Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
111
Shapers of Urban America
Dasfcner of the lohnso htlllshllc Ct. buiJdJng. home of EBO!'IY, Jr:r and EBONY JRI magazines ln
Cbkago. is ChJcago architect John Moutoussamy. n.e U-stoty budding w:u completed in 197L A
partner lo the Rrm o( Dub{o. Dubin&: Moutoussam)'. bels also the designer orthe
36-"ory Regents Park twin towers to the Hyde Patk atea in ChiCago.
62
They've helped to
mold the nation, but
say their biggest
success is survival
B
LACK architects in the United
States don't respond quickly when
asked to cite their most outstanding
individual achievement in architec.
ture. One might expect Robert Perkins
of New Orleans, a planner for the
World's Fair, to rattle off the conven
tion cente r in Ne w Orleans or the 840
million Lenox subway station in At-
lanta or the South bank Rlverwalk to be
constructed in Jacksonville, Fla. But
he doesn't. pausing instead to properly
phrase an aoswer that has oothlog to do
with c-hoosing ll building.
Charles F. McAfee of Wichita, Kan-
sas, could easil}' mention the Midtown
subway station in Atlanta or the
McKnight Art Center and The Edwin
A. Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichilll
nt-.a CIO MA.Jwi.&U.
._.,.L_
As IIJ., ll two-tlllnls ,,r thl" ho.ultl inlt" ut it''CilS tlnht'rsltv d<'liiJtnNI b) llou,tnn ,.,, htrcc John Ch_. <pbtn'f'). twhind hfn i$ IMM" ofthrrn
tlu TSL
1
\lllr,lt,,JI or l.o!". flnn 11...- lr;tininte f,,," 1111nl lll"r or tii.K'k Tt-.ltiL1 a.rd.it..cu-. lkLJW,
\\'tfldo II $2.'; 111illiun C.ary(IMI )Ci, M- Cco-nto"r in fi t hd pt'(l NnliOtllll In 1071
...
1
-.
=
--
-
Robert (U;Ip) Ptrkhu Orle .. priltcif)li.l uf Perkin.v alld a fOf lbt!
1984 World's Frur tu Nc through joint ventutt! wilh lbe Onn of Pere-z and
Ccntcrpk'' Wr the fair b the convcntlorl C<>nter. shO\'. n m backgi'O\md.
Ont ollllt ftSitJatrs of du! 8109 miliJon CAncer
l\e$eareb Ceoter m w.-s.hi:ngton, O.C'!., Js ur.
cllitect ltah..-rt XaJ(h, Mc-hih:i: t HQI)('rt I'
Mndison ;and l1h b"'tb .. r, Julbu C. {bt!II)W),
nf tlu. University
b-1ilding lwhind du 111.
BLACK ARCHITECTS <HnueJ
State University. Yet none or these will
do. and his pause. like Perkins. sug
gests thnt a refen)ncc tc> S<)mcthing in-
tangible is forthcoming.
No diffe rent is Andrew Heard in
Chicago. who srnilcs wryly in his luke-
front office over n query that might he
answered in one word o a thousand
words. Certainly ):ds .nost outstandiog
nchicvc mcnl 'illpC}rScdCll by rar the
Chicago Cook Count)' Ins titute or
Forensie Medicine he deslgoed . And
no t many b loc ks awo. y, \ Ve nde ll
Cnmphcll. fre sh rn)m dcsigning the
recently comp1eted Clvic Cente r in
Gouy. lnd., doesn't cite that downtown
landmark.
Whc;n these and otl1e r Black ar-
chitects do teU their highest achie ve ..
rnents, tb(' ir answe rs llfC ide ntical:
su ,.vi cui.
'' I think the m has been a gene ration
of guys like me.'' says Heard. " When
we s tar ted , t11e oo lion of a Black
owned flrm was very r.1dical. 1 thh1k to
have take n sud) a thing and managed
to make it survive is our greatest con
l rlbution."
Accomp lished designers that they
are. some Black architects sec the m-
selves as being confined to public
related jobs. which in t heir vJew
doesn' t make them
better
off than they were 20 or 30 )'Cars ago.
The)' believe more oontrocts from pri
vate industry- making t he m designers
of hanks, office building and corporate
headquatters -would not only give
the m a se nse of greater fulfillment but
also make the ir naturally unstable bus-
inesses more stable. "None of us is
guar!lntced wo rk for the next 18
months," notes Heard . .. Our market
base is jus t thnt thin." Says McAfee .
whose nrm includes two daoghte rs. ar-
oh itects Cheryl ond Choryl: .. We have
a country club profession without a
country club license. It ' t get you
on the golf course in the CQuntry club,
and it doesn' t get you in the bank board
" room.
Jn Hous ton, j ohn Chase agrees that
Black architects are ye t to make the ir
presence felt in industry. Says he: "I
think H night be khld of hlteresting to
take th0 Fortune 500 list and see how
many Black architects have designed
fOr the compa1lies. And I' m talking
about c:ompanics that sell a great dt..oal
of the ir products to both Whites and
Blacks." It isn' t a question of expe rtise,
he assures. "Charlie:: (McAfee), as far as
I'm concerned, is one ofthe better ar
chitectural designers io the country,
bar none," he says. "The man is good.
Ch:1rlie' s of proj ects is lim-
ited."
t he limitations facing the architects
aren' t j us t c:omingout they
are built into the Black archite<:tural
as we ll. Unlike a few Black busi-
nesses. Blac-k architectural firms have
no reliable clie ntele. Contracts for
schools, ch\lrchcs and multi-purpOse
s tructures financed by tax money t.'OmC
v.;th no freque ncy. Black business ba-
rons who might provide busitless are
few and fur between. Even $0, some
consider it presumptuous to expect
these Blacks to
caiJy e tt'lploy Black architects. "You
can"t put that burden on a Black guy
who happens to be tmcces!)ful," says
j ohn Moutoussamy of Chic;ago, de-
signer of the johnson Publishing Co.
building. "I think he ought to use the
architect that serves his needs best ."
L
IMITATIONS notwithstanding ,
Black architects aren't crying over
not receiving more of the Jucmtive jobs
coming out of industry. And they pride
the mselves io haviog made the grade
whe n affirmative action mandate s
Juty, 1983 Continu d on Pog 68
J
1
BLACK ARCHITECTS c-"d
made them benenctaries in .some
multi mllllon-dollar jobs. In many
they were an:hitectu:raJ uxilia-
rie.s i_n ventures where majority f'irms
couldn't get federal dollan without
hiring mfnoriJies. aut peculiarly
enough. something interesting came
out of that," says Robert Nash of
Washingt on. D.C .. one of the de
siguers of the $109 miiUon Cancer Rc-
::arch Center fnthe District. "Before,
their was o constant s tatement,
cnn I give you a $25 million project
when you've never worked on one? ..
Asa result ofthis breakthrough. new
doon are being opened for more Blaclc
arehitectural Onns. Meanwhile, the
equal opportunity legislation seem-
ingly bas made Black m:hitects see the
stance of their White counterparts as
being not so racial: The competitive-
ness from Whites is perhaps a manifes
tation thot Blac.k architects are being
viewed as full-nedged. Says Nash, "It's
kind or turned into backla>h in the
sense that one says, 'Okay. we helped
you to get there. Now you're taking the
jobs from us."'
The ro""' behind initiating the equal
opportunity legislation came from the
architects. OinatisGed over common
problems .some or them me t in the
early '70. to form the National Organi-
zation of Minority Architects. NOMA
sought to do some ne tworking and si-
lence governme nts and others who
were Black architects couldn't
be found. I think if we've done any-
thing," says Robert Perkins, .. we've
made the public aware that we exist.
But I don't think private industry is
utilizing this awareness-.-
E
VEN the quickest glimpse at the
role of Black arcl!itects fosters tho
At WkiiiU ShU lllv..-, m Wichta. atthilttt Charles aod hO Cbyl, an
t.rdilhm Ia his flrm. statld ln frootoltM MC'I::n.Jiflt Art CH.wraodlhe A. Vltk-h Mu.JeUmof
An deslp<d .,. !he ...... McAfc< - clousht<r, a.u,f. is abo wllh lois llno
qu6tion of "' hether they are distinct, four percent might have 20, the
either as artists or operators. number carried b)r many top Black
Whe ther Blacks have a motifin their nrms. There are excepttons: Robert
architecture is a topic that has been Madison in Cleveland, owner of Madi-
tossed about for years, with no con son Madison International, stn.fTs 92.
crete conclusions. Generally s-pcnkfng, Blacks who have recently become
any nrt form tl\llt Blacks could ex1>rc.ss architects are demonstraUng tho.t any
would be found in structures that call llrChitcctural firm is ju.st that. Madison
for s uch. In the case-s of The Schaum- and Chase can remember the ir offices
burg Ubrary in New York City and the being the only outlets for Blacks
Martin Luther King Center ln Atlanta, needing experience for licensing.
for <umple. Max Bond and his st:IIIT Today, young Black architeds from the
designed the main reading room.s wflh most reputable schools are star1ing in
oct.gonal space- an eifort to relate to nonminority Rrm.s before moving on to
building$ designed by Blacks based on - or up to - Black Rrms. Cheryl
African traditions. They went a step McAfee. 26, with a malter"s degree
further: In both buildings tbey paneled from Harvard. worked for n lnte ma-
$Omeorthe rooms with wood imported ti01tal firm before joining her rather in
from Mric. Wichita. "Technically. I d eveloped
Whether Black archite<:ts can claim working "1th the other Rrm because I
an expression or not, tho.se who huve was n tt."Chnician and an architect /' she
OrmJ cannot operate them differently. recalls. "But here. I do de tnlled spe-
Few Arms, mOljority or minority, can ciflC'ations and marketing. where you
alford to sustain lalge stallS. and own- have to perform with the client." A
ers usually hire suppOrt only Houston architect, \Vesley Hender
when the job calls lOr it. Probebly 95 son, 31, took a similar route al\er
pe""'nt of all m:hitedural f'mns have earning bachelor's and master's de-
no more than two architects:; three to grees with honors fto1n M. J.T. While
no longer with a firm, Hender
son says personal re<:Ognltion might
have come faster had he chosen to re-
main. ' 'There's no one building I can
point to and say it's lll}' design.'' he
says. And 1 wouJd have to be on staff
(nt 11 nonmjnority firm) an awful lot of
years before I could do this."
If the predictions of Black arch item
hold up. their chalj.,nges "111 be the
same as everyone else s as we appi"'iiiiCb
the 21s1 Century' adapting to technical
and environmental changes in a capita1
intensive industry. Madison sees
greater opportunity ahead. But there
will be greater stress," he add$. "Com-
pe t-ition from majority firms will be
keener and Black architects 11re going
stnctunt ,...,..d by Andrn Mt.ard of Chicago have tof.led 1ln1t .S200 million in cost Jin<.'t' he tlrted to be getting more lnvolve d with
Hea.rd& AJsodllel in 1967. lie is .shown lxwewUh theCooltCo.mty McdJdne. multi-ethnic- personne l.''
68
fJIONY July, 1983
The Brvan Times, Friday, November 11, 1983
WORLD EXPO
WASHINGTON !UPll
The People's Republic or
China will lake part In lhe
1984 Louisiana World Ex
position in New Orleans.
Its pavilion will realure
many aspects or Chinese art,
technology and culture and
wUl tnclude a restaurant and
cafeteria.
'fOtllmT ATniAC'I'IOio"S
New Orleans gets ready for the 1984 World's Fair
An()( her world's faJ r-whh \-ember J I this year thc:re will dry land fealllt'in.g a 50,000
memoriC'S of Knoxville's 1982 be a special world's fair in E9IIOrl and the selg
f:alr Still lingering? The Bureau Orle:ns, which I::Lst hosl lng of Mardi Gras JX!ntdes
of lntem:uional Expositions in ed ooe-the great Cotton E.'t each day of Lhe fair. A motlO
Plri.s saooions two kinds of p<ilion-JOO ye-.trS ago. rail will circle the 82acre ex
wol'ld's faitS: Universal fai rs At the LOuis-iana World Ex posit ion sl1e (most of il en-
scheduled at least 1cn position this year will be ex dosed :md air-conditioned).
years ap:tn, and $maller-scale hlbits from up 10 2S roumrles.. For general Informal ion,
"speci:tl" birs c:1n be schetJ.. a pavilion .vilh major art call 504 525-FAJR or write to
uled any rear in bcrween. works from the Louisiana World
From M:rr 12 through NO don. the sp.1 shunJe Enter P.O. Box l984, New Orleans,
:m olshorc oil on I.a. 70l581984.
.. Meriden, Ct ., 23,
Netv Orleans air
limps toward debut
NEW ORLEANS (UPI)
-:- Despite forecasts of
economic doom and fears
or half constructed exhib
Its, officials predict the
World's Fair that be
gins next month will be a
financial success.
The Legislature last
week gave Louisiana
World Exposition Inc. a
$5 million emergency
loan to pay April con
structlon bills and prom
!sed another $10 million to
'. keep the fair afloat.
To alleviate money
problems in March, the
fair sold $6 million in dis
counted tickets to depart
ment store chain D.H.
Holmes. Fair officials
also are trying to arrange
: a $2.5 million ticket sale
to the Superdome to use
In a tour package.
Petr Spurney, general
manager of the LWE,
said all Is well at the fair,
snd construction of exhlb
Its and vending outlets on
the 84-acre site along the
Mississippi River will be
' finished when the gates
open at noon May 12.
"The fair will open on
May 12. It will be com
plete," he said. "It is
going to be a success.
" In the past there have
been times when I won
dered If we would make it
or if it would be worthy of
being called the World's
Fair. Such is not the case
today. We've got a great
show."
The theme of the expo-
sition along the Mississip-
pi River Is "The World of
Rivers. Fresh Water as a
Source of Life." At least
24 countries and 71 cor
porations are setting up
exhibits, including an ex-
travagant pavilion featur-
Ing a multimillion-dollar
Vatican art display.
Visitors will be able to
ride a gondola that
stretches across the Mis
slsslppl River or a futu
rlstlc monorail train that
goes around the site.
Spurney said the fair
asked Gov. Edwin Ed
wards for a state loan be
cause It could not meet
about $10 million in pay-
ments due Its contractors.
But he said he was sure
contractors would not
halt construction, even If
their payments were de
layed.
"I assure you the con
structlon will not stop.
There's a lot of pride
there (among construe
tlon workers). We' re all lease a portion of the fair
working on the same goal site for a riverside devel
-to open May 12." opment in 1985 st3lled an
Spurney blamed the other source of expected
cash flow problem on lax Income, Spurney said.
advance ticket sales, a "We were very close,"
large construction rlraln he said. "We almost
In the waning days before made it without additio
the fair opens and efforts nal funding."
to make the fair felt in Spumey said or$aniz-
New Orleans long after it ers do not foresee msur-
closesNov. ll . mountable money
He said the fair spent crunches in the future,
extra money to permo and the fair will repay the
nently rejuvenate the $10 million loan with 12
city's rundown riverfront percent interest in 100
and to secure attractions, davs.
such as the space shuttle "Our projections show
Enterprise, to increase we definitely will be able
attendance. to make our pay-
A d e I a y i n a n ments," he said. 'Reve
agreement between the nues depend on ticket
city and the Rouse Co. to sales, of course."
NEW ORLEANS, La. (CP)
- A question that forms in the
mind of the about the
19M4 Louisiana World Exposition
goes this way: What's a nice
place like New Orleans doing
with a fair like this?
That's not to knock the ex-
clamation points in the advance
promises of "a World's Fair built
on fantasy and dreams," May 12
to Nov. 11 - "See it all!"
There's a $350-million invest-
ment. by private sponsors in
amusements, entertainment and
attracting 22 foreign govern-
ments to the riverside site of
abandoned includ-
ing a Vatican exhibit of artistic
treasures, a Canadian spot with
a wrap-around Imax cinema and
a provincial exhibit from Onta-
no.
It's not simply that world
fairs generally seem to be rush-
ing North America, with "special
frequency allowed by
the Bureau of Internrt ional
Expositions in Paris.
Two years ago, it was Knox-
Canadian Press
New Orleans will host world's fair from May l 2 to Nov. 11
r eans room rates
NEW ORLEANS, La. (CP)
- else the 191:!4 Loui
siana World Exposition adrls to
New Orleans - and sponsors
count on plenty of tourisr dollars
- it has already spawned new
cobble s1dewalks in the old
French Quarter, fresh street
paving and hundreds of hotel
rooms.
New hotels raised total
rooms in the city to about 25,000
- more than half within walk
ing distance of the downtown,
riverside fair - and most are
priced high by standards in
nearby cities.
The ange runs from $19.25
single. $24.20 doubie at the
YMCA, right on t! .e old street
car line in central Lee Circle, up
to a range of $140 to $ln0 a
night in the bright new Inter-
Continental nearby and at the
old, swank Royal Orleans in the
heart of the Fren<:h Quarter.
There's a 10-per-cent tax on top
of all rates.
Chain motels on the city
fringes are pric<td between the
extremes. But others in the old
quarter - a dozen blocks down
river from the fair - are priced
in the near-luxury range and
0
some are nsmg.
A l nn on B0urbl)n
Street, for example, priced a
double before the fa ir at a bask
$77.75, but during the fair it is
$103. with parking extra
A pl'icey bargain in the heart
of the action is tht brand new
Windsor Court, furnished and
servited in the English style. A
bask double is $1 :l5 a night, but
th1: basic is a suite with a mas
hving room, bedroom, bath
room, kitchen ancl balcony. Tea
is served, with scones and straw-
benies.
Food, one of the glories of
New Orleans, can be humblv