27 December 2005

Grant Medical Clinic -- article pt. 1


Armstrong's Grant Medical Clinic of 1938 located at the intersection of North Taylor and West Pine in the Central West End.

This article "Architecture for Use -- Streamlining a Physician's Office" is as much a description of good design applied to a doctor's office as it is excellent P.R. for both the architect and the physician.

While an entry with so many steps would never be allowed in front of a medical office, the article does explain the reason for raising the Waiting Room (and the entire clinic, for that matter) above street level. Doing so provides privacy, respite from traffic noise, and better views.

From today's perspective, the interior of the office, exam rooms, etc. would be appropriately described as functional, it seems unlikely that the Grant Medical Clinic's exterior would today be consider an example of functional design. Of course the connotation of that terms has reversed itself completely in less than one hundred years.

At that time, creating architecture that was "functional" by focusing on "use" and by employing techniques of "streamlining" was considered advanced, progressive, and optimistic about the future. Today, the term "functional" has been so seriously degraded that calling a building is functional is generally perceived as pejorative.


Newspaper clipping courtesy of the Harris Armstrong Archives, Special Collections, Washington University in Saint Louis.

Grant Medical Clinic -- article pt. 2



Armstrong's Grant Medical Clinic of 1938 located at the intersection of North Taylor and West Pine in the Central West End. The building address is 114 North Taylor Avenue, as noted in the text of the article.

There are many features incorporated into the Grant Clinic that we today in the early twenty-first century take for granted. In the 1930s, many of these elements were in the process of being worked out. A good example is the photograph and caption here noting the window that allows the secretary to see into the Waiting Room. Its hard to imagine anyone even commenting on such a configuration for the receptionist in the past fifty years. Providing built-in cabinetry in the examination rooms is similarly an unremarkable, standard feature.

The comment in the first line about "pure functionalism" also seems anachronistic. Compared to today's 'Doc-in-a-Box' standard for physicians offices, the Grant Medical Clinic is a work of art with more than enough material and formal richness to satisfy anyone insured by an HMO. In truth, Armstrong's design is luxurious compared to many of today's doctor's offices.

Even excluding the use of materials, just the provision of natural light and view in the Waiting Room is a definite rarity. Certainly providing more space than is absolutely necessary is anathema to today's streamlined, efficient treatment centers. But the idea of spacing the chairs apart in the Waiting Room to provide for an added level of patient comfort and privacy, beyond being inefficient, would be eliminated on the basis of being unsustainable and therefore immoral.

Of course, we know better than to provide something as filthy as a fireplace in a place devoted to health.

Unfortunately, the same can be said of the examination rooms. Armstrong carefully and intentionally ensures that each Exam Room is located on an outside wall allowing for natural light and ventilation(!). He is similarly concerned with the interior relationships and functions of the office to position the Examination Rooms in a semi-circle around the main desk. Today's exam rooms are more likely to be down a narrow corridor, in a space with no natural light nor natural ventilation; an exam room's size is typically determined by the diagonal placement of the examination table with space for the patient, cabinets, and physician seeming to be a secondary consideration.


Newspaper clipping courtesy of the Harris Armstrong Archives, Special Collections, Washington University in Saint Louis.

Grant Medical Clinic -- article pt. 3


Armstrong's Grant Medical Clinic of 1938 located at the intersection of North Taylor and West Pine in the Central West End.

While the canopies that protect the windows in the rear section of the building (where the examination rooms are located) relate to the canopies used on the front, the feeling, expression, and form of them is rather different. A major reason for this is the fact that the canopies run straight across then stop before turning the corner.

While the defined brick masonry volumes of the building are "intact and whole" in the primary portion of the building (i.e., their faces are not broken up into separate planes), the suspended examination rooms at the rear are clearly divided into separate planes with the East facade revealing the moderately sloped roof behind it rather than maintaining a consistent parapet wall height.

The top of the parapet at the North and South sides of this projecting portion of the building is lower than the adjacent brick masonry portion. The supports for this section are cast-in-place concrete rather than brick masonry, so its appearance and character are quite different.


Newspaper clipping courtesy of the Harris Armstrong Archives, Special Collections, Washington University in Saint Louis.

Grant Medical Clinic -- examination room


This example of an Examination Room at the Grant Medical Clinic illustrates many of Armstrong's concerns in thinking about medical care.

The glass blocks provide a great deal of natural light as well as privacy. The operable window (with curtain) provides for fresh air ventilation and maintains privacy.

There are external operable canvas awnings that can be adjusted from inside to control direct sunlight that might cause glare.

To a reasonable extent, Armstrong has attempted to fit all of the cabinetry and built-in furniture on a consistent basis. The exam table is positioned as high as possible below the sill for the glass blocks.

There is a continuity of material, dimensions, and proportions in the built-in cabinetry that suggests the idea of a system (now commonplace). There appears to be slots, drawers, niches, and other places for the doctor, nurse, and patient's convenience.

The sink almost fits into his dimensional scheme. The angled position of the mirror in the corner is somewhat awkward, but Armstrong's design required a series of uniquely designed rooms, due to the combination of radial and rectilinear geometry.


Photograph courtesy of the Harris Armstrong Archives, Special Collections, Washington University in Saint Louis.

20 December 2005

McCall Office & Residence -- entry


Armstrong's design of 1941 for the home and office of Dr. McCall on Manchester Road. This entry faces the residential side street.

This building has been remodelled for use as an office by the accounting firm Poppen & Associates.


Photograph by Hedrich-Blessing.

McCall Office & Residence -- corner view


Armstrong's design of 1941 for the home and office of Dr. McCall on Manchester Road. The thick brick wall and landscaping at the corner provide a sense of privacy and separation from the traffic and noise of the busy street. The office entrance is on the far left (hidden in this view). Mrs. McCall is standing at the gate opening onto the residence entrance court.


Photograph by Hedrich-Blessing.

McCall Office & Residence -- Popular Home, p.1


Armstrong's design of 1941 for the home and office of Dr. McCall on Manchester Road. This is the first page of an article about this project in Popular Home magazine.


Photographs by Hedrich-Blessing.

Article excerpt courtesy of the Harris Armstrong Archives, Special Collections, Washington University in Saint Louis.

McCall Office & Residence -- Popular Home, p.2


Armstrong's design of 1941 for the home and office of Dr. McCall on Manchester Road. This is the second page of an article from Popular Home magazine.


Photographs by Hedrich-Blessing.

Article excerpt courtesy of the Harris Armstrong Archives, Special Collections, Washington University in Saint Louis.

16 December 2005

Wichman Shop -- proposal


Armstrong's rendering of a proposed free-standing shop for the Wichman Nursery to be constructed in Webster Groves. The drawing appears to have been drawn in the years 1931-32. This version of the shop remained unbuilt.

The contrast of the fully glazed entry with the massive brick masonry block behind it is rather stark. The location of built in planters near the glazing in each case starts to lend this dichotomous design some coherence. The landscaping indicated, vines growing up the wall, and planters overflowing with greenery at the roof level suggest the passage of time and the notion that perhaps the solid block was a ruin that's been rescued from nature. The two relatively small corner windows make clear that this volume is of modern design since no allowance has been made for structural support of the brick masonry above.

The carved wood moldings creating the fascia for the glass entry provides some visual relief from the almost industrial austerity of the glass walls below. Again, no structure at the corners appears to be indicated, suggesting that this roof could be cantelevered from within.

The use of an overscaled molding like this isn't unique in Armstrong's oevre. The Goldman Bookstore of 1933 exhibits a similar molding used repetitively to achieve a quite modern horizontal banding, unlike the more traditional architectural applications of moldings of this sort.

The carved wood fascia above the glazed entry has a suggestion of lightness and floating not at all evident in the masonry block behind. Similarly, the built design employs massive surfaces of brick that appear to float over the horizontal glazing for the shop.


Drawing courtesy of the Harris Armstrong Archives, Special Collections, Washington University in Saint Louis.

Wichman Shop and Residence -- rendering


Armstrong's revised design for the Wichman family (of 1932) includes their shop on the ground level and their residence on the floor above. The lower level is a relatively simple block with plain brick surfaces interrupted by modern style glazing. The upper level is a kind of Tudor style home constructed of heavy timbers with stucco infill. The variety of hipped, gabled and shed roof designs constrasts starkly with the horizontal coping topping the shop. The demarcation of the home from the business is clear and essentially absolute. Only the small shed roof at the ground level indicates the entrance to the residence above.

Here there is literally a collision in terms of the style, composition, and details of the upper and lower levels. The ground floor is a relatively plain, rectangular brick masonry structure with a strong horizontal emphasis. Large plate glass windows emphasize the horizontal orientation.

The areas exhibiting more detailed carving are located in the thick ornamental lintel over the main entry and the similarly designed blocks located at the corners. These elements are detailed in such a way as to suggest that they are not load bearing and are in fact applied ornament. In the case of the lintel, the two sides of the carved beam do not extend over the brick walls at each side, instead they match the width of the opening below. The ornamented blocks at the front two corners appear to be thick chunks of wood which look as if they would be crushed by the mass of brick masonry above.

In reality, there clearly must have been concealed steel lintels to support the brickwork over the glazing and steel posts at the front two corners to support the weight.


Drawing courtesy of the Harris Armstrong Archives, Special Collections, Washington University in Saint Louis.

Wichman Shop and Residence -- photograph


Armstrong's 1932 design for the Wichman's ground floor shop and upper level residence as depicted in the printed literature of the Wichman's Landscape Nursery business.

When compared to the design drawing, there are a few relatively minor, but nevertheless noticeable differences. The lintel over the main door has the family name, "Wichman", inscribed in gothic lettering. The lintel here does bear on the brick masonry at each side (perhaps by only four to six inches. The carved wood blocks at the front corners depict a stylized vine and floral pattern.


Photograph courtesy of the Harris Armstrong Archives, Special Collections, Washington University in Saint Louis.

15 December 2005

Mays Residence and Office


A proposal for a residence and office for Dr. F. G. Mays to be constructed in Washington, Missouri. The project remained unbuilt. From the design, composition, rendering style, and Boyer & Armstrong attribution, I believe it would have been done around 1931. At that time, Boyer & Armstrong were partners.

The residence is shown prominently at the corner, while the office structure appears to be located in the background behind the tree. There is a noticeable difference in style, detail, and composition between the house and office. The house is clearly conceived as the more prominent structure and has received a great deal more attention with respect to detailing, elaboration and expense.

Dr. May's office seems quite unassuming in comparison. Although the horizontal banding running through the office structure aligns with the eaves of the residence, and the windows seem to be of the same type, there doesn't appear to be a strong relationship between the two structures.

This combination of residence and business together is something that Armstrong created for several clients during the course of his career. An instructive comparison, of a comparable date, would be the Wickman Residence and Shop.


Drawing courtesy of the Harris Armstrong Archives, Special Collections, Washington University in Saint Louis.

14 December 2005

Wieneke & Rutledge Medical Building


Armstrong designed this medical office building at 227 North Kirkwood Road in 1941 for Dr. J. Wieneke and Dr. P. Rutledge. This building is no longer extant.

Oddly, another medical office building, brick with metal spandrel panels, was later constructed nearby (probably in the 1950s). This later building was four stories tall, but had a facade at the ground level with many features mimicking Armstrong's design.

For example, the cantilevered porte-cochere was repeated with aluminum coping in place of wood. The built-in planter with glazing above was also used along with the 'L'-shaped wall surface along the bottom and left side of the facade. It appears to be highly unlikely that this building was remodelled as described.

I'm guessing that perhaps this building was demolished as part of the development of this part of the street and Dr. Wieneke and Dr. Rutledge agreed to move into the new building if they could retain certain features. If anyone knows whether this is in fact what took place (or something else altogether), I would greatly appreciate input and feedback.


Photograph courtesy of the Harris Armstrong Archives, Special Collections, Washington University in Saint Louis.

Wieneke & Rutledge Medical Building -- sketch


Perspective sketch of the Wieneke & Rutledge Medical Building in Kirkwood, Missouri designed by architect Harris Armstrong in 1941. This perspective was hand drawn by Armstrong on the title page of the specifications for the construction. Lines indicating where shadows would fall have been shown, but no toning of the drawing has been done.

The arrangement of planters, cantilevered roof, and climbing vines gives a very clear indication of Armstrong's intention. While the building is abstract and geometrical, the planters and vines indicate and frame the entry (for both vehicles and pedestrians). The photograph of the built structure is not as explicit in this regard.


Drawing courtesy of the Harris Armstrong Archives, Special Collections, Washington University in Saint Louis.

13 December 2005

Hampton Medical Office -- FOR SALE (Dec 2005)


Post-Dispatch notice announcing the construction of the new medical office building for Dr. Henry E. Hampton, dated 26 November 1961. Armstrong had designed Dr. Hampton's previous medical building in 1941 which was located at 2328 Market Street (no longer extant). Armstrong also designed Dr. Hampton's residence in Richmond Heights, also from 1941.

The building, located at the corner of Jefferson and Pine is now listed for sale with Coldwell-Banker. You can view more information regarding the sale here.

Newspaper clipping courtesy of the Harris Armstrong Archives, Special Collections, Washington University in Saint Louis.

Harris Armstrong commercial building -- for sale


This building, designed by Harris Armstrong in 1961, is listed for sale by Coldwell-Banker. It is located at the corner of Jefferson and Pine across the street (toward the East) from A. G. Edwards.

The street address is 2345 Pine Street, Saint Louis, Missouri 63103.

You can visit the real estate listing here.

Photograph courtesy of Coldwell-Banker.

Hampton Residence -- 1941


This home was designed for Dr. Henry E. Hampton by Harris Armstrong in 1941. Armstrong designed Dr. Hampton's medical office building at 2328 Market Street (no longer extant) in the same year.

This home is located in Richmond Heights and has a new owner working on improvements to correct some unfortunate modifications made over the years.


Photograph courtesy of the Harris Armstrong Archives, Special Collections, Washington University in Saint Louis.

06 December 2005

Weekend Mountain Cabin -- rendering


Harris Armstrong's unbuilt design for a "Weekend Mountain Cabin". Drawn about 1945 for an exhibition at the Saint Louis Art Museum. I suspect that the design is a fantasy based in part on an idea he returned to repeatedly: the carved totem pole. Here, a structural column becomes a symbolic marker topped by a carving of an owl.

I can't be sure which came first, but the cabin in the woods that Armstrong built in 1945 south of Saint Louis (in DeSoto, Missouri) called "The Rockpile" clearly shares part of its genetic heritage with this design.

The composition of this small cabin clearly relates to the earlier unbuilt scheme for the Wasson Residence. However, the forms here have been simplified and the elements organized with a much greater degree of skill and control. Its likely that the lack of a program or client allowed Armstrong to fullfill the poetic expression of the earlier, larger home design without the nearly overwhelming sense of monumentality and dominance over nature. Here, nature, architecture, and building all seems to work harmoniously together for their mutual benefit.

Its possible that the subtly Armstrong expresses in the sketched rendering is an aspect of his natural ability to draw and envision structures and to suggest their relationship to the natural surroundings. Similarly, the perceived weaknesses of the Wasson Residence model may in part be explained by the method and means of presentation, in addition to the other factors already suggested.


Drawing courtesy of the Harris Armstrong Archives, Special Collections, Washington University in Saint Louis.

Weekend Mountain Cabin -- plan


Harris Armstrong's unbuilt design for a "Weekend Mountain Cabin". Drawn about 1945 for an exhibition at the Saint Louis Art Museum. I suspect that the design is a fantasy based on an idea he returned to repeatedly: the carved totem pole. The pole here is a structural column located on the diagonal axis opposite the fireplace. A corner of the table is clipped off to allow for the column / pole / post.

The concept of this cabin in the woods was realized by Armstrong in "The Rockpile" which has certain features in common with this design. In the case of the Rockpile, the post is transformed into a tree (existing on the site).


Drawing courtesy of the Harris Armstrong Archives, Special Collections, Washington University in Saint Louis.

Wasson Residence -- model


A decidedly modern development of the ideas suggested by the sketched "Summer Residence". Here the symmetry of the house design is dramatically emphasized by the diagonal axis which here divides the massive masonry chimney and runs out at a 45 degree diagonal through the corner picture windows out across the terrace and into the distance. The corner of the terrace with low built-in planters wrapping it juts out like the prow of a ship cutting through the stone cliff.

This model for the proposed residence was exhibited publically and described as a magestic site over-looking the Mississippi River. The newspaper account of the exhibit waxed poetic about the integration of the house and the landscape. Perhaps viewing the model first-hand rather than as depicted in this photograph, taken directly on the axis of symmetry, gave the house design a more natural, picturesque aspect. I see primarily the combined influence of Frank Lloyd Wright (geometry, axiality, and glazing) and the Beaux Arts (rigid symmetry, monumentality, and formality.


Photograph of model courtesy of the Harris Armstrong Archives, Special Collections, Washington University in Saint Louis.

Wasson Summer Residence -- sketch


This quick sketch reveals something of Armstrong's method for drawing and architectural composition. Here the setting and landscape are only barely indicated, but many details of the proposed design are evident.

This somewhat strange log cabin is a blend of kitsch, modernism, and naturism. While the visual presentation is traditionally picturesque, the roof slopes are about as shallow as they can possibly be with this kind of construction. It appears that stones are laid over the roof shingles to hold them in place. The structure seems to be designed with an overall formal, symmetrical configuration, which is somewhat at odds with the intended naturalistic references.

Rugged stone masonry appears where the structure meets the ground, a typical detail found on many such rural structures. However, the massiveness and formality of the stone masonry suggested by the two planters surrounding the main entrance, the two short, stolid chimneys, and the buttress-like elements at the East screened porch, suggest that something more hieratic is at work. The darkest parts of the drawing are the plantings spilling out of the stone planters, highlighting their significance.

The interlocking logs expressed at the corner combined with the horizontally configured windows makes for a juxtaposition which spans time, materials, methods, and space. When seen together with the shallow gable and the almost art deco wood carving suggested, the house seems an improbably mixture of irreconcilable opposites. The progression from stone masonry on the ground, to stacked logs, to open expanses of glass and screen, and capped by the lightest wood framing possible is to span from archaic building technology to 20th century suburban modernism in the span of about ten feet.


Drawing courtesy of the Harris Armstrong Archives, Special Collections, Washington University in Saint Louis.