Rendering of Julia Ideson Building Restoration and Expansion [Courtesy of Gensler]

Raj Mankad

The Julia Ideson Building: An Interview with Barry Moore

Rendering of Julia Ideson Building Restoration and Expansion [Courtesy of Gensler]

In the Spring 2008 issue of Cite (74), Anna Mod wrote an article entitled "The Librarian Returns: Rehabilitating Houston's Beloved Julia Ideson Building." Click here to download a pdf copy. After the recent groundbreaking, Raj Mankad interviewed Barry Moore, a frequent contributor to Cite and a lead architect on the project. Raj Mankad (RM): How did you become an expert in preservation? Barry Moore (BM): By the time I completed my architectural education and joined the family firm, my father already had a reputation as the first preservation architect in Houston --- he was one of the founders of The Heritage Society in 1954. There always were one or two preservation projects in the office --- that's what we did. In my own practice I was successful in winning historic commissions --- the Kiam Building, the Pillot Building, City Hall interiors, the Orange Show, the first HSPVA, the Majestic Theater in San Antonio, the Stafford Opera House in Columbus. With that work under my belt, in 1987 I was asked to lead a graduate design studio at the University of Houston, with an emphasis on adaptive reuse of historic buildings. So now I am passing my experience on the next generation. RM: How does the Ideson project stand out in comparison to all that previous work you've done? BM: The Julia Ideson is the largest historic preservation project I have ever worked on. But there are many other "firsts": the first designed by distinguished past architects --- Ralph Adams Cram and William Ward Watkin, the first large public-private partnership, the first with an archive and archival staff, the first I could walk to from our Gensler office in the Pennzoil Building, and the first in a building I spent many happy childhood hours. The details -- acres of Spanish Renaissance embellishments rendered in stone, wood, iron and carvings --- represent the soul and character of the building. Instead of being a functional antique, like a warehouse adaptively reused as lofts, Julia Ideson is a historic civic monument, always loved by its users and occupants for the nature of its architecture. RM: Phoebe Tudor chaired the fundraising. Tell me about what it is like working with her. BM: Phoebe Tudor is one of the most skilled, knowledgeable, and able leaders I have ever worked with. She shares those characteristics with her Julia Ideson Library Preservation Partners co-founders, Margaret Skidmore and Minnette Boesel. Besides having a degree in Historic Preservation from Columbia, Phoebe has a clear vision of what the project should be. And her meetings always end on time! RM: The preservation includes new construction, which is was actually part of the original 1926 design by Ralph Adams Cram that was never built. Tell me about that process. BM: We have designed a new wing, located where Cram intended it to go. When the project was built in 1926, insufficient funds caused the city to "value engineer" out the south wing and south-facing loggia. Locating the new wing was an easy call because we all understood the architect's original design intent. The other unrealized vision was an enclosed reading garden at the southeast corner, at Smith and Lamar. That is now also part of the project. RM: Did you try to take Cram's plans and adapt them to modern materials, construction practices, and building codes? BM: There was a limit to how far our Gensler team could go with the original plans. In 1926 the three floors were to house a reading room, librarians' offices and staff workrooms, with daylighting and cross ventilation. Our program basically called for a whole new wing to house the Houston Metropolitan Research Center, with a reference/reading room on the first floor (functioning as the Texas Room does today), and as much high density stack space on the floors above as possible. That meant that the challenge for design architect Paul Homeyer was to organize east and south facing elevations to mimic the rhythm of Cram's fenestration without glass on the upper floors. The ornamentation will be a more generalized set of symbols than are found on the original. There was an early design decision to separate the new wing from the existing building with a light well --- to let light penetrate the original south windows on all floors, and to allow the part of the original south wall to remain visible. Of course building codes require more of a fire separation, which we will do with rolling fire shutters not visible during normal times. It was also a real act of gymnastics to work out the location of required exits. We think that when this project is completed early in 2011, the addition will appear seamless. As preservation architects this is one of our major goals. *** The exterior of the Julia Ideson building, shown in this 1926 photo, is considered an important example of Spanish Renaissance Architecture. [Photo courtesy of the Houston Metropolitan Research Center] Pictured is a 1926 photo of the second floor reading room. [Photo courtesy of the Houston Metropolitan Research Center] The third level gallery, and its gilded coffered ceiling, as it appeared in 1926. [Photo courtesy of the Houston Metropolitan Research Center] A new exhibit/reception hall is part of the restoration plans. [Rendering courtesy of Gensler] An archival research and reading room is part of the 24,500-square foot expansion underway. [Rendering courtesy of Gensler] Groundbreaking for the new archival wing began earlier this year with substantial completion expected by late 2009. The restoration of the 1926 structure will begin in 2010. [Photo by Raj Mankad] For more information, visit www.ideson.org.

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1 Comment

  1. Julia Ideson Archival Wing Opens | Offcite Blog writes:
    05.04.10
    5:01 pm

    1

    [...] renderings, historic photographs, and an interview of Barry Moore, read OffCite’s previous coverage. Read about the Rice Design Alliance gala honoring Phoebe and Bobby Tudor, key fundraisers for the [...]