Heat and light thematised in the modern architecture of Houston

Abstract

Mid-twentieth-century modern architecture in Houston thematised responsiveness to the natural phenomena of heat and light despite the fact that Houston's most celebrated modern buildings were designed to be completely reliant on central air-conditioning. An examination of Houston buildings constructed from the late 1940s through the 1960s demonstrates the ways in which modern architects sought to privilege the architectural recognition of regional climatic difference while also employing modern technology to alleviate local climatic extremes of heat and humidity. The spectacular modern buildings that represent this era in Houston raise crucial questions: How did architects reconcile the doctrine of climatic responsiveness to the equally modern desire for maximum transparency? What proved more compelling: responsiveness to local circumstance or the imperatives of modern structural and mechanical engineering? Did modern architects perceive that there might be contradictions between responsiveness to climate and other aspects of modern architectural identity, such as transparency? Because concern about the roles of building design and construction in the responsible use of natural resources is current at the turn of the twenty-first century, it is pertinent to examine the ways modern architects in a particular climatic setting negotiated the issue of climatic responsiveness as modern architecture became the dominant practice.