Q+A: Bob Harris and Tenna Florian of Lake|Flato on Bringing a Sustainable Building to Life

Lake|Flato Architects won the 2015 A+Awards, Jury Choice, for the Architecture+Sustainability Category with Dixon Water Foundation Josey Pavilion. This living building, the first in Texas, physically embodies the Dixon Water Foundation’s mission to promote healthy watersheds circa sustainable land management, ensuring the preservation of our water resources.

Firm name: Lake|Flato Architects
Location: San Antonio
Your names: Bob Harris, FAIA, LEED Fellow; Tenna Florian, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

When did you decide that you wanted to be an architect?

Tenna Florian: I grew up in a small north Texas town [that happens to be] just 15 miles north of the Josey Pavilion. In middle school, I started drawing houses and floor plans during church. I don’t think I knew what an architect was at that point, but when I was a freshman in high school, my art teacher recommended that I pursue architecture due to my interest in art and science and mathematics. From that point on, I knew that I would be an architect.

Bob Harris: As a child, I was really into art and took art lessons at the Van der Rohe wing of the Houston Museum of Art. Walking around that building made me notice architecture at an early age. It happened that family friends gave me a set of real architectural drawing tools when I was 12 years old and that was it. From then on, I knew what I wanted to do and, for better or worse, never looked back.

First architecture/design job:

BH: While I was in high school, I went to work for a small local firm drafting and running prints. I also worked for an engineering firm, using my high-school trigonometry in translating survey notes into pen-and-ink drawings.

TF: When I graduated from college, I thought that it would be valuable to gain construction experience before getting an office job. I moved to Flagstaff, Ariz., and ended up working at Wellbeing Construction building earth ships and rastra-block houses. It was a valuable experience, and I especially enjoyed learning how to operate a backhoe.

Design hero and/or favorite building (and why):

TF: I have never been one to keep top-10 lists, and I have a hard time picking favorites. I was recently fortunate enough to have a well-guided tour of over 15 incredibly inspirational Rural Studio projects. I can’t even pick my favorite of those projects — they are all fantastic!

BH: Glenn Murcutt would qualify as my first serious architectural hero. In fact, I’m sitting here now looking at my worn original copy of Leaves of Iron. His approach to structures that fit the landscape, reflect the culture, and work for people has been an inspiration. I was fortunate to have spent time with him here in San Antonio several years back. He was new to the region but had a keen curiosity about the nature of the place. To this day, he is one of few people I have found that cared to talk about why the trees in our city grow the way they do.

Tell us something that people might not know about the A+Award-winning project, the Dixon Water Foundation Josey Pavilion:

BH: The structures support the mission of the Dixon Water Foundation. They serve as a place to educate [on] how water might be conserved through innovative range management among a host of other things. These are ranchers teaching other ranchers how to improve their land and their herds while conserving water at the same time. Decatur is actually the hometown of our own Tenna Florian, the Project Architect.

TF: Our client, the Dixon Water Foundation, did not come to us asking for a Living Building. They had never heard of the Living Building Challenge; however, the mission of the foundation is to demonstrate how cattle can be a part of a healthy ecosystem and they saw a Living Building as an opportunity to strengthen their message by providing an educational venue that seeks to achieve the same ecological equilibrium as their range management program. They wanted a building that did more good than harm to the environment.

Other than your computer (or phone), what is your most important tool?

TF: Mock-ups are valuable tools that we sometimes don’t take the time to produce. On the Josey Pavilion project, we nearly made a huge mistake on the custom steel gutter detail that ties the two buildings together. The solution looked fine in section and in the 3D views; however, when we built a full-scale mock-up, we quickly realized that the gutter was too big and too fussy. In the end, we landed on a simple 10-inch steel pipe cut in half. I will never underestimate the value of mock-ups!

BH: A pencil (preferably a red one). To this day, I have a hard time crunching through design issues without a pencil in my hand.

Outside of architecture, where do you look for inspiration?

BH: This is an easy one — it has to be nature. I sometimes feel like a frustrated ecologist. I’m fascinated by natural systems and often think about my work in the built environment in terms of seeking balanced ecosystems.

TF: When traveling, I am more likely to paint and sketch nature in my sketchbook than I am architecture. Typically, I find nature to be more inspirational than architecture, which is why I admire architecture that has a strong connection to the natural surroundings.

What do you find exciting about architecture and design right now?

TF: Historically, there has been a perceived divide between good design and sustainable design. I’m encouraged to see the widespread acceptance of sustainable design as a valuable attribute of good design. One does not exclude the other.

BH: We are working in exciting times. Stylistic approaches to architecture seem to be giving way to a deeper understanding of how architecture can work to enhance people’s lives, build community, and deepen our relationships to the natural world.

See all of the 2015 A+Award Winners here and all of the Winner Q+As here — and order the book from Phaidon here.