Texas Spanish
The missions were an important weapon in the evangelization policy of the Spanish colonists. Now a Unesco World Heritage Site, the missions of San Antonio are fine examples of this architecture. The most famous is, of course, the Mission San Antonio de Valero, better known as The Alamo Mission - Fort Alamo. Inspired by Indian building techniques, the Spanish colonists favored the use of sun-dried adobe. This mixture of clay, sand and mud proved to be surprisingly resistant, with heat-resistant qualities that were particularly welcome in such an arid territory. Burnt brick and limestone also feature prominently in Texan missions. Designed as fortresses, the missions are protected by surrounding walls. The complex, most often rectangular in plan, is always organized around a large inner courtyard bordered by the mission's flagship buildings. The convento is the priests' residence, identifiable by its L-shaped floor plan and two stone storeys. The church, on the other hand, still boasts imposing, thick walls, and can be identified by its campanario or bell-tower. It may be built of stone (usually limestone) or adobe. Basilical in plan (rectangular with a polygonal or semicircular apse) or cross-shaped with a transept surmounted or not by a dome, the church is imagined as a sort of 3D liturgical book. Through the ornamentation of structural elements and surfaces, Spanish clerics sought to educate the native population. And to ensure the success of this mission, they didn't hesitate to combine Christian imagery with motifs and symbols from native Indian cultures. This syncretism was all the more natural given that the Spanish colonists needed local labor to erect their buildings. Light plays a key role here, its rays animating these religious representations. The west entrance to the stone church of Mission Concepcion was designed to align itself with the light of the setting sun. Generally speaking, the style of the missions is based on fashionable Spanish styles (Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical), reinterpreted according to the availability of materials. Also lining the central plaza: one- to two-storey barracks to accommodate the local families, storage warehouses, workshops and granaries, all built in adobe. The missionaries also set up ingenious irrigation systems including canals, dams, aqueducts, sluices and wells. The history of Spanish Texas can also be seen in certain historic centers, such as the San Agustin Laredo Historic District. This district has preserved its square block layout, central plaza and buildings alternating adobe and cut local sandstone blocks.
A crossroads of influences
Heavy German immigration in the 19th century gave some parts of Texas an "Old World" feel. Many of these German settlers were farmers, so it was only natural that they developed an architecture inspired by German farmhouses, particularly in the organization of buildings around a courtyard. But in addition to German inspirations, they also mixed in resolutely American contributions. In particular, they drew inspiration from the Dog Run House, composed of two gabled-roof wooden cabins linked by a passageway, and the Saltbox House. The Saltbox House can be recognized by its gable roof, which has a longer slope at the rear, and a single-storey rear facade and two-storey front facade. Initially simply made of wood, these houses later blended stone (sandstone, limestone) and wood, or used wattle and daub or half-timbering techniques. Alongside this residential architecture, of which you can see interesting examples in San Antonio or Medina County, the Germans also developed religious architecture, of which the neo-Gothic Marienkirche in Fredericksburg is the proudest representative. At the same time, the Texas Vernacular style developed. Rectangular in plan, with overhanging roofs, these houses were originally simple and functional, but gradually grew in scale and stature, featuring large porches flanking stone facades with exposed wooden beams and battens.
Texas also boasts some fine examples of fine homes with facades punctuated by colonnades, sculpted pediments and other decorative details giving them a temple-like appearance. This Greek Revival and neoclassical fashion is reminiscent of the great plantation mansions. In Houston, the Nichols-Rice-Cherry House and the Kellum Noble House are two perfect examples. Imposing stature and power was the goal of the fledgling United States of America! The most impressive representative of this architecture of power is, of course, the Texas Capitol. Designed by Elijah E. Myers (the only architect to have built the Capitol of three states!), the Italian Renaissance-style building dominates Austin with its 92-metre-high pink granite silhouette. 33,000m2 of floor space, 400 rooms, 900 windows, a monumental dome... this masterpiece is a sight to behold from all over the city. In the 1980s, the state established the Texas Capitol View Corridors, delimiting a quadrilateral where high-rise buildings are banned or severely restricted... some skyscrapers have diagonal foundations or very tapered tops so as not to obstruct the view! Texas also shows its power through imposing cultural and scientific buildings with a resolutely neo accent. The University of Galveston's Ashbel Smith Building, nicknamed the "Old Red" because of its beautiful polychrome sandstone and red brick, impresses with its neo-Romanesque arcades. Another of the city's superb buildings: The Grand Opera House. A facade of red stone, brick and terra-cotta, a glass door framed by a sculpted Romanesque arch, marble floors, walls panelled in local wood... it's all glitz and glamour! The fin de siècle was also marked by the work of architect Henry C. Trost. While he often drew inspiration from Spanish missions and pueblos, Trost also initiated an elegant transition to modernity. He pioneered the use of steel-reinforced concrete, a construction technique he used in El Paso's very first skyscraper. Many hotels in the Big Bend Region bear his imprint.
The rise of modernity
The turn of the 20th century was resolutely eclectic. Victorian-style turrets and mantling, the simplicity of Craftsman-style wood, the picturesque rusticity of cottages, the splendor of stucco and loggias with Mediterranean accents... oil's new fortunes spared no fantasy. From the 1920s onwards, two styles came to the fore: the Spanish Revival and the Ranch style. The Spanish Revival can be recognized by its whitewashed or stuccoed sandstone buildings, red clay-tiled roofs and windows protected by elegant ironwork. Inspired by the modest dwellings of farm workers, Ranch-style homes feature an L- or U-shaped floor plan, with an emphasis on the indoor/outdoor relationship via large windows and sliding doors opening onto patios, gardens or backyards. The 1920s were also years of urban transformation. Dallas' new urban plan, known as the Hessler Plan, included improvements to the sewage system and electrical grid, and the creation of wide, shady boulevards bordered by beautiful parks inspired by those in... Paris! Theaters and universities also perpetuate these European styles, such as Waco University's impressive Armstrong Browning Library, with its superb Italian Renaissance rotunda; Midland's Yucca Theater, with its architecture blending sandstone, marble and iron in an Orientalist fantasy; or San Antonio's Majestic Theater, with its auditorium populated by Baroque masks and Greco-Roman sculptures. Skyscrapers are no exception to the rule, as demonstrated by San Antonio's Tower Life Building. Modern in its reinforced concrete and steel structures, the building unfurls its octagonal silhouette in a resolutely neo-Gothic style. Historicist splendor soon to be swept away by Art Deco. The Dallas Fair Park complex is home to one of the largest concentrations of Art Deco in the country. Built for the 1936 International Exposition by architect George Dahl, its buildings showcase the full potential of concrete, which can be bent, destructured, engraved and sculpted. The Administration Building at San Antonio's Randolph Air Force Base, nicknamed by some the Taj Mahal of Texas for its immaculate whiteness, is no exception. The octagonal tower of its water tank, topped by a dome resting on blue and gold mosaic rafters, is a must-see. O'Neil Ford, nicknamed "the Godfather of modern architecture in Texas", is also known for his studied sobriety. Bridging the gap between the rustic craftsmanship of the Arts and Crafts style and the modernity of the International style, he favors tapered forms and natural materials. It was he who designed the astonishing Little-Chapel-in-the-woods, in the heart of Denton University. Its grey fieldstone and brick silhouette emerges from the vegetation, its curves due to the series of parabolic arches leading to the altar. In the 1950s, Texas was home to two international figures in modern architecture. Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Kalita Humphreys Theater in Dallas, a sober white concrete structure housing a circular stage with an innovative rotating central platform that brings the audience as close to the stage as possible. The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston bears the hallmark of Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe. To the original neoclassical building, he added an astonishing fan-shaped building, recognizable by its curtain wall overlooking the exhibition spaces. The aim: to break with the codes of traditional museum architecture!
Contemporary Texas
In the 1960s, concrete was king, and became the flagship material of a new style: Brutalism. Houston's curvaceousAlley Theatre, with its open terraces and spiral stairwells, is a perfect example. The city's Astrodome is another concrete masterpiece, with its 216 m diameter, 63 m high dome supported by an astonishing metal lattice. In Fort Worth, it's impossible to miss one of the finest museums of its time: the Kimbell Art Museum. Designed by Louis I. Kahn, master of light and concrete, the museum's silhouette, all travertine, concrete and white oak, offers astonishing geometric interplays between flat surfaces and barrel vaults. In Houston, the De Menil family is behind a unique place: the Rothko Chapel. Its octagonal floor plan and interior of gray and pink stucco lit by a skylight make it an astonishing place of meditation. A few years later (1981), the De Menil family called on Renzo Piano to create the wood, steel and glass building housing their rich art collection. This was the Italian master's first American project. The 1970s were marked by the style of Philip Johnson, one of Mies Van der Rohe's disciples. The two towers of Pennzoil Place, with their sloping tops that seem to have been cut off, their trapezoidal plan and their bases filled with glass lobbies conceived as greenhouses, earned their creator the very first Pritzker Prize, the Nobel Prize for architecture! The Fort Worth Garden in Houston, an astonishing collection of concrete swimming pools; Thanks-Giving Square in Dallas, with its spiral-shaped chapel and large aluminum ring covered in gold leaf; the TC Energy Center in Houston, with its three towers in one with gables reminiscent of Flemish houses; or the Chapel of Saint Basil at theUniversity of St Thomas in Houston, an astonishing cube topped by a half-sphere and divided by a large rectangular block... all by Philip Johnson. The 1980s saw the arrival of Ieoh Ming Pei. In Dallas, he designed City Hall, a robust inverted concrete pyramid inclined at 34°; and the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, whose auditorium is inspired by "shoebox" architecture (a functionalist style characterized by a predominance of straight lines and octagonal shapes with horizontal rows of windows) The master's famous skyscrapers include Dallas' Fountain Place, a great glass prism. If you're still in any doubt about Texas' creative vitality, then take a look at its latest museums and cultural centers. The AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas is home to the Winspear Opera House, with its open spaces and glass walls designed by Norman Foster, and the Dee and Charles Wyly Theater, with its removable glass façade designed by Rem Koolhaas. The stunning glass pavilions of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, whose elegant concrete, steel, aluminum and granite structures are reflected in a soothing pool, are the work of Tadao Ando. The extension to Houston's Museum of Fine Arts, all light and limestone, was designed by Rafael Moneo. Thom Mayne designed the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, whose 656 panels of cast concrete give the building a highly textured appearance, flanked by a long glass tube. Winner of the Global Awards for Excellence, the Tobing Center for the Performing Arts in San Antonio creates an elegant dialogue with the past thanks to a shiny, porous metal veil that extends across all spaces. Another of the city's wonders is David Adjaye's Ruby City. The architect was inspired by a drawing straight out of a dream by artist and collector Linda Pace (the museum houses her collection) to imagine this angular, textured composition in brilliant red. And many other astonishing creations are about to come to life: Herzog & De Meuron have an all-wood commercial and residential project in Austin; the famous BIG agency has unveiled its plans for 3D-printed houses and hotels, in Marfa in particular; the HKS agency has announced the construction of the Wilson Tower at the end of 2022 which, at 315 m, will be the tallest residential tower in the USA outside New York... Texas hasn't finished surprising us!
