Auburn students
work on the 22-foot rendering of
the Master Plan.
15 Volume 1, No.1
Details+ Of Interest
Details of Interest
is a regular feature
of Design Alabama
and will highlight
a wide variety
of events and resources.
DesignAiabama 16
Awards for excel lence in restoration and
preservation of Birmingham architecture
and for significant personal contribution
were announced at the Preservation Ball
held on October 2 by the Birmingham
Historical Society. Buildings recognized
were:
Birmingham Ace Hardware Co •.
316-318 First Street. owned by Citizens
Federal Savings Bank;
Engel Building 2126 Morris Avenue,
owned by Engel Realty;
Farley Building, Third Ave. North
an\t 20th Street. owned by Farley LTD and
Hadley Church & Co.;
McAdory Building, 2013 First Ave.
North, owned by Hadley, Church &
Carlson;
Wilson Building, 2213 Morris Ave.,
owned by occupants Nimrod Long and
Associates; Renneker, Tichansky Archi­tects;
Renneker & Co., and James H.
Haggard;
The Tutwiler. 21st Street at Park
Place, owned by Tutwi ler Ltd.;
Wooster Lofts, 2321 First Ave. North,
owned by Calder Associates; and
Zinszer Building, 2117 Second Ave ..
owned by Second Avenue Historic
Partnership.
Individuals honored were:
Bob Burns and Pat Gallagher.
lnTown Architects
Pat O'Sullivan, Vince Priola,
Charles Robinson, O'Sullivan
Construction Co.
Scott Shepard, Calder Associates
Greg Church, Hadley Church & Co.
Sam Frazier, Second Avenue Historic
Partnership
Houston Brice, Charlie Logan
Brice Building Co.
Gray Plosser, Liz Dodson, Mike
Tillman, Kidd/Piosser /Sprague/ Architects,
Inc.
Miller Gorrie, Garry Denson
Brasfield & Gorrie
Stanley Erdreich, Bill Coleman,
Marvin Engel, Engel Realty
Ken Owens, Cornelius Arrington,
The Owens-Woods Partnership
Kirkwood Bailon, Booker T. Wash­ington
Insurance Co.
Nim Long, Nimrod Long & Associates
Bill Renneker, Renneker, Tichansky
Architects
Temple Tutwiler
Milton Harsh, Nancy Kennedy,
Porter. White & Yardley
Roy Swindal, Masonry Walls Marble
and Tile Decorative Center
Bob Moody, Moody & Associates
Congratulations to all those
honored.
A DAY IN OLD
BIRMINGHAM
On October 4, Birmingham celebrated the
progress and restoration that has been
taking place in the City Center with a day­long
party. Fifty-seven buildings opened
their doors to visitors during the event that
included walking tours, music, food, and
activities for the whole family. Co-sponsors
were the Birmingham Historical Society,
the City, and Operation New Birmingham.
Unda Nelson stands with one of the
"Walking Architecture" pieces used in
the celebration. Linda is a preservation
specialist with Operation New Birming­ham.
Volunteers stood inside the
building and passed out flyers during
the week before the event.
Children participated in "Build With An Architect," constructing edible architecture
of graham crackers, marshmallows, and lasagne noodles.
The American Institute of Graphic Arts
AMERICAN
INSTITUTE OF
GRAPHIC ARTS
Alabama is home to the newest chapter of
the American Institute of Graphic Arts
(AlGA). This non-profit organization of
graphic design and graphic arts profes­sionals
sponsors competitions, exhibi­tions,
publications, professional seminars,
educational activities, and projects in the
public interest to promote excellence in,
and the advancement of, the graphic
design profession.
The Birmingham AlGA Chapter is one
of the first in the deep South and includes
graphic artists from throughout Alabama.
The newly elected officers are President.
Guy Arello; Vice President. Marie Weaver;
Secretary, Barbara Clavenna; Treasurer,
Beth Moore.
Regular meetings will be held in
Birmingham on the second Tuesday of
each month. Call 324-1993 for further
information.
NEW ALABAMA
COMMUNITY
Modern-day pioneers will have an
opportunity to help settle a new commu­nity
being planned 30 miles north of
Birmingham. The project is actually a
"recolonization" of BLOUNT SPRINGS,
which was a resort community in the
early and mid-1800s.
Internationally known architect and
planner Andres Duany is the designer.
His Miami, Florida based firm designed
the town of Seaside on the Florida Gulf
Coast. Mr. Duany designs places which
lend themselves physically and philo­sophically
to the creation of community
in the classic sense. He designs towns
for people rather than around automo­biles,
with public areas having a focus in
the form of objects like gazebos and
pavilions, with a lot of attention paid to
pedestrian space. Historic atmosphere
and preservation of the natural beauty of
the area are important elements of this
project.
Jim Tullis, now of Connecticut, has
owned the land for several years, and
grew up visiting the Blount Springs area.
He still has family ties there, as does
Richard Randolph, of Norville whom Mr.
Tullis chose to be the realtor for the
project. "Right now our information
efforts are focused on letting people
know of the opportunity for an alternative
way of life," says Mr. Randolph. It will be
spring or early summer of next year
before the actual cost of lots can be
determined, but this fall and winter those
interested will be able to see how the
community will develop. For more
information contact Mr. Randolph in
Birmingham at 871-0270, and check
future issues of Design Alabama for
updates.
NEW ART MUSEUM
Dothan's historic municipal electric
power generating plant has been
designated to house THE DOTHAN
MUSEUM, INC. The development of an
art museum for the city is a special
initiative of Mayor Larry Register and
the Dothan City Commission. A board
of directors has been established to
govern the museum, and they will soon
begin the search for an architectural firm
to design the ~ower plant's transforma­tion.
Built in 1912-13, the orange brick
building has approximately 15,000
square feet of space and sits on a three­and-
one-half acre site. Situated
opposite the city's historic Opera House
and southward beyond the Civic Center,
the building serves to complete the rec­tangular
frame of Dothan's downtown
civic and arts plaza. "The building is
beautiful, both inside and out, and
provides vast areas of space which look
almost as if the building was designed
and built to one day become home to
the beautiful, high-quality facility the
Dothan Museum will be," says Elaine
Johnson, volunteer chairman of the Art
Gallery/Museum Study, a group which
has been working to make this project a
reality.
PRESERVATION
The recently formed ALABAMA
PRESERVATION ALLIANCE is an inde­pendent,
statewide, non-profit organization
which exists to encourage the recognition
and preservation of Alabama's heritage.
The goals of the Alliance are to promote
public participation in historic preservation
programs and activities, to disseminate
information and knowledge about our
state's history and to give voice to the many
organizations and individuals in Alabama
who are committed to the preservation of
our heritage.
Members are provided the opportunity
to participate in an annual conference
which includes workshops and seminars
on heritage preservation topics as well as
tours and social events. Members also
receive a quarterly newsletter, have
representation on important issues such as
Alabama Preservation Alliance
endangered houses and crucial legislation,
and are provided with a membership roster,
speaker list and other materials to encour­age
the exchange of preservation informa­tion.
If you are interested in membership or
further information about the Alabama
Preservation Alliance contact Lewis
McCray in Tuscaloosa at 345-5545, or
Billy Bliss in Talladega at 362-3052. Or
write The Alabama Preservation Alliance,
301 Ninth Street, Athens, AL 35611 .
BOOKS
By Robert Gamble
University of Alabama Press, 1987, $55
~----------+----------~ TAHMEE RAILCAABNA MBUAI LCDAITNAGLSO SGU: RHVIESTYO iRs ItChe
COMMUNITY
BEAUTIFICATION
The MOBILE GAS COMPANY is the city's
oldest corporate citizen, and in celebra­tion
of 150 years of service to the
community 150 trees have been planted
where gas lights were first placed along
Government Boulevard in 1836. " ... we
hope that our beautification program will
set an example for other community
leaders, both corporate and private, to
become active participants in similar
beautification projects. These new trees,
and the others to follow, will become
symbols of a new Mobile." Ron Jackson,
Mobile's Urban Forester, plans to plant an
additional150 trees around Mobile this
coming winter. Some of the original live
oaks will also be replaced with new trees.
These new trees were guaranteed by the
supplier and will be replaced at no cost, in
the event of loss. The vast majority of the
live oaks planted are doing well.
Mobile Gas Service Chairman of the Board William Hearin and President Walter
Hovell ceremoniously plant the first of more than 300 trees donated to the
City of Mobile.
first comprehensive historical account of
the state's architecture.
Compiled by Robert Gamble, senior
architectural historian for the Alabama
Historical Commission, the book details
Alabama structures recorded by the
federally-sponsored Historic American
Buildings Survey (HABS) over a period of
50 years.
Alabama has one of the most compre­hensive
collections in the HABS Library
of Congress listings.
Designed for both the layman and the
professional, Gamble's book provides an
in-depth study in two parts. In the first
section, he traces the state's arch itectural
legacy, beginning with structu res that
date from the early 1800s. Both primitive
and more sophisticated architectu re are
treated, with some 200 photographs and
100 sketches and plans used to illustrate
the state's diversity of styles.
Further information about the book is
available from Merrill Floyd, Marketing
Manager, The University of Alabama
Press, P.O. Box 2877, Tuscaloosa, AL
35487-2877; or call (205) 348-5180.
VIDEO
Environmental Images in Washington
D.C. produced a video entitled Places As
Art that was sponsored by the National
Endowment for the Arts in 1986. It
explores what places mean to us and uses
case studies to show how some of the
great places in this country have been
made. Places As Art is available for
group showings in your community.
Contact Becky Mullen at 261-4076 to put
Places As Art and Design Alabama on
the program at your organization's next
meeting.
• Illustration: John Morgan
Details of interest will provide a
calendar of events as well as listing
items of importance to the state. Please
let us know the dates, times and places
of lectures, exhibitions, forums,
meetings and other events. The dead·
line for submission for the next issue is
March 10, 1988.
17 Volume 1, No.1
BY WILLIAM C. BULLOCK
PROFESSOR AND HEAD
DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
DesignAiabama 18
MY MOTHER
DOESN•T
KNOW WHAT
I DO.
"ALTHOUGH IT MAY BE DIFFICULT
TO DEFINE, IT IS AN EXHILARATING AND
CHALLENGING OCCUPATION, ONE OF
THE BEST KEPT SECRETS."
(I hat is industrial design?
Do you know what an industrial
designer does? Did you know that
you use products designed by in·
dustrial designers every day? Did
you know you can study industrial
design at a major university in the
state of Alabama?
I
If you did not know the answer to any of
these questions join the crowd ... my
mother sti II does not understand what I do
and I have given up trying to explain it to
her after more than 20 years of practice.
One problem is that the name is not very
descriptive of what industrial designers
do. Product design might be a more ap­propriate
name. Another problem is that
industrial design is a young profession,
and although becoming more widely
known each year, it's still far from a
household word. Although it may be dif­ficult
to define, it is an exh ilarating and
challenging occupation, one of the best
kept secrets.
Although you may have never met me or
any other industrial designer, you have
most likely benefitted from using the
products we design. Telephones, chairs,
automobiles, flatware, computers, exer­cise
equipment, signs, electric mixers,
vacuum cleaners, and power tools are just
a few of the many examples. It is hard to
imagine a world without such modern
products to assist with our daily living.
Products ranging in size from ball point
pens to commercial airliners and as di­verse
as shoes and space stations have
been designed by industrial designers.
Anything manufactured for people to use
in their daily lives must first be designed.
If the object is to be sat upon, held,
touched, worn, played with, worked on
and just plain looked at and enjoyed, then
its design is the task for a designer.
D ndustrial design began in the mid
1940's following World War II
when manufacturers had all kinds of ma­chinery
and nothing to produce. Some­one
was needed to help make appliances
and other products look more attractive
so people would buy them. The first in­dustrial
designers were from fields such
as art, architecture, theatre, and graphic
design. Two of the earliest were Henry
1 • I
Dreyfuss and Raymond Loewy. Dreyfuss
designed the original table top telephone
for the Bell Company, and also worked for
Singer, Polaroid and John Deere design­ing
a variety of products and equipment.
Loewy is perhaps best known, at least
among designers, for his simple and ele­gant
design of the Coca-cola bottle which
has endured for so many years, and for
the work he did on the Skylab space
station for NASA. He also designed the
famous Avanti automobile, a forerunner
of today's mass-prqduced automobiles.
Familiar logos used by Shell and Exxon
and the eagle emblem used by the United
States Postal Service were also designed
by Loewy.
As these individuals became more suc­cessful
and the need for their services
increased, the profession of industrial
design was born. Reacting to industry's
need for individuals who could not only
make products look better but who could
design products so they would work bet­ter
as well, schools began to offer courses
in industrial design. At first these were
little more than product drawing courses,
but gradually courses in design, manu­facturing
technology, science and liberal
arts were added.
D oday, more than thirty schools
across the nation offer courses of
study in industrial design, including state
supported institutions and private art
schools. Most courses of study take four
years to complete but a few schools have
five year programs leading to an under­graduate
degree. A number of schools
also offer two years of advanced study
leading to a Master's degree. Some
schools specialize by teaching a particu­lar
kind of design such as automotive
design or furn iture design. The majority,
however, take a more general approach by
teaching their students to design a wide
range of consumer products and equip­ment.
Fil ne school where students may get
1.!1 an undergraduate or graduate de­gree
is Auburn University. Auburn is the
" IF THE OBJECT IS TO BE SAT
UPON, HELD, TOUCHED, WORN,
PLAYED WITH, WO,RKED ON AND
JUST PLAIN LOOKED AT AND
ENJOYED THEN ITS DESIGN IS THE
TASK FOR A DESIGNER."
only university in the state to offer indus­trial
design and is one of only three
schools in the southeast, the others being
Georgia Tech and North Carol ina State.
Auburn is one of the top industrial design
schools in the United States and has a
successful history of preparing graduates
for careers in industry. Graduates are
working for IBM, Boeing, Weyerhaeuser,
NASA, Coleman, Diversified Products,
Container Corporation of America, Texize,
Aladdin and others. They also work as in­dependent
consultants doing design
work for a number of different companies
each year and several run their own de­sign
firms. The design areas in which they
work include consumer products and
equipment, packaging, exhibits, signage,
FAR LEFTTO RIGHT: THE "NEATFREEZE" IS AN ELEC- THIS EDUCATIONAL CLOCK FOR TEACHERS IS DE- THESE FOOD PACKAGES AND ELEGANT WARMER BOTTOM LEFT: THE POP TOP CAN OPENER WAS
TRIC APPLIANCE FOR MAKING HOME MADE ICE SIGNED TO BE EITHER HAND HELD OR WALL UNIT WERE DESIGNED BY TERRY JOHNSON OF DESIGNED TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR PEOPLE WITH
CREAM. THE UNIT ELIMINATES MUCH OF THE MESS MOUNTED. THE DIAL HAS ADJUSTABLE NUMBERS OCTAGON, ALABAMA AS PART OF A "MEAL ON ARTHRITIS TO OPEN CONTAINERS. THE OPENER
AND BOTHER WHEN MAKING YOUR OWN ICE CREAM SO THE CLOCK FACE CAN BE CHANGED TO READ IN WHEELS" DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR SHUT-INS. TERRY CAN BE GRASPED USING THE UNIQUE THREE HOLE
BY USING HEXAGON SHAPED FREEZER PACKS IN- ARABIC, ROMAN NUMERALS, DASHES, DOTS OR IS NOW A DESIGNER WITH INTERGRAPH CORPORA· HANDLE DESIGN WHICH MINIMIZES PRESSURE ON
STEAD OF CRUSHED ICE. AN ELECTRIC MOTOR OTHER SYMBOLS TO MATCH THE DIFFERENT DIAL TION IN HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA. THE FOOD PACK- THE WRIST. THE DESIGN CAN BE USED TO OPEN
POWERS THE UNIT AND AUTOMATICALLY SHUTS FACE DESIGNS THAT EXIST ON CLOCKS OR AGES ARE DESIGNED TO FACILITATE MEAL PLAN- THREE DIFFERENT STYLES OF POP TOP CONTAIN-OFF
WHEN THE DESIRED CONSISTENCY IS WATCHES. THE HANDS OF THE CLOCK CAN BE NING, DELIVERY AND DISPOSAL. FOOD CAN BE ERS WHICH ARE ON !HE MARKET. THE MATERIAL
REACHED. THE UNIT IS MADE OF FOAMED PLASTIC EASILY ADJUSTED BY PRE-SCHOOLERS AND PRO· EATEN DIRECTLY FROM THE CONTAINERS OR USED IS STAINLESS STEEL WITH THE HANDLE
WHICH INSULATES THE CONTAINER. "NEAT MOTES SELF LEARNING. THE STUDENT DESIGNER SERVED CONVENTIONALLY. THE TRAY AND CLEAR COATED WITH A PLASTIC FILM. THE STUDENT DE·
FREEZF' IS DESIGNED BY STUDENT KEITH SAVAS. IS MICHAEL BROWN. COVER ARE DISHWASHER SAFE.
furniture and interior environments. En­trepreneurial
opportunities also exist for
those few who have the savvy to design,
manufacture and market their own de­signs.
One reason the Auburn program ·has · ·
been so successful is itsabili~yto balance
academic education with real worla prac-· ·
tice. This is done in two ways. First, there
is the cooperative education ·program
where students can alternate periods of
work in industry with _periods of academic
study on campus. Second, there is the
commitment to do design projects andre­search
with corporations. This effort not
only helps fulfi II the University's research
and service obligations, it helps to better
prepare students for careers in industry
by involving them in real life design proj­ects.
Successful design research proj­ects
have been completed with NASA,
General Motors, Armco, Borg-Warner,
The American I ron and Steel Institute and ·
the Zinc Institute.
D he most exciting and challenging
project to date was the recent de­sign
work for the new NASA space sta­tion.
The space station consists of tubu­lar
modules 44 feet long and 14.5 feet .in
diameter in which a crew of from 4 to 8
astronauts from the U.S., Japan and Eu­ropewillliveand
work for three months or
longer. The station is projected to be in
use for up to 30 years, and is scheduled
for launch in the 1990's. Auburn indus­trial
design and architecture faculty as­sisted
Martin Marietta in developing pre­liminary
proposals for the project by ere-
TWO TEAMS OF SENIOR STUDENTS RECENTLY
REDESIGNED THE INTERIOR OF THE PONTIAC FIERO
AUTOMOBILE AS PART OF A SENIOR CLASS PROJ­ECT
IN TRANSPORTATION DESIGN. THE GOAL OF
THE PROJECT WAS TO MAKE THE INTERIOR MORE
FUNCTIONAL AND TO IMPROVE SAFETY, COMFORT
AND APPEARANCE. STUDENTS CONDUCTED INTER·
VIEWS WITH CAR OWNERS TO DETERMINE CON­SUMER
PREFERENCES, EVALUATED OTHER AUTO­MOBILE
DESIGNS AND SEARCHED LITERATURE
SOURCES TO GATHER INFORMATION ON SAFETY,
LEFT: DESIGN CONCEPT-FOR FOOD PACKAGING IN
SPACE. PIE SHAPED PACKAGES SUCH AS THESE CAN
BE USED TO PACKAGE FOOD FOR ASTRONAUTS
WHO WILL LIVE AND WORK IN SPACE. THE CON­TAINERS
ARE EASY TO HOLD AND WILL ALLOW
FOOD TO BE DISPENSED IN SMALL QUANTITES. THE
CONTAINERS CAN ALSO BE USED AS "BELLOWS"
THAT CAN BE SQUEEZED IN ORDER TO DISPENSE
CONTENTS.
ABOVE: DRAWING OF THE PROPOSED NASA SPACE NATION CAN BE LIFE THREATENING IN THIS CLOSED
STATION INTERIOR BY ALAN LAFRON, ASSISTANT ENVIRONMENT. THROUGH THE USE OF COLOR, TEX·
PROFESSOR OF ARCHITECTURE. THE DESIGN TRIES TURE AND ARRANGEMENT OF INTERIOR COMPO-TO
ACHIEVE AN "EARTH-LIKF' ATMOSPHERE THAT NENTS A SENSE OF UP AND DOWN IS CREATED. THIS
WOULD BE PLEASANT TO LIVE IN DURING AN EX· PROVIDED A FRAME OF REFERENCE SO THAT AS·
TENDED STAY IN SPACE. THE INTERIOR ALSO HAD TRONAUTS CAN BETTER ORIENT THEMSELVES.
TO BE EASY TO CLEAN SINCE MICROBIAL CONTAMI·
ating new product and interior designs for
the space station.
The problem facing the designers was
tb design a safe, healthy and attractive
environment for the habitation module
where astronauts will live and work. The
SIGNER IS MARK PINCINC~. ·
module had to be designed to accommo­date
activities such as eating, sleeping,
exercising, recreation, and personal hy­giene.
Designers had to overcome the
stereotypical image of what it is like to live
and work in space that have been created
by motion pictures such as "2001 : A
Space Odyssey" and "Star Wars." These
have created attractive but unrealistic vi­sions
of what life in space will be like,
isolated from family and friends and fa­miliar
surroundings for extended periods.
The habitation environment also had to
be flexible to accommodate the diverse
needs of a multinational crew and to allow
for changes and repairs. Safety and health
were also critical issues. Cleaning, for ex­ample,
is extremely important. An unclean
environment in space can be life threaten­ing
because of microbial buildup. Noise
was a problem also since there is no at­mosphere
in space to dissipate sound
waves. And if you have· ever yelled into a
culvert when you were a kid, you know
how sound travels in a large tube. Designs
also had to be extremely reliable. One will
not be able to simply shuttle down to the
nearest hardware store for a spare part.
Auburn designers created a number of
new product designs for the space station
including items such as exercise equip­ment
so astronauts could keep fit, p~r­sonal
hygiene units for bathing and waste
management, food packaging that was
easy to use and disposable, and adjust­able
lighting fixture des·igns. Particularly
interesting were the designs of several
pieces of "space furniture" to serve the
same purpose as tables and chairs here
SEATING AND PERTINENT HUMAN FACTORS DATA. SIZE MOCKUP OR "BUCK" OFTHE PASSENGER COM- SCOTT CRITIQUES STUDENT DESIGNS OF THE FIERO AND GIVE THE STUDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO
NEW DESIGN IDEAS AND IMPROVEMENTS WERE PARTMENT OF THEIR FINAL DESIGN. THE BUCKS PONTIAC AUTOMOBILE INTERIOR. PROFESSIONAL INTERACT WITH PROFESSIONAL DESIGNERS FIRST
FIRST DRAWN AND EVALUATED ON PAPER. MODELS WERE CONSTRUCTED OF WOOD AND PAINTED, DESIGNERS FROM INDUSTRY ARE OFTEN INVITED HAND. ABOVE RIGHT: CAR INTERIOR FOR GENERAL
OF THE MOST PROMISING WERE THEN BUILT AND UPHOLSTERED AND FINISHED TO LOOK AND FEEL INTO STUDIO CLASSROOMS TO HEAR STUDENT MOTORS CORPORATION. STUDENT DESIGNERS
TESTED FOR DESIGN FEASIBILITY. TO SHOW THE REAL. PRESENTATIONS AND MAKE COMMENTS. THESE SHOWN LEFT TO RIGHT ARE KEVIN MUNDT, SCOTT
FINAL DESIGN, EACH TEAM CONSTRUCTED A FULL ABOVE: GENERAL MOTORS DESIGN MANAGER BILL SESSIONS ARE A GREAT LEARNING EXPERIENCE LOWERY AND JOEL SOWDER.
19 Volume 1, No. 1
on earth. Since the astronauts will not be
able to "sit down" in space in the conven­tional
sense (there is no gravity and no up
or down) designers developed a number
SOMETHING
FISHY ...
DEPARTMENT HEAD BILL BUL­LOCK,
PROJECT DIRECTOR TIN­MAN
LAU AND BOB GIBSON, IN­DUSTRIAL
DESIGNER AND DI­RECTOR
OF ENGINEERING WITH
HUMMINGBIRD DIVISION OF
TECHSONIC INDUSTRIES IN
EUFAULA, ALABAMA, DISCUSS A
STUDENT'S DESIGN FOR A NEW
LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY (LCD)
DEPTH SOUNDER.
MEDICATION DISPENSER
I
of unique restraints to hold astronauts in
place while working or sleeping.
Whether in outer space or here on earth,
the industrial designer's task is to design
LEFT: AWARD WINNING "MEDIPAK" FIRST AID KIT HIS PROJECT UNDER THE TUTELAGE OF WALTER
FOR OFFICES. STEVE SILVERSTEIN OF NASHVILLE SCHAER, SENIOR MEMBER OF THE INDUSTRIAL
WON TOP HONORS IN A RECENT COMPETITION DESIGN FACULTY. SILVERSTEIN DESCRIBES HIS
SPONSORED BY BORG-WARNER CHEMICALS. PROJECT THIS WAY: "I WANTED A KIT THAT WOULD
BORG-WARNER IS ONE OF SEVERAL MAJOR COR- BE VISIBLE AND IDENTIFIABLE - THUS THE RED
PORATIONS THAT HAVE SPONSORED SIMILAR CROSS ELEMENT. THE HANDLE, WHICH FRAMES
·coMPETITIONS TO GIVE STUDENTS MORE DIRECT TWO SIDES OF THE KIT WHEN ON THE WALL, AP-CONTACT
WITH THE TYPES OF ASSIGNMENTS THEY PEARS TO BE ROUND BUT IS OVAL TO BffiER FIT
MAY ENCOUNTER, AND WITH PROFESSIONALS AL- THE GRASP OFA HAND, MAKING IT EASY TO CARRY.
READY WORKING IN THE FIELD. SILVERSTEIN, WHO I CHOSE THE RECTANGULAR SHAPE TO HARMONIZE
. HAS WORKED AS A CO-OP STUDENT WITH IBM, DID WITH AN OFFICE ENVIRONMENT.~
products and environments that function then the designer has succeeded. •
well tor the people who use them. It the
product is comfortable, sate, attractive,
and enjoyable to use as well as affordable, ·
and then as a group to propose new
ideas. They looked at factors such
as· the mounting, graphics, aes­thetics,
packaging, marketing and
D his past summer quarter a other human factor aspects of the
special seminar class for 14 depth sounder
senior-level industrial design stu- Bob Gibson, director of engineer­dents
was held to improve the de· ing of Techsonic Industries, Inc.,
sign, or possibly redesign, a liquid the corporation who funded there­crystal
display depth sounder used search said, "The application of
to alert commercial and sports good industrial design has helped
fishermen to large schools of fish Techsonic Industries become the
in deep water. Tin-Man Lau, an as- leader ofthe sportfishing industry.
sistant pfofessor in the depart· We're excited about the results of
ment, taught the class. "There are this project. We don't know at this
many, many different types of pointto what extent we will use the
boats that the depth sounder has to student work, but they have pro­fasten
to ••• ,'' he said. Students first vided fresh approaches to prob­worked
individually on the project I ems that we have worked on."
Design research is conducted by faculty in which occur. The completed design shown nurse know when medication should be dis- undergo hospital tests. Auburn faculty in
the department of industrial design for vari- above mounts on the wall next to the patient's pensed to the patient. An on-board computer industrial design and pharmacy who worked
ous industries. One interesting project re- bed. Medication is contained in two circular · regulates distribution oft he required medica- on the project were Bill Bullock, Jack Zellner,
cently completed was the design of a medica- trays, simi Ia[ to audio visual slide trays, tion dose at the proper time and keeps track Bret Smith, Ken Barker, Tyrone Gibson, and
lion dispenser for hospitals. The goal was to which are filled in the hospital's pharmacy. A of the patient's medication record. The unit is Bill Felkey.
eliminate the high rate of medication errors flashing light and auditory signal lets the presently being evaluated and is soon to
DesignAiabama 20
E ven though people have to work indoors a
lot of the time, most feel the need for
windows that allow natural light to shine
in, and some are lucky enough to be spoiled
with a great view. There are probably people
who never really thought about it until they
found themselves in an office in the middle of
a huge building with no windows. Suddenly
they couldn't know what the weather was like
without taking the time to walk out of their
office and down the hall, and might as well be
working in the middle of the night as in the
middle of the day.
Sometimes this situation simply cannot be
avoided, however, one way architects help add
to the total amount of natural light coming in a
building is to include skylights as part of the
design. Barganier/McKee/Sims Architects in
Montgomery has been known to consistently
design buildings with skylights. Dart Davis,
who is with the firm , says that "Perhaps the
most important reason for designing skylights
into buildings is the positive response we
receive from clients. People like the awareness
of the outside and the elements which skylights
provide. Our job as architects is not only to
make buildings functional, but also to provide
the most pleasing atmosphere for the user
possible." '
Barganier/McKee/Sims is employed by Na­tional
Microsystems, Inc. in Montgomery, and
designs the company's manufacturing plants.
The most recently built plant has skylights, put
there for the benefit of the employees. The
welfare of employees is one of Chairman of tht;
Board Ben Collier's top priorities. "Most of
Ben's projects are what we call 'fast track'
projects. He comes to us and says 'I need so
many square feet yesterday," says Dart Davis,
project architect. By "fast track," they 're
talking 90 days from the time ground is broken
to the time people are working in the building.
" ... we usually design the foundation first-get
building permits on the foundation before we
even know what the elevation is going to look
"In manufacturing you don't move
around a lot. You're pretty much
stationary in one location .. Anything
you can do to improve the environment
will help the work situation. Skylights
seem to really do the trick.
The skylights are furred down
to make them look larger. The idea
was that a skylight of that full size
would've been really, really expensive,
so we angled the walls to give the
appearance of this huge skylight."
-Dart Davis
like. Ben usually gets involved quite a bit in
the design process and he knows what he
wants. Aesthetics are an important part of the
project," says Dart.
This tight building schedule requires that tilt­up
concrete be used, slabs that are poured and
pre-stressed. It's not possible to put regular
windows in these slabs according to Dart, so
that's why NMI has started including skylights
in their plants. A full-time in-house construe-
Design•Makes A Difference
tion crew helps because they don 't need "super
detailed" drawings, they 're very familiar with
this type of project.
According to Mark Chesnutt, who is Director
of Public Relations for the company, "Being
able to put up a plant in 90 days is a tremen­dous
selling point." NMI manufactures "a
diverse line of assembly aids and test
equipment ... fault isolating testers and assembly
devices designed to reduce manufacturing
costs ... ," according to the company's promo­tional
brochure. Clients include North
American Rockwell, McDonnell Douglas, and
Hughes Helicopter. Winning contracts can
mean five years of work, and "Ben keeps in
mind that the plant can be used for things other
than what it was originally built for, for many
types of manufacturing. We never have enough
manufacturing space," says Mark.
The employees do like the effects of the sky­lights.
Karen Armstrong, who serves as Assis­tant
to the General Manager, says that "It's a
completely different atmosphere since they put
the skylights in. There's not such a closed in
feeling." There's a practical advantage too,
compared to the other buildings Karen has
worked in without a natural light source. "If
we had a power failure, you couldn't see your
hand in front of your face, it was pitch black."
Lee Moore, who is also a photographer, says
that "You can tell the effect of the natural
light, it's much better than standard fluores­cent,
it's cleaner, it feels nicer. You have
things like shadows, those are actually neat."
Another practical advantage in his opinion, "A
lot of people work at computer video screens.
The diffuse light of the sun is easier on the eye
than pure flourescent light. I like it." Melvin
Skipper sums it up by saying, "Where I sit the
sun shines right there on my desk, it's rather
nice." e
By Becky Mullen
Photo: Mark Chesnutt
Design Makes A Diffe~ence is a regular feature of
Design Alabama .
21 Volume 1, No. 1
S elma has gathered a lot of ex­perience
in the last 15 years
turning the apparent liabilities of
the commercial district into pol­ished
gems. In the early 1970s the
downtown area was likely to evoke
the kind of reaction that most
downtown retailers regret. Lovely
historic buildings dating from as
early as the 1860s were concealed
by metal fronts. Windows were bro­ken
or covered. The streets and
sidewalks were adequate, but there
was no landscaping and parking
was a subject of hot debate.
T he drive to save downtown
began in reaction to the
loss of one of Selma's
great landmark buildings, the
Hotel Albert. A backdrop in the
classic movie "The Heart is a
Lonely Hunter," the Albert was
taken down in 1969. Within years,
the first steps were taken to protect
the antebellum buildings along
Water Avenue. A 1972 National
Register Nomination for the wa­terfront
street included 21 build­ings,
and was pushed by local pre­servationists
Sam and Carol
Sommers and other members of
the Selma-Dallas County Historic
Preservation Society. The nomina­tion
said what few people up to
that point recognized or deemed
significant, that the building com­prised
one of the few original an­tebellum
riverfront streets in the
lower south which survives today.
The Water Avenue nomination
may have helped save some of the
buildings from b€ing demolished
for a new City Hall in the late
1970s. City Hall was instead built
on the vacant site of the Hotel
Albert, signaling to many the
DesignAiabama 22
AN EXAMPLE OF SELMA'S DOWNTOWN
AS IT LOOKS TODAY AFTER PRESERVATION EFFORTS
SPANNING FIFTEEN YEARS.
~
HOW
PRESERVATION
·SNOWBALLED
IN SELMA
BY CAROLYN STRAITON AND CATHERINE MARCINKO
commitment of Mayor Joe Smith­erman
and city officials to the re­vitalization
of downtown.
Important events continued to
take place. A Downtown Develop­ment
Committee, headed by
banker Dick Morthland, was
formed within the Chamber of
Commerce to address the prob­lems.
A team of businessmen were
brought in from Memphis to make
suggestions. That same year, the
first Water Street Market Day was
held, an event that continues to
grow each year.
In 1974 the first study of down­town
was completed by consultant
Richard Forbes for the Downtown
Development Committee. The
study pointed out what many in
Selma already knew. Forbes said
that the romantic and nostalgic
appeal of downtown was the key
to future development, and the
riverbank held "untold possibili­ties
for imaginative restoration and
recreation use."
The Forbes study was followed
by others, the Plan for Downtown
Selma (1976) by the Alabama
ORIGINAL, CIRCA 1870 "RENEWAL," 1961 TODAY
A PICTORIAL HISTORY OF THE LORCH'S DIAMOND SHOP BUILDING
ON BROAD STREET IN DOWNTOWN SELMA.
Photos: Becky Mullen
Tombigbee Regional Commission
under the direction of Darrell C.
Meyer, and two years later, an
Historic Facade Renovation Study
was completed by the same
agency. The city was fully in­volved
by this time, and using
funds from the Department of
Housing and Urban Development,
it paid for detailed plans for public
improv~ments and facade renova­tions.
Elizabeth Driggers, Program
Coordinator for the Office of
Community Development notes
that Selma was "the first small city
in Alabama to get a downtown
preservation project funded with
federal funds." It was certainly the
first to use preservation as an
anchor for economic revitaliza­tion.
A second facade study by noted
Mobile architect Nicholas H.
Holmes, Jr. followed. It was called
"What's Good About Down­town?"
and it included color
renderings showing the buildings
restored to their former glory. A
short time before, Holmes had
completed the National Register
Nomination for the Olde Towne
Historic District, which included
the downtown area, in one of the
largest historic districts in the
state.
Public improvements to down­town
streets and sidewalks were
made in 1979. This was followed
by a massive facade improvement
program which lasted from 1983
to 1985. According to Mayor Joe
Smitherman, "a federal-state grant
enabled the city to design a facade
plan." Federal tax incentives and
financial assistance were offered
to those who followed the plan
drawn by Nicholas Holmes. Most
of the renovations occurred along
Broad Street. Fewer buildings
were renovated on Water A venue.
A notable exception is the Selma
Times-Journal Building, which
was a benchmark project by any
standards. Architect Richard
Hudgens of Linden selected an
outstanding color scheme.
Parallel to the obvious concern
with physical improvements, there
has been continual awareness of
the economic underpinnings of
true revitalization. In 1983 the
City of Selma entered the Ala­bama
Main Street Program,
instituted by the Alabama Histori­cal
Commission. Working with
the city-fu!lded rehabilitation
program, project manager Nancy
R. Squires helped with downtown
retail promotions, advertising and
business recruitment.
The work in downtown Selma
continues. Currently, projects are
winding down in terms of the re­habilitation
work since federal
funds have run out. Nevertheless,
the Main Street Project has contin­ued,
as has the involvement of
other groups. The Downtown
Selma Association now operates
the Main Street Project with help
from its director Carolyn Straiton.
Buddy Swift, a prominent down­town
retailer sees the reemerging
leadership of the private sector as
a natural progression. "The down­town
is just beautiful thanks to the
city and property owners. Now
it's in the hands of the business
community. We are putting the
spirit back into downtown by
offering events like the Halloween
Thing! and Santa's Headquarters."
The Walton Theatre, a Perform­ing
Arts Center in downtown has
also brought new life to the central
business district. The theatre reno­vation
was originally considered
by the city, and outlined in an en-
THE BRIDGETENDER'S HOUSE
ON THE ALABAMA RIVER IS ONE OF THE CURRENT RESTORATION PROJECTS
GOING ON IN SELMA.
compassing study by the Depart­ment
of Architecture at Auburn
University. The study recom­mended
a full utilization of the
building as an all-purpose per­forming
arts complex. Today it is
a reality.
The Johnny Appleseed of these
events, the Selma-Dallas County
Historic Preservation Society, con­tinues
their involvement. Their in-fluence
is clear as they continue to
set the tone with projects like
renovation of an 1880 bridgeten­ders
house. Chris Vaughn points
out the fact that when other cities
were considering urban renewal
as a way to bring life back into
downtown, Selma was beginning
to think about stewardship. Ac­cording
to her, "Preservation just
snowballed in Selma." ~
THE RESTORATION OF THE WALTON THEATRE HAS HELPED
REVITALIZE THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT.
VIEW OF SELMA'S MAIN STREET LOOKING EAST
TOWARD THE EDMOND PETTUS BRIDGE.
This house is under restoration by
the Selma-Dallas County Historic
Preservation Society. It was once
the home of the toll collector who
operated the turntable bridge con­necting
Selma to the eastern shore
of the river, and to the road to
Montgomery over fifty miles away.
The house has been there 1ce
1880, but the bridge is long gone,
replaced in 1940 by the Edmond Pet­tus
Bridge. Several months ago, the
foundation washed out and one of
the lower rooms slid into the swirl­ing
waters of the Alabama river. The
Preservation Society's main con­cern
is how to best spend the
$40,000 it will take to restore the
coHage.
Alabama
Main Street Program
The Alabama Main Street Program
is an innovative downtown revitali­zation
program designed to assist
small cities with populations be­tween
3,000 and 50,000. Estab­lished
in 1982 by the Alabama His­torical
Commission, the program is
based on the National Trust for
Historic Preservation's successful
approach to preservation and eco­nomic
development of older central
business districts.
Main Street generates on-going im­provement
in downtown through
motivating wide participation in
the revitalization process. The four
components of the Main Street Ap­proach-
Organization, Promotion,
Design and Economic Restructur­ing-
are integrated into a compre­hensive
revitalization strategy.
In addition to Selma; Prattville,
Tuscumbia, Decatur, Talladega
and Opelika are currently partici­pating
in the program.
For more information about the
Alabama Main Street Program,
contact the Alabama Historical
Commission at 725 Monroe Street,
Montgomery, AL, 36130, or call
(205) 261 -3184.
23 Volume 1, No. 1
PresseViews
Preis VIews Is a regular
feature of Qeslgn Alabama.
The following article is reprinted here with
permission. These views do not necessarily
reflect those of Design Alabama, Inc.
abe ltuntsvillt aimes
May 24,1987
Chosen-in a near
unanimous vote-the most
architecturally significant
structure: the original space
and rocket center.
PHOTOS: TOllY TRIOLO
HAVE LOCAL ARCHITECTS LEFT DELIGHT OUT OF
Huntsville's been known for cotton,
watercress and rockets.
Never architecture.
Ask somebody to name an architec­turally
significant, post-war structure
in Huntsville. ·
You'll get a blank stare, gaping
mouth and exasperated shrug.
Ask a Huntsville architect the
same question.
You'll get an excuse.
"I'll talk to you about all the build­ings
in Atlanta or Houston, "says
one architect with an odd degree of
inflexibility.
"But I won't be brought into a dis­cussion
about specific Huntsville
buildings. "
Architects here squirm at the
question.
"I'm not going to be dragged into
that," laments one.
"Let someone else judge," says
another.
"I don't think it would serve any
purpose to start critiquing our peers'
work, " reasons another.
One city architect, only slightly
more forthcoming, explains this
strange timidity: "There's a lot of
self-protection in this profession.
We don't want to talk about each
other because we don't want others
talking about us, " he says-asking
anonymity.
"I think it would be healthy if we
opened up to criticism," adds
another. "But an article like this will
cause a brawl. "
DesignAiabama 24
BYPETERCOBUN • TIMESSTAFFWRITER CITY LANDSCAPE?
THE ONCE STAID, gray, professional
world of architecture is changing.
Here. And everywhere.
Money is the new god.
Long discussions of architectural design
theories have been relegated. Replaced
by talk of cost-per-square-foot and the
bottom line.
On a construction project, the architect
is no longer the revered leader.
His power has been usurped by the
owner and developer- holders of the
purse strings. The architect today is often
banished to blueprint sketcher.
Bristling at this change in professional
order, architects have some harsh
thoughts on its results: Cookie cutter
architecture, they call it. Throw-away
architecture.
But there's money to be made out there.
Lots of it. Many architects believe if they
don't adapt to changes in their profession,
they'll miss the bucks.
"The driving force behind most build­ings
in Huntsville is budget," says
Forrest Knowles, a partner in the young
firm of Goodrum Knowles.
"Beauty is probably not a concern of
most of our clients," Knowles says.
"We don 't study architecture from the
point of philosophy. You talk an hour to
a client about how beautiful, aesthetic
and functional you can design his
building. Then he'lllook you right in the
eye and say, 'How much money is it
going to cost me?"'
Knowles' partner, John Goodrum,
agrees: "The beauty of a building is not
the highest priority a client has."
"You've got a real world and an ideal
world of architecture out there," he adds.
"If you're going to survive and grow in
this business, you've got to stay in the
real world."
But some architects see danger in this
business-oriented philosophy that rele­gates
design to a second-class act.
"Architecture is something that's going
to be with Js. Something for our children
and grandchildren," says Billy Herrin of
the firm of Jones & Herrin. "Design is
important. Architects have a responsibil­ity
to the community, a responsibility to
our heritage."
Bill Peters, too, is concerned.
"Design gets left behind a lot of times,"
says Peters, an associate in the firm of
Crow Overbeek Neville.
"In this developer-dominated market, it
so often becomes simply how many
square feet and what's the cost."
VITRUVIUS, THE Roman architect,
defined the product of his craft as
firmness, commodity and delight.
"In Huntsville," says Bill Peters, "we
often leave out the delight."
"Huntsville is very limited in significant
architecture," says David Crow, one of
the city's senior architects.
It's a young city architecturally, says
Herrin. "The most significant buildings
are a few antebellum houses and the
cotton mills."
Harvie Jones, a partner in the same firm,
concurs: "I don't think there are any
world-shaking buildings here people
would come to see. There are no build­ings
here with a national reputation."
Too many Huntsville buildings, says
Jones, "are simple and spare. People are
bored with that."
Herrin says there's been a revolution in
the past two decades-" the way we, as a
society, build buildings. Now we have
throw-away architecture."
"Poor buildings," he says, "offend all
citizens of Huntsville. They're visual pol­lution.
You don't have a choice but to
look at them."
"Go to Research Park," urges Herrin.
"Some of those buildings don't belong in
Huntsville, Ala. They could be in Miami
or Houston. We've gotten away from
those good roots we should be using."
Post-World War II architecture in
Huntsville, says Peters, "lacks a lot in
quality."
HUNTSVILLE ARCHITECTURE is
"no better, no worse" than any other town
of comparable size, insists Goodrum.
Huntsville is simply "not the size to
generate great architecture," says
Knowles. But you can get good architec­ture
here, says Knowles.
His is a novel illustration. "Take a com­mode
out of a house, put it in a yard,
landscape around it, back-light it, make a
nice approach, and it becomes a work
of art."
Peters sees things differently. "Not
much thought is going into quality here
these days. Civic pride is in the quantity
rather than· the quality of the buildings
constructed here."
No one is rewarded for having some­thing
superior, Peters believes. "As long
as you can get by building poor build��ings--
and reap economic reward­you'll
do it."
It isn't that the local architect doesn't
care, Peters says.
He simply succumbs to the pressures of
giving the client what he believes the
client wants. Rather than compete on
design, firms compete on production:
how fast it can be done.
PROPELLED BY business-oriented
developers, there is sweeping change in
the tradition-bound world of architecture.
Shaking its foundations. Shifting the
pecking order. Leaving the architect in
the cold.
Who gets the blame? The enterprising
developer, fingered by architects who be­lieve
the art of design is being forsaken
by the greed of big business.
Not all developers are muddied in this
stampede to find blame.
Frequently mentioned as developers of
quality projects in a business driven by
the dollar are Jerome A verbuch and John
Hathaway.
A verbuch has built such locally ac­claimed
projects as Park Plaza offices at
Big Spring Park and Office Park South at
Memorial Parkway and Martin Road.
Hathaway is developer of Stone's Throw
condominiums near University Drive and
Madison Towne Centre at Madison.
But to so many other developers, says
Bill Peters, the architect is merely the
vehicle to get a building built.
"Huntsville is loaded with developers,"
says Herrin, "who want to build it
quickly, cheaply, make their money and
get out."
"The developer tells the architect, 'I've
got to have it on this site. I've got to
have it the day after tomorrow. Here's
your fee. And I want it to look like this."
"Then he holds up a picture of a
building in Miami or Houston."
The developer often gets blamed, too,
for the white-bread, homogeneous
buildings occupied by so many firms in
the city.
"The people responsible for the design
of these buildings," says Herrin, "are de­velopers
who are perhaps not as inter­ested
in design as they should be."
No longer do all companies want an
architectural identity-a building that's a
statement of the company's image.
Firms want to come in, quickly lease a
building, and get on with their work.
Say ACME Aerospace comes to town,
looking for a location to .lease. Some­thing
generic. Nondescript. Something
that blends.
That's the kind of building the specula­tive
developer is putting up, architects
say. Appealing to most everyone.
Offending practically no one. For when
ACME moves on, the developer will
lease to XYZ Aerospace. And the
building will assume a new corporate
identity as quickly as the name is
changed on the sign.
And there's another problem--one in­herent
with Huntsville's size. And its
role in international commerce.
Huntsville is a branch town. Not a cor­porate
headquarters town, for the most
part. Not a town where buildings are
designed to reflect corporate image.
People who approve the design of a
branch office sit back at the home office.
"They don't want the branch office to be
nicer than the home office," explains one
architect.
EXCUSES ABOUND for mediocre
architecture here.
"The root of the problem," says one
local architect, "is the financial institu­tions."
To finance a project, nearly all owners
and developers go through the same
money loop: the loan
committees at banks or
savings and loans.
Architects complain that
design is rarely considered
by these committees, whose
narrow interest almost
solely concerns whether a
borrower can repay a loan.
Yet, architects argue, these
committees could dictate
the kind of city we are.
Explains one architect:
"Those committees have
control over what is built
and not built. They can
DOWNTOWN FEATURES TROUBLED CITY HALL, BANK.
influence the quality of design."
"If someone is good for the money-if
someone comes before these committees
and he's good for the bottom line-then
quality makes no difference to these
financial institutions."
"I don't think the banks and S&Ls real­ize
they have this power," says an
architect. "I'm not saying they're bad
guys. But by default they have an
awesome responsibility. They must be
the stewards of our built environment."
SOME SAY THE architect's lack of
control over design-this "cookie-cutter"
approach to architecture--<:an be
reversed. But the solution may be overly
idealistic.
"Developers and owners should man­date
quality design," says Herrin. "And
the public should demand it."
But there are limitations to that demand,
says Knowles.
And that limitation is money.
"It's a very sophisticated way that
money is working out there," explains
Knowles. "You can't get over $13.50 a
square foot rent in this town. That limits
the scale of what you can build.
"In times past, the architect was the
leader. Not anymore. Now the developer
is in charge. He conceives the project.
Gets the tenant. And-by manipulating
the money-he manipulates the
architect."
Knowles is a strict practitioner of "real
world" architecture. None of this lofty
idealism for him. The architect has done
a good, sound job and met his responsi­bility
if he has worked within a budget,
believes Knowles.
Harvie Jones, too, is a realist. But offers
a modified approach.
"Sure, you've go to consider the
money," says Jones. "Architecture is a
practical art. You've got to satisfy the
function of cost requirements. But some
of the best works of architecture are
inexpensive buildings."
Adds David Crow: "Inexpensive build­ings
are not an excuse for bad architec­ture."
Peters says money's not necessarily the
problem with the quality of architecture
in this city.
"There's a lot you can do without in­creasing
cost," he insists. "The problem
sometimes is that the client has a fear of
design--especially if it's innovative.
"He's scared if he hasn 't seen it before.
To him, mundane is safe. Nobody's
going to talk about how ugly a building is
if it looks like everybody else's."
A good client, says Jones, is essential
for good architecture. A good client, adds
Crow, is one who challenges the archi­tect.
And the architect challenges him.
"When that chemistry is lacking the
building falls short."
MONEY MAY NOT be the only
barrier to great architecture in Huntsville.
The city's heritage and size are age-old
handicaps.
Oh, Huntsville once had its Golden Age­of
Architecture. Back in those pre-Civil
War years when George Steele built
some of the most redeeming structures in
this town.
Then a long drought set in. Limited by
Huntsville's geographic size and popula­tion
(only 4.5 square miles and 8,000
people into the 1930s), an architect was
hardly in great demand here. Sure, some
practitioners hung their shingles through
the decades. But their work focused pri­marily
on the residential rather than com­mercial.
But after World War II, after the space
program spawned here, there was a rustle
of change.
"Things sort of took off," says Crow.
"Architecture in Huntsville began to
breathe again-really for the first time
since George Steele."
NEW GAS BUILDING IN RESEARCH PARK DESCRIBED BY CRITIC AS "A KID'S BLOCK
SET WITH SUNGLASSES."
He talks about the limitati9ns. ,
"The South being th~ S~u~h,~: ithas ,
always taken time for new ideas to have
an impact here. We didn't get the impact
of the Chicago School or Frank Lloyd
Wright School of architecture here at ·
first. We were more steeped in our
traditions. It trickled down later."
Always a: problem. was attracting good
people, as folks like to say: · ·. - '
"There haven't been the opportunities to
do great architecture in Huntsville," says
Crow, "because we haven't attracted the
top design student to Huntsville, Ala.
That's natural. People think you've got to
be in New York City to be a great archi­tect."
IT'S A BLEAK picture, if you listen to
local architects tell it.
You've got to be a "noted architect"­one
with a "national reputation"-to win
the commission for "world-shaking"
buildings that Harvie Jones talks about.
But you don't get a "national reputation"
building buildings in Huntsville, says
Jones. Because people don 't come to
Huntsville, Ala. to see its architecture.
"If you hunger after a national reputa­tion,
you're not going to stay in
Huntsville. It's virtually impossible to
achieve a national reputation here."
Critics of Huntsville's cookie-cutter
architecture say these are but excuses.
What of Columbus, Ind.? Small town of
32,000. About one-fifth the size of
Huntsville. With 50 structures designed
by such world-renowned architects as
Eero and Eliel Saarines, I.M. Pei and
Harry Weese. The fees are underwritten
by the philanthropic foundation of a local
industry.
Why not Huntsville, Ala.?
Most architects here show an obvious
dislike even discussing the Columbus
project. They shrug it off as a fluke. Say
it could never happen here. And seem
content with the mediocre.
What's so often unspoken is that bottom
line again: money. And a deep-rooted
fear that, somehow, striving for excel­lence
might mean losing a buck.
One architect who yearns to see
Huntsville architecture make a renais­sance
suggests that design competition
might stir excitement for excellence.
Yet he admits "design competitions
haven't been welcomed here."He asks
that his name not be used.
Design competition is a method used
elsewhere, however-particularly to seek
innovative designs for such public
projects as schools, libraries or govern­mental
office buildings. Typically,
architects submit preliminary drawings to
specification, which are judged by an out­of-
town jury of architects.
Corporations, too, use design competi­tions.
And sometimes offset architects'
expenses by offering a fee for the top de­signs.
But the detractors of competition far
outnumber its supporters.
Says one local architect,
"In a design competition, a
firm is required to invest
an enormous amount in
time and money­knowing
the chances of
winning are not high."
"Most local firms," says
one architect, "are just not
wiltiifg'to take the
gamble." e
25 Volume 1, No. 1
I~ I
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