Creating Culture in Public Buildings

By Peter Brown

Peter Brown is a registered architect recognized for his national and international contributions to school planning and design. He currently leads the Texas school planning and design practice for Dallas-based Perkins+Will.

Creating public buildings can be a delicate balance between meeting the short-term demands of budgets, schedules and functional programs with the responsibility to reflect the long-term aspirations of a community. From the urban environment to the construction details, public buildings define, reflect and communicate the culture of their communities and public institutions.

Our firm is working with clients on projects in Texas that represent a variety in scale and project types but share one thing in common: using opportunities within the established project parameters to create and support culture. Working early in the project definition phases, project teams utilize a participatory planning process, helping to define desired cultural aspects to reinforce or create. Throughout the design phases these components are included in the decision-making process to evaluate design decisions. A dynamic public culture can be developed through creating opportunities for community tradition, reinforcing natural social patterns and providing places for artistic expression. Planning in advance for cultural opportunities allows projects to succeed with short-term project goals and elevates the art of public building to be an integral component in shaping positive community development.

Creating Community Traditions

For the new Government Center at Cedar Hill, the city realized that synergy relationships-and a smart sharing of public space-could be reinforced by integrating facilities for the City Hall, School District Administration, Municipal Courts and the Police Department. At the urban scale the integration of these functions allow a sufficient building program to create a meaningful place within the city. Perkins+Will worked with the city and the neighboring development to create a place that will become a source of pride for the community. The master plan proposes a linear organization of the program that gently arcs in a crescent shape to create a large town green in the center of the complex. The town green is envisioned to facilitate community traditions. The open space, about the size of a football field, becomes the city's main outdoor gathering area. By envisioning both the functional aspects and social aspects of community life, Cedar Hill is using its municipal buildings to shape and define the culture of the city.

Reinforcing Social Opportunities

The University of Texas at Arlington selected the oldest parcel of land on the campus for the site of its new Chemistry and Physics Building. A special aspect of the project's program is a sophisticated planetarium, providing a venue for science students to study stars and a space-age domed theater for the entire university. In an initial analysis of the site, Perkins+Will recognized the site as the "crossroads" of the campus. The site parallels a major student pedestrian route, terminates the College Street axis, and is bisected by the natural path between the library and the student union. To strengthen and extend the existing pedestrian route, the street alongside the building has been transformed into a student plaza. The planetarium is positioned to be the focal point of the College Street axis, becoming the icon for the building. The adjacent atrium lobby provides a "short cut" between the library and university center. Scientists plan to utilize this area to facilitate a "science on display" program, providing opportunities to showcase digital images of research in progress or even live simulcasts of events occurring within local or national laboratories. The lobby is a place for all university students to informally interact with the science program on a daily basis.

Expressing Public Aspirations

Located on a tight site on the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Hector Garcia Middle school utilizes an urban site to invite the community into the life of the school. Approaching the school from the south, a large 25 by 160 ft. mural wall is an opportunity to artistically communicate the significance of the school's namesake, Hector Garcia. Once inside, the school's media center and auditorium share a common lobby-allowing the community to utilize the facility beyond school hours, and more importantly, philosophically connects academics with the arts. Within the school, spaces are layered with opportunities to display both professional and student artwork, creating a dialog between students and the public. From an urban perspective, the school cleans up a blighted city block. From a cultural perspective, the school links past accomplishments with future possibilities.

Planned with 50- to 100-year life spans, public buildings provide the opportunity to develop a cultural infrastructure for our built environment. With thoughtful planning, design and execution, public projects transform the communities that they serve-creating vibrancy within the city and communicating the aspirations of its people.