Norman Alston Architects

Old Dallas High School historical photos

Came across this image at the Dallas Public Library. It's from a 1939 yearbook and shows the front entrance hall at old Dallas High School/Crozier Tech. The statue is Athena, the Roman goddess of Wisdom. This particular statue is a copy of one at the Vatican. Unfortunately, the statue at DalHi is no longer there.

New York Elevator Tragedy

The New York Times reports this truly horrific story about an elevator accident in Manhatten. I appreciate their restraint in reporting the more spectacular and unsettling details of this most unfortunate event. I only bring it up because in this earlier blog post of mine, I mention how I learned that with most elevator accidents, the car falls UP the shaft, not down. Sure enough.

Drury Blakeley Alexander: 1924 - 2011

I am very sad to note the passing Sunday of Blake Alexander. He pretty much was the face of the School of Architecture to me while I was at the University of Texas and he taught my very first class, Architecture and Society. Dignified and distinguished in his bow tie, he was the living image of what a college professor should be. On the last day of our Architecture and Society Class, everyone stood and applauded when he finished, a new custom adopted from the movie "Paper Chase". He was our KIngsfield. Every semester his classes waited for him to show up for class just one time wearing his Viturvian "Firmness, Commodity and Delight" t-shirt beneath his blazer. Even today his book Texas Homes of the 19th Century is the seminal work on early Texas architecture and is referred to by my colleauges and myself regularly.

A more complete and more fitting biography can be found here. First Hal Box and now Blake Alexander in 2011. Tough year.

UT School of Architecture Undergraduate Program ranked second nationally by DesignIntelligence.

Not that I didn't get a really good education at UT in my day, but  the school has certainly come  a very long way since that time. Congratulations to Dean Steiner, the faculty and the staff. The announcement can be seen here.

Is Cleveland coming back through good urban design?

I'm linking to this New York Times article about Cleveland's (almost) downtown resurgence because there were a couple of things mentioned that made me think of Dallas.

If the resurgence is not quite downtown, what is the impact on downtown? Does this new development take away from the energy of a nearby diminshed downtown, or is it close enough to support and enhance it? This isn't mentioned and will warrant some additional research. One of the reasons I believe that Downtown Dallas has been slow to respond to the development activity over the past few years is that I felt it  was too wide spread. We have pockets of interesting redevelopment but seem to have trouble filling in between them; West End, Victory, Deep Ellum, South Lamar, the Main District and Main Street Gardens, the Arts District, etc. They don't feel to me like a cohesive downtown, yet. Signs do suggest, however, that our Arts District, combined with the Woodall Rogers enclosure may well be serving that purpose by acting as the one connecting piece while also bringing in a vibrant Uptown. Which leads to the other issue.....

Is Cleveland achieving this with their Arts District development just as I have described for Dallas? Sure looks that way from this article. This will be worth following up on.

Norman Alston Architects to move to historic 400 North Ervay.

I am excited to announce that beginning January 1, 2012, Norman Alston Architects will be officing in the former US Post Office and Courthouse Building in Downtown Dallas, now known as 400 North Ervay. We have been working with building owner Shawn Todd on the restoration and adaptive reuse of this beautiful historic structure for more than 4 years. I have previously reported the completion of the project, a step that will make some of Dallas' most beautiful and historic interior spaces accessible to the public after being shuttered for more than a decade. Now I can imagine no more fitting way to begin the year than showing up to work in one of Dallas' most historic structures. More information and a date for an open house will follow.

Downtown Dallas Post Office and Federal Courthouse set to open soon.

It's always gratifying when a major restoration project nears completion and the previously dreamed-of building becomes a reality. It has been announced that the historic Downtown Dallas Post Office and Federal Courthouse Building, now known as 400 North Ervay, will finally open to the public on October 7, a project where we began guiding the restoration and infrastructure work way back in 2007. Transfering the building from Federal ownership to private ownership entailed a Section 106 review process that was amazingly long and challenging, to say the very least. However, we were also blessed to be able to design and direct the restoration of the Federal Courtrooms and associated public areas, with their wood paneling, marble wainscoting and spectacular coffered and stenciled ceilings. Besides being steeped in history (this was Sarah T. Hughes Courtroom), it is one of the most beautiful interior spaces in Dallas. A glimpse of the project can be seen at the new 400 North Ervay website.

Our congratulations to Shawn Todd for his vision and his ceaseless energy in bringing this building back to the citizens of Dallas. As with any successful project it takes a team to pull it off. Other team members include:

Architecture Demerast of Dallas who are responsible for the design of the apartments themselves

Cindy Zelazny who provided interior design

James R. Thompson Construction who perfomed much of the restoration and infrastructure work

The construction arm of The Gables, who have constructed the apartments

BRW Architects who, under contract with the US Postal Service, updated the post office facility, guided restoration of the historic windows and restored the first floor public areas prior to the Federal Government's sale of the building.

They just don't design 'em like that anymore.

Thanks to Katie at the office for sharing this link with me. I just had to pass it along and have even waived my devotion to black and white photography so that you could get the full effect.

It's a Better Homes and Gardens decorating book from 1975. I was in college at that time and have long said it was the low point for design and fashion, and the high point for music in the 20th Century. Boy, does this back me up on the design/fashion part. We've decided this particular room is where architects and designers go after they die if they have been especially bad. There are SO many more examples in the book. Be sure and have a look but be forewarned, you can shoot an entire afternoon at this link.

Looking for that first job in architecture and/or historic preservation

During this spring break season, many of those scheduled to graduate in May with architecture degrees will be using this time to get their job hunting in gear. It's still a very competitive market, so I though I would make a couple of recommendations based on the applications that come to me.

1) The internet and the proliferation of firm websites provide a wealth of information for new graduates to research and find potential employers. Use this information to the fullest. No, I mean really use it to the fullest. Like, read them and know something about the firm you are applying to. Before the internet, this kind of information was essentially unavailable for most firms. Only the largest and most prestigious had news articles and monographs about their work and their approach. Consequently, new graduates would broadcast their resumes' with generic cover letters and everyone knew why and expected that.

No longer. Using my own experiences as an example, anyone who has obtained our email address has likely found it on the "Careers" portion of our website. Our website clearly illustrates that we have a specialty. Even the Careers page refers to "those who share our passion". So anyone who harvests our email address but sends a cover letter discussing their highly develped and cutting edge design skills with no mention whatsoever of how they think that makes them a better preservationist suggests that they haven't been paying attention. That is no longer a job application, it's spam. Not the best first impression. Potential employers understand that most new graduates will have little or no relevant experience with whatever the firm's specialty might be. Face that head-on and acknowledge that  you have at least toured their website. Perhaps suggest that you recognize what valuable experience that working on schools/office buldings/large houses/apartments/churches/airports/warehouses/hospitals/museums/Wal-Marts might be in your overall development as a well-rounded architect.

2) It is testament to the quality of our universities that students come from all over the world to study in the US. And it's great that many talented students seek to stay and practice here. I don't know of any firm that does not value cultural and ethnic diversity. However, for those students for whom English might not be their first language, it is important that the cover letter be coherent and free of grammatical or spelling errors. That's because there is no reason for it to be otherwise. For the cover letter (and any other written material in your resume) there has almost certainly been plenty of time and opportunity to get these things worked out. Get a native English-speaking instructor of fellow student to proof read it for you. It's not an issue of not knowing the language, but the suggestion of lack of prepartion, of thoroughness or attention to detail. It's evidence of an opportunity wasted and that's not good. There are so many skills in architecure that a new graduate is not expected to know and that must be learned over time. However, attention to detail, checking your own work and seizing onto  available resources to improve your work are qualities that would be appropriate in school and that all graduates are expected to have. And I don't mean to pick on anyone. This admonition applies to everyone, including the native English speakers.

3) A small thing for me, but I suspect others would appreciate it also. I like to address my responses with "Mr." or "Ms.". If you are a new job applicant and I have received your resume "over the transom", I certainly don't know you well enough to address you by your first name. So give me a hint, please. If there is no photo of you, then names like Jordan, Taylor, Pat, Leslie, Kerri, even Michael can leave me unsure and uneasy. Then there are creative spellings of otherwise common names, the proliferation of creative, one-of-a-kind  names (I know of a guy named Skye. I guessed and guessed wrong) and, of course, the names of many foreign students. A little help here would be greatly appreciated by all.

Otherwise, good luck and keep up the good work!

Austin Energy Audits: Commentary in the Advocate Magazine's Back Talk Blog

Yesterday I read a piece in the Wall Street Journal that recounted how the City of Austin has enacted an ordinance that requires home sellers to obtain energy audits in order to sell their homes. Unfortunately, I see this as just another example Green actions getting out in front of Green thinking, a subject that seems to come across my desk alot these days.

In my role as a guest blogger on the Advocate Magazine's Back Talk Blog, I have posted my thoughts on this subject and what it may mean in the larger effort to improve energy efficiency and sustainability.

The post can be found at the following link:

Energy Audits: Will Dallas require them?