A New Classic by Liliana Hernandez

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Houston branch has become a landmark in the Houston Allen Parkway sector, dividing the park from the beginning of the downtown area. Even though the bank was constructed in 2003, the design of the building is based on Graves early work during the postmodern period of his architecture career. The bank is a clear example of a postmodern building: applying symbolic elements, local materials and ornamentation to not only make a safe building but also establish the architect's belief in what a bank should be. It is important to understand that “Post-Modernism is evolutionary not revolutionary and thus contains Modernist qualities,” explains Frederic Jameson in his book Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism (Post-Contemporary Interventions), and that those qualities: symbolism, materials and ornamentation, are what make Graves’ Federal Reserve Bank a different approach to bank design.

Michael Graves is known for his large-scale buildings, which apply color and masonry to catch the eye of the observer. What Graves has done is  take large scale buildings designed out of a “tried pattern of late Modernism and recharge it with color, figure, pattern and a sense of formal play that has made his buildings more recognizable from a distance and more accessible to the individual,” explains in his book Michael Graves: Selected & Current Works (Master Architect Series III). However there is more going on than just color in his design, there is also symbolism. Graves interest in history comes from his extensive traveling thru Europe and part of the Middle East. “Classical buildings caused Graves to reexamine his early devotion to modernism,” explains Biran M. Ambroziak in the book Michael Graves: Images of a Ground Tour. For this reason Graves was not in favor of purely glass buildings that are not cost effective, but rather opted to utilize classical elements in his design (a bold statement at the time) marking the era of the postmodern movement in architecture. 

For the Federal Reserve Bank, Michael Graves focused on the historical banks of the south, an element that has guided his design since the beginning. The architect took some of these classical elements like symmetry, brick used as the principal construction material, and columns used as ornaments rather than as structural elements. To these classical elements Graves added a new layer of design by playing with scale, other colorful materials and new symmetrical shapes to re-establish the form and appearance of the modern bank. The Federal Reserve Bank is  often distinguished by its façade, defining the location of the vault by changing the material and color, and thin columns at the entrance, intended to bring a sense of openness and accessibility to people visiting the bank. The form of the building is composed of vertical rectangular elements in plan and only horizontally interrupted by the addition of the vault.  The building incorporates aesthetic elements to be fully functional, such as the open patios defined by colonnades that are used for the bank employees to eat or relax during their free time as not to feel captive.  Roman and Greek colonnades  were historically used in banks to express power and stability, however, Graves uses them to bring openness to the structure. Users of the building find these gestures functional and pleasing to their routine working on the bank.

Ornamentation is a design component which complements, if not defines, Graves’ distinct buildings. The architect uses color, scale, and ornamentation as tools to shape his different designs. He explained his architecture as “a symbolic gesture, an attempt to re-establish a language of architecture and values that are not a part of modernist homogeneity.” The bank is composed of thousands of red bricks, which make up the façade and sides of the building, not only making it colorful but also addressing the safety standards that the bank requires in case of an explosion, making it blast resistant. Blue tiles were used to not only emphasize the vault space from the outside but also to complement the red brick and add a new layer of complexity to the already enormous structure. The building materials were locally produced and intended to represent the essence of historic banks of the south.

Reactions to the building were mixed among people in Houston. Aesthetically speaking, some people like the building and argue that it is a connection to the past, while some  people argue that the massive structure is nothing more than a massive, colorful postmodern building. However after the events of 9/11, New York City governmental buildings started being designed to prepare for a worst case scenario. For this reason, security played a major role in the design, choosing of materials, and regulations inside the building. The heavy masonry structure not only protects the money and people inside the building but also presents a strong front for the outside, establishing a statement of security and of an enduring construction able to resist not only terrorist attacks but the pass of time. Graves said “don’t make something you are not going to be proud of in your lifetime, let alone 100 years from now. Don’t build for the moment…make a classic.”

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas- Houston Branch is a building that cannot go unnoticed by pedestrians, due to its enormous size, or by people driving past, because of its rich color. Michael Graves redefined the concept of traditional banks and applied almost playful solutions for issues such as enclosure, safety and functionality by using local materials, classical ornaments and historical elements of the banks of the south. Although not liked by every Houstonian, the building certainly gives the user something to talk about, whether good or bad, and ultimately meets all the requirements needed for the bank to run successful operations.

References

Ambroziak, B. M. (2005) Michael Graves: Images of a Ground Tour. New York. Princeton Architectural Press.

Graves, M. (2006) Michael Graves: Selected & Current Works (Master Architect Series III) New York. Images Publishing.

Jameson, F. (1991) Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism (Post- Contemporary Interventions). Durham, North Carolina. 

Duke  University Press.

Jencks, C. (1977) The Language of Post Modern Architecture. New York. Rizzoli Internartional Publications Inc.

Jencks, C. (2011). The Story of Post-Modernism: Five Decades of the Ironic, Iconic and Critical in Architecture. Chichester, United Kingdom.

 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Moleskine. (2015) Moleskine Michael Graves Inspiration and Process In Architecture. New York. Moleskine.

Nichols, K. (2004) Michael Graves: Buildings and Projects 1995-2003. New York. Rizzoli International Publications Inc.

Venturi, R. (1966) Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture. New York. The Museum of Modern Art Publication.