----------------------------Original message----------------------------
For Immediate Release
September 22, 1996
THE CHARLES W. MOORE HOUSE AND MOORE/ANDERSSON STUDIOS SAVED AS SITE OF
MOORE FOUNDATION IN AUSTIN, TEXAS
THE CHARLES W. MOORE ARCHIVE ESTABLISHED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
On September 10, 1996, agreements were finalized to permanently
preserve the Austin, Texas house and compound of the internationally
renowned architect, teacher, and writer, Charles W. Moore. The compound
has been saved through the generosity of the Weingarten Family of
California, Mr. Moore's heirs; Arthur W. Andersson, Mr. Moore's
architectural partner; and Austin residents Mr. and Mrs. Willard M.
Hanzlik. Designed together by Mr. Moore and Mr. Andersson, the compound
will be the home of the Charles W. Moore Foundation. The mission of the
Foundation is to embody and celebrate the ideals of one of this century's
most influential architects.
Lawrence, David, Steven, and Bruce Weingarten, who are Mr. Moore's
nephews, have also donated the Charles W. Moore Archive to the University
of Texas at Austin. A monumental record of Mr. Moore's career, the archive
consists of 100,000 slides of world architecture, correspondence, drawings,
watercolors, and manuscripts. In addition, Moore's exceptional
architectural library has been donated, but since it is intrinsic to the
character of the Moore House interior, it will remain in the house and be
cataloged as an adjunct University collection. Led by Lawrence Speck, dean
of the School of Architecture, and Janine Henri, head architectural
librarian, the University will install the archive in the specially named
Charles W. Moore Room in historic Battle Hall, where it is intended to
attract national and international scholars, students, and admirers of
Moore.
The Charles W. Moore Foundation was established after Mr. Moore
passed away on December 16, 1993. Mr. Moore's death was mourned across the
country by his fellow architects, students, and clients, as he had led a
generation of architects to new ways of thinking about architecture. The
urgent goal of the Foundation was to preserve the Moore house and
Moore/Andersson compound. Many people, led by a core Austin group, united
in a nationwide effort. The Austin chapter of the American Institute of
Architects (A.I.A.) created a Task Force, guided by Austin architects Stan
Haas, Heather McKinney, and Susan Benz. The Task Force organized the
Foundation as a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) with a board and advisory
board composed of friends and colleagues of Mr. Moore from across the
country. A fund-raising campaign was launched, and an Executive Committee
of the board began negotiations. Willard Hanzlik led as president, Mary
Margaret Farabee provided her fundraising expertise, Tom Forbes offered
legal counsel, Stan Haas represented the A.I.A., and Moore's longtime
friend and collaborator, architect Donlyn Lyndon of Berkeley, California,
joined the effort.
These agreements mark only the first phase of the board's
fundraising goals. With the Foundation's first director, Kevin Keim, the
board will be working in the next years to permanently endow its programs.
Paul Goldberger of The New York Times described Moore as "our
age's greatest architectural enthusiast" because of his profound influence
as a designer, writer, and teacher. Moore valued collaboration. He
co-authored twelve books, and a dozen more have been written about his own
work. He inspired generations of students at Utah, Princeton, UC Berkeley,
Yale, UCLA, and Texas. In each place Moore taught, he also established an
architectural practice: Moore, Lyndon, Turnbull, Whitaker, (MLTW) in
Berkeley; Moore Grover Harper (now Centerbrook) in Connecticut, and Moore
Ruble Yudell in Los Angeles. Moore was also instrumental in Urban
Innovations Group, a teaching office founded at UCLA. When Moore came to
Austin in 1984 to join the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin as
the O'Neil Ford Centennial Professor of Architecture, he established an
architectural practice with Mr. Andersson. Moore and Andersson first
collaborated on the 1984 New Orleans Exposition, and their practice,
Moore/Andersson Architects, later designed many buildings throughout the
country including Gethsemane Cathedral in Fargo and the Washington State
History Museum in Tacoma. Mr. Andersson continues as head of
Moore/Andersson today.
To house this architectural practice, Moore and Andersson designed
a compound of four buildings in Austin, consisting of two houses and two
studios. Moore's house, the last in a series he designed for himself as he
moved around the country, is a jubilant testament to his life as a designer
of human-scaled, habitable, and spirited places. It is also a showcase of
his enormous collection of international folk toys and art. Across the
courtyard, Mr. Andersson designed a house for himself that is also
architecturally dynamic and representative of his skill as a designer of
complex but habitable spaces. This house will provide living space for
architects and scholars visiting Austin.
In 1991, Charles Moore was awarded America's highest honor for
architects, the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal. The citation
stated: "Architect, educator, and writer whose vivid imagination, spirited
genius, and unselfish dedication to the profession have inspired countless
students and fellow architects for more than four decades. Drawing from
the wellspring of his fertile mind and inexhaustible energy, he has
produced architecture of remarkable vitality and great beauty. Respectful
of the past yet committed to the future, his buildings are exuberant
celebrations of the spirit of their place, often colorful, sometimes
fanciful, but always firmly rooted in a profound respect for nature,
people, and the bond that unites them. Encouraging his students to express
and explore all points of view he introduced pluralism to architecture and
invigorated the profession with new creative freedom."
For more information or for additional illustrations, please contact:
Kevin Keim, Director
The Charles W. Moore Foundation
2102 Quarry Road, Austin, TX 78703
(512) 477-6660 Tel. (512) 477-4557 Fax
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For more information about The Charles W. Moore Archives in the
Architectural Drawings Collection, General Libraries, The University of
Texas at Austin, please contact:
Beth Dodd: Curator
Architectural Drawings Collection
Architecture and Planning Library
The University of Texas at Austin
(512) 495-4621
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Janine Henri, Head Librarian
Architecture and Planning Library
The University of Texas at Austin
(512) 495-4623
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