After
graduating from OU in 1967, my father asked me to design an office
structure for his architectural woodworking, store fixture manufacturing
business. The existing factory was "U" shaped, and the office
building was to be placed in the "U".
My
affinity for designing curvilinear forms, further enhanced by
my love of the exotic beauty of tropical nature, established a
design approach that was approved by my father. As luck would
have it, we were able to locate a building contractor that specialized
in sprayed concrete construction. By using sprayed concrete construction,
I was able to create a sculptural design that was not free-form,
per se, but a combination of geometric progressions of curved
rebars that then created each form. Theoretically: "form delineated
by line". Each form had its own curve and type of progression.
These exterior forms evolved from the interior spaces or rooms
needed.
In
some cases, rooms were also designed as 3-dimensional trapezoidal
wood forms to contrast to the curvilinear concrete spaces surrounding
them.
The water flumes between the forms are actually free-form, as
they sculpturally connect the primary forms.
As color was added to the exterior, I decided it needed an effect
that did more than just add color. The idea began to develop that
I wanted the design to transcend being just a work of architecture,
per se, and become what I decided to call an "Organic Entity".
To help facilitate that effect, I used metallic paints that enabled
the sunlight to reflect off the heavily textured forms, giving
the exterior more of a life-like quality.
I then created a smooth exterior base that was painted the same
yellow color as the surrounding factory in an effort to interlock
the two structures.
I also painted free-form designs as an ornamental element.