| A. Richard Williams FAIA ’36 Professor at numerous universities, including University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1946-1970+) Distinguished visiting professor, College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture – University of Arizona, Tucson Designer of U of I’s College of Education building Few Psi U’s have a more distinguished record than Professor Dick Williams. His curriculum vitae reflects 70 some odd years of service to the profession, clients, and students across the nation. His work has been published many times and his summer studio, “Singassin” – also seen here in a drawing by Brother Williams, is featured in the book Cottage by Taunton Press. Operating also out of his Winter Studio in Tucson, “Camaralta” , he has consulted with cities and architectural firms across the U.S. and world, including Harry Weese, Associates and Perkins & Will in Chicago, SOM of Denver, RSP of Minneapolis, General Design, Branson, MO, Brooks/Albanese of Tucson, and Arco Progetti in Florence, Italy. Brother Williams has taught, lectured, or served on juries at 30 plus universities, including the Universities of Illinois, Arizona, UIC, UW-Milwaukee, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma State. He also has worked abroad with the University of Illinois, Versailles, France from 1965-1999, Notre Dame University in Rome, Italy from 1978-2002, and with the American Academy in Rome, Italy from 1964-2002. After graduation from Champaign with a medal from the AIA, Brother Williams did his graduate work at MIT, receiving the MIT Medal in 1937. One of his earliest drawings associated with Psi U may be seen on the front page in the “Renovation Project” banner; the renderings are based off a drawing of the chapter house completed by Brother Williams in conjunction with a renovation project from the 1950s. In recent years, Brother Williams has designed the new St. Ignace Public Library, which was dedicated on June 18, 2005. He also completed a summer residence for the Wellman family on La Salle Island in the Les Chenneau Archipelago in Cedarville, Michigan. Brother Williams also has been very generous to the School of Architecture at the University of Arizona, Tucson, donating the “Archon Seminar” conference room as penthouse on top of the new CALA building, scheduled for completion in December ’06. The university website quotes Brother Williams on his donation: I wanted to foster a physical space in the new building that would embody and serve to host interdisciplinary projects that provoke future comprehensive imagery; intertwining technology, land ethic, energy and environmental husbandry, humanistic, aesthetic inhabitation and cultural advance all as a singulariaty. This is the Archon Seminar Room. His most recent work is the book Archipelago – Critiques of Contemporary Architecture and Education , published in 2009 by the University of Illinois Press. A small sampling of Brother Williams’ awards include: AIA Honor Awards: U. of Illinois College of Education Urbana/Champaign Concordia College Library, Springfield Own Residence, Champaign 2nd Appellate Court, Elgin Other Honors: Illinois Medal – U of I School of Architecture University of Illinois Faculty Award: Hon. Phi Kappa Phi: 1960 AIA State of Illinois Education Medal: 1986 ACSA Distinguished Professor Award: 1986 Fellow AIA: 1971 Fellow ARC, Art, Religion and Contemporary Culture: 2001 University of Arizona, Architecture Alumni Award: 1996 |
In April 1958 the Omicron Arrow published the following article about Brother Williams’ work:
PSI U ARCHITECT BUILDS OWN HOME BRINGING ORIENTAL FLAVOR TO C-U
One of the most difficult things for an architect to do is design and build his own home. But difficult or not, many of them do it … and Brother A. Richard Williams ’36 is no exception. “Dick” is a professor of the University of Illinois architecture faculty, with his office at 103 Architecture Building.
For Brother Williams, whose drawing of the Omicron house appears in the fund raising brochure of the Omicron building fund, the process of designing and building his home is a continuing one.
Begins Remodeling
He built his compact but roomy contemporary bachelor home at 1411 W. University Ave., Champaign, about eight years ago. Recently he started an extensive remodeling project that will change just about everything but the ground on which it stands.
Brother Williams summed up the architect’s problem by saying, “You see so many things that you like. And you obviously can’t use them all in one house or clutter up the effect.”
So it becomes a “boiling down” process—a sorting out of a few ideas that will go well together and building the plans around these few.
Theme Is Oriental
Oriental art and design always have fascinated Dick. He has spent some time in the Far East and picked up many architectural ideas there. So it was natural for him to use this theme in his home. What he wanted from the start was a house and garden that would | tie into each other in such a way that it would be difficult to see where one ended and the other began.
Idea Too New
But when he started his plans he realized that this idea was too new and unfamiliar to fit into the housing patterns of the Midwest. So he settled for a modified oriental theme, and built the entire home himself. Now he is going ahead with his original plans. He feels the final effect will be accepted now because the Eastern influence has be come so popular in recent years.
The present house is a low structure with no side windows and just one on the front, at the kitchen end. But the back of the house, with exposure to the south, is a solid wall of windows, looking out onto the garden.
House Is L-Shaped
The house is shaped in an L, with a study projected toward the back at the southeast corner. The living area, bath and bedroom are in the lower part of the L, across the front.
The kitchen and living room are separated by a central work unit core. On one side is a fireplace and a speaker for the radio and hi-fi set. The compact kitchen is backed against the other side and the center is used for storage.
The core has no structural importance and will be moved when the remodeling gets underway. The Oriental influence in the room is obvious. The floor is covered with rice straw matting and furniture consists of low cushions, two flush to the floor and two set up on short legs. Chairs are of the low, floor-hugging variety.
Low Ceiling Unnoticed
Brother Williams pointed out that even the ceiling is lower than normal, but this is difficult to notice because everything else is in the same perspective. The fact that the window wall at the back of the room extends from floor to ceiling helps to heighten the room.
The front wall is finished in rough-textured Chicago common brick, as is the floor of the study, two steps down. The study is set on a slab, but the rest of the house has a crawl space beneath for plumbing and heating.
Blend Home, Garden
The purpose of Brother Williams remodeling project is to enclose the garden and make it seem more like a part of the house. About the only thing that will be left as it is will be the plumbing and heating. The side walls will be extended to the back of the lot where they will turn in to form a bracing effect. The space beyond, which will contain a carport, will be backed up by a wooden fence.
Dick hopes the area between the brick wings and the fence will give the idea of a stage.
The final product, expected to be finished by the end of the summer, will provide more space, both real and imagined.
| Paul H. Johnston AIA ‘71.5 Oculus, Inc. – Director, Dallas Office Brother Johnston ‘71.5 is the Director of the Dallas branch of Oculus , a full service architectural, strategic facility planning, interior design, and move management firm with offices in St. Louis, Dallas, and Chicago. He serves as the main point of contact for their Texas-based clients. He is a licensed architect with over 30 years of national and international experience designing and managing projects ranging from $1 million to over $500 million. Prior to joining Oculus Inc., he managed the design of several large scale theme parks from London to Kuala Lumpur and managed the programming, design, construction documents, construction administration, and move services for the national portfolio of Lincoln Financial Advisors, which consisted of over 50 locations. He has significant experience with retail “roll-out” including the following clients: Successories, PrimeCo (now known as Verizon), InMotion Pictures, SBC, Steak & Ale, Bennigans, Brandywine Collectables, 7-Eleven, and Bank of America through The Trammell Crow Company. Currently, Paul is managing several projects with Henry S. Miller Commercial, one of Texas’s oldest and most respected real estate firms. Brother Johnston has a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Illinois and is a member of the American Institute of Architects. He has lived and practiced in the Dallas area for over 26 years and is very active in the community through church functions and the Dallas Hearts and Hammers Program. Information courtesy of Brother Johnston and the Oculus website. |