Southwestern Historical Quarterly

So much attention is typically given to the visual design work of architects that it seems unusual to collect their written work, but Kathryn E. O'Rourke has done just that for O'Neil Ford in O'Neil Ford on Architecture. As a historian with an interest in Texas architecture and its preservation, I am pleased with the opportunity the book offers to develop a richer understanding of one of the state's most important twentieth-century architects. These essays and lectures express his innate and learned philosophies of the built and designed environment. They also enhance our appreciation for Ford's lifetime achievements and secure his place as an esteemed design professional.

O'Rourke provides a thoughtful organization of a diverse set of his "reading, talking, and writing" from over fifty-five years (5). The selection ranges from presentations made to his peers and students, public speeches on urban planning and policy, eulogies and other comments on the achievements of others, and his "lessons in looking" directed toward educating children interested in observing and understanding architecture and related materials (215).

One of my favorite pieces—among Ford's most important presentations, according to O'Rourke—is entitled "The Condition of Architecture." In this 1964 lecture at Rice University, Ford challenged acolytes of Mies van der Rohe and noted his long appreciation for the engineering work of Félix Candela. He also reflected on the shortcomings of academic programs in architecture and commented on community planning and respect for heritage and the natural environment in his unsuccessful attempts to reroute the North Central Expressway in San Antonio.

With rather limited academic training himself, Ford shunned the halls of academia and instead endorsed observation and history. Nevertheless, [End Page 379] he generally held those in higher education in high esteem. His commencement address at San Antonio's Trinity University in 1967, for example, showed a deep appreciation for the university he actively planned for years and for those who led the institution through eras of building design and construction. He described the university's educational approach as "the Trinity Treatment" (171). There are only a few architects with the confidence to compare the building process to educational freedom as Ford does in this address. As a preservation practitioner, and also as a graduate of Trinity University, I know that it is considered one of Ford's most significant works and that his association with the university is revered. Those who know Trinity well have likely absorbed both the beauty of its design and the integration with nature that Ford created there.

This collection makes clear the reasons many contemporary architects and designers, preservationists, conservationists, and those who love Texas architecture are still inspired by Ford and learn from him. It also reveals how many of the artistic and creative intellects in cities like Dallas and San Antonio found Ford to be an inspiration. To read Ford's words here is to see how his eclectic approach encourages our innate human capacity to observe and study our environment, a process that he was driven to teach others to pursue.