The Alexander Architectural Archive welcomes you to an open house featuring the drawings of Charles W. Moore.
When: Aug. 29- Aug. 31 – 9am to Noon & 1pm to 4pm
Where: Alexander Architectural Archive (basement of Battle Hall)
Saint Matthews Church, Los Angeles, CA.
Wednesday, March 7th, the University of Texas School of Architecture’s Spring Lecture Series will feature Chris Meister. Chris recently published his book James Riely Gordon: his courthouses and other public architecture. Chris’ research took him near and far, but he spent a significant amount of time investigating Gordon’s core collection held at the Alexander Architectural Archive. In conjunction with the lecture, which will be held in Goldsmith Lecture Hall 3.120 at 5pm, the Archive will open its doors from 10am to 4pm that day to share some Gordon gems. The open house will also extend after Chris’ lecture, from 6 to 7pm.
The Gordon collection is an amazing resource and Chris has done a fine job scratching the surface for scholarship. Gordon was also an early proponent of copyright, passive energy design, professional associations, and the development of building codes in NYC.
Hope to see you there!
Come enjoy original drawings and photographs documenting the development of the University of Texas Main Building and Tower from design sketches to construction photographs! The Alexander Architectural Archive (ground floor of Battle Hall) will be open from 12:00 pm to 4:40 pm.
Come enjoy a special centennial exhibit “Our Landmark Library: Battle Hall at 100,” featured in the Architecture & Planning Library’s reading room. The exhibit revisits the history of the university’s first dedicated library space on campus through imagery drawn from sources including the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, the Alexander Architecture Archive, the New-York Historical Society and the Library of Congress. An accompanying online exhibit offers additional images and information conveying the story of the building from conception to completion. The Architecture and Planning Library will be open from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
Learn about its great story in How to build a Tower
Monday, Feb. 27
11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Birthday Cake
Tower birthday cake and anniversary stickers will be available on the West Mall.
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
A Special Architectural Drawings Exhibit
The Alexander Architectural Archive (ground floor of Battle Hall) will sponsor an open house with a display of original Main Building and Tower drawings by architect Paul Cret.
5:30 p.m.
A Main Building Historical Tour
Explore the history, architecture and symbolism of the Main Building and Tower.
Tour lasts about one hour. Meet in front of the Main Building.
Tour does not include the Tower observation deck. Contact Jim Nicar for more information.
Sponsored by Texas Exes UT Heritage Society
EVENT: The Centennial Celebration for historic Battle Hall on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin. The event is free and open to the public.
WHEN: 5-8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 11, 2011.
WHERE: The University of Texas at Austin. Opening remarks by Lawrence Speck in Jessen Auditorium, Homer Rainey Hall (map) at 5 p.m., followed by a reception in the Architecture & Planning Library, Battle Hall (map).
BACKGROUND: Battle Hall, a building that was part of the original Forty Acres at The University of Texas at Austin, will be celebrated this week upon the 100th anniversary of its completion.
The School of Architecture, the Texas Exes and the University of Texas Libraries will host the Centennial Celebration.
“Battle Hall is special to this campus not only because of its prominent location and detailed facade, but because of its long history of housing varied programs and people from the UT community,” says Frederick Steiner, dean of the School of Architecture. “A comprehensive restoration plan is in the making, and it is our hope to retain the building’s history as we focus on the future.”
Renowned architect and W.L. Moody, Jr. Centennial Professor in Architecture Lawrence W. Speck will provide opening remarks in Jessen Auditorium in Homer Rainey Hall. Attendees are then invited to an open house and reception after the talk in the Architecture & Planning Library and its Alexander Architectural Archive in Battle Hall. This will include self-guided tours of the building, light refreshments and a cake-cutting to commemorate the anniversary.
Designed by newly appointed University Architect Cass Gilbert in 1910, Battle Hall was completed in 1911 for approximately $280,000. Beyond serving as the university’s first independent library building (later known as “the Old Library”), it was also the first home to the new College of Fine Arts (1938) and later to the new Barker Texas History Center (1950), bringing together for the first time the University Library’s archives and rare books collections. In 1973, when the Barker Center vacated the building, it became home to the Architecture Library and was renamed for former university president Professor William J. Battle.
The building was the first designed for the campus in the now-familiar Spanish-Mediterranean Revival style, and in 1970 it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. In 2007, Battle Hall was listed by the American Institute of Architects as one of the top 150 architecture projects in the organization’s “America’s Favorite Architecture” poll.
Today, Battle Hall is home to the Architecture & Planning Library, the Alexander Architectural Archive and the School of Architecture’s Center for American Architecture and Design.
“A century ago, Battle Hall opened its doors as the first independent library building on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin, and since then it has provided the space and resources needed to fuel creativity, research and innovation at the university and beyond,” says Fred Heath, director of the University of Texas Libraries. “With the past as prologue, this grand historic building and its service to the students, faculty, researchers and appreciative public will continue for another century and more.”
The Centennial Celebration will be accompanied by the exhibit “Our Landmark Library: Battle Hall at 100,” featured in the Architecture & Planning Library’s reading room. The exhibit revisits the history of the university’s first dedicated library space on campus through imagery drawn from sources including the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, the Alexander Architecture Archive, the New-York Historical Society and the Library of Congress. An accompanying online exhibit offers additional images and information conveying the story of the building from conception to completion.
The exhibit will be on display in the Architecture & Planning Library in Battle Hall through May 2012.
Event: Composer Ellen Fullman brings her Long String Instrument to Battle Hall to premiere her new composition “Tracings.” The event is free and open to the public.
When: Thursday, October 20, 8:30 p.m.
Where: The University of Texas at Austin, Battle Hall, Architecture & Planning Library.
Background: On October 20th, as part of the Music in Architecture / Architecture in Music Symposium hosted by the Center for American Architecture and Design, the College of Fine Arts and the Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music, composer Ellen Fullman will premiere her new work “Tracings” in the magnificent Battle Hall on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin. The performance features Fullman both solo and with the Austin New Music Coop.
Designed by architect Cass Gilbert and completed in 1911, the Battle Hall should provide an extraordinary acoustic environment for Fullman’s unique instrument. “Tracings” was composed specifically for the historic building, repurposing ratios found in the design of the building to produce justly tuned musical intervals. A centennial celebration for Battle Hall occurs on Nov. 11.
Joining Fullman for the performance are NMC musicians Brent Fariss (contrabass), Nick Hennies (percussion), Andrew Stoltz (overtone guitar designed by Arnold Dreyblatt) and Travis Weller (playing his custom string instrument “The Owl”).
Event: The Fine Arts Library hosts the exhibit More Than Architecture from Austin x Design. The event is free and open to the public.
When: Reception, 5-8 p.m., Friday, October 7. Exhibition on display October 2-30.
Where: The University of Texas at Austin, Fine Arts Library, DFA 3.200.
Background: From October 2 – 30, members of the Austin architecture and design community will display their creations alongside the permanent art collection of the Fine Arts Library (FAL) in the exhibit More Than Architecture.
An opening reception will be held Friday, October 7, from 5-8 p.m.
This exhibit is a cooperative venture of the FAL with a group of local small-firm architects as part of the Austin x Design month-long celebration of design in the built and natural worlds. It provides the architecture and design community an opportunity to show off its artistic side, and for artists to exhibit their site-specific works in photographic form.
Artists participating in the show include:
Items in the exhibit include sculpture (large and small), house model, photographs, furniture, glass, paintings, and decorative pieces, with 40 works from over 20 designers and artists.
Event: Research + Pizza features Matt Fajkus talking about his research in sustainable architecture. The event is free and open to the public.
When: Noon, Wednesday, October 5
Where: The University of Texas at Austin, Perry-Castañeda Library, Room 2.500 (map).
Background: The University of Texas Libraries second installment of Research + Pizza features School of Architecture professor Matt Fajkus who will talk about the Thermal Lab and sustainable architectural design strategies, focusing on building envelopes and efficient facade systems.
Fajkus’s research informed his part in the collaborative design of the Home Research Lab, built as part of the Pecan Street Smart Grid experiment to integrate scientific research with sustainable living strategies for the public.
Free Pizza (while it lasts) generously provided to attendees by program supporter Austin’s Pizza.
Research + Pizza is a lunchtime lecture series featuring research presentations by faculty from across the university.
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