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April is MODern Month in Houston. Events include lectures, exhibits, film screenings, design show/sale, party, book signings and architectural tours. MODern Month enforces Houston Mod`s goal of promoting knowledge and appreciation of modern architecture and design in Houston and Texas. Houston Mod advocates the preservation of this cultural legacy and seeks support from its members and the general public in achieving this goal. Events are sponsored by various organizations.
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MODern Month Poster
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Humble Oil Building, 800 Bell Street |
Houston Mod Announces Preservation Award WinnersHouston Mod has announced the winners of its first annual preservation awards. The awards are presented to individuals and organizations that further the knowledge, appreciation and preservation of modern architecture and design in Houston and Texas.
The recipients for 2009 include:
Primeway Federal Credit Union for the sensitive renovation of the Heights State Bank building (1962), 3800 Washington Avenue. The building, originally designed by the architects Wilson, Morris, Crain and Anderson, is a concrete and glass pavilion supported by dramatic tree-form cast concrete columns.
The Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation for preservation of its complex of buildings at 3550 West Dallas Avenue, originally designed in 1966 by noted architects Howard Barnstone and Eugene Aubry. The campus of brick and concrete structures is both bold and intimate. The facility has provided essential social services for over 40 years.
Baker Botts L.L.P. for their partnership and efforts on behalf of The Center to preserve the existing campus to continue to provide important social benefits to Houston.
Exxon/Mobil Corporation for sensitive renovations to the exterior of the Humble Oil Tower, 800 Bell Avenue originally designed by the internationally-known firm of Welton Becket and Associates in 1963. The 44 story building continues to be a landmark in the Houston skyline with its tiers of horizontal aluminum sunshades providing a light, graceful appearance.
Mr. & Mrs. Scott R. Butler for preservation of the house at 4135 Durness Way. The house was designed by Lars Bang in 1955 for Al Schulman. An example of fine mid-century modern design at a residential scale, the house was marketed as a “tear-down” and listed as an economic mis-improvement by HCAD. With restored systems and cosmetic improvements, the house is now home to a growing young family.
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News Release
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View from Parking Lot, November 2009 |
Future Uncertain for Endangered Branch Library BuildingThe Houston Public Library is completing the final closure of the original William Vinson branch library at 3100 West Fuqua Road. The library operations have moved to a new location.
This notable small building by architect Irving Phillips, Jr. shows the influence of his studies at Cornell University where he was a contemporary of Richard Meier and Peter Eisenman.
This structure remains on Houston Mod`s `endangered list` as it faces an uncertain future.
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Vinson Library Endangered Listing
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Gragg Building sign with Mercury astronauts |
Parks & Recreation Department Renovates Historic Gragg BuildingAccording to Houston Chronicle reporter Mike Snyder, renovations are nearing completion on the historic Gragg building.
`The low-slung building, made from a distinctive green stone known as green-cast quartzite, was commissioned in 1956 as the headquarters for a Houston-based construction firm, Farnsworth & Company. Employees of that company would later develop such well-known contemporary firms as Spaw Glass and Williams Brothers.
Farnsworth hired MacKie & Kamrath, a local architectural firm, to design the building. The designers were influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright and incorporated certain elements that Wright took from Mesoamerican civilizations such as the Aztecs and Maya, said Anna Mod, a preservation consultant who prepared applications for the building`s historic designations.
“When I saw the building in Houston, that`s the first thing I thought of,” Mod recalled. “Frank Lloyd Wright had borrowed the same vocabulary.”
Stephen Fox, a Rice University architectural historian, said MacKie & Kamrath incorporated some of the same elements into other corporate headquarters built in the 1950s, including the Schlumberger building on the Gulf Freeway (1953) and what is now the Exxon-Mobil research center on Buffalo Speedway (1954). These buildings represented part of Houston`s first wave of suburbanization after World War II, Fox said.
In 1961, oil drilling magnate Oscar Lee Gragg and members of his family bought the building as an investment but never occupied it. A year later, Gragg leased the building to a 4-year-old federal agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which used it as offices for the Mercury program and the Mercury 7 astronauts — the daring fliers immortalized in Tom Wolfe`s The Right Stuff — until 1964. The city purchased the building in 1976, and the Gragg family donated surrounding property for a park. The renovation project presented a challenge in modernizing the building — it wasn`t wired for computers, for example, and “we had cables everywhere,” Turner said — without compromising its historic qualities. Accomplishing that required close consultation with the agencies that grant historic designation, Turner said.`
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Complete Houston Chronicle Article
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Visit the Houston Mod Discussion BoardKeep up to date on all the latest news and opinions on the Houston Mod message board. All kinds of modern topics can be discussed here.
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Discussion Board
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Houston Mod Exhibit: Endangered Modern - The Real StoryHouston Mod presents its 4th architectural exhibition entitled Endangered Modern: The Real Story.
The exhibit is open Monday - Thursday 9 AM to 5 PM, Fridays until 3 PM. View it at the galleries of the Houston AIA / Architecture Center Houston, 315 Capital #120 through August 28, 2009.
The exhibit aims to create a greater understanding of the threats to architecturally significant structures that ultimately lead to their destruction and loss.
Nearly a dozen significant modern architectural landmarks that face potential demolition or destruction are detailed with both historic information and current photographs.
The exhibition is a collaborative project led by Houston Mod board member Monica Savino and includes the participation of the Houston Mod board, and other notable local preservationists and architects.
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Formica House Interior |
Formica House featured in Bellaire ExaminerFollow the link below to read the latest article on preservation in Meyerland!
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Link to the article
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Houston Mod Blog now on Chron.comRead and contribute to the Houston Mod blog on Chron.com by following the link below!
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Houston Mod Blog
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Neuhaus House |
Houston Mod Neuhaus Exhibit featured in Texas ArchitectHouston Mod was recently featured in a Texas Architect article discussing our Hugo V. Neuhaus Exhibit.
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Texas Architect Article
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Ben Koush and his architecture library photo by Julie Sofer |
Houston Mod Featured in Tribeza MagazineHouston Mod was recently featured in the Houston area magazine, called Tribeza. In the article former President and current Board Member, Ben Koush, current Board Member, Jason Smith, Master Mod, Stephen Fox, Co-Founder Michael Brichford, and former Board Member (and mod enthusiast realtor) Robert Searcy were interviewed to discuss the current atmosphere in restoring modern homes.
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Link to the article
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Join us on the Houston Mod MESSAGE BOARD!Keep up to date on all the latest news and opinions on the Houston Mod message board. All kinds of modern topics can be discussed here.
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HAIF HOUSTON MOD MESSAGE BOARD
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