and her staff for ArtPace, her internationally known contemporary art foundation in downtown San Antonio. For the same reason, museum-quality light fixtures are installed in all common areas. Even the passenger elevator, refitted with an interior of brushed stainless steel, is a venue for art, with twin LCD screens displaying a non-stop stream of images from Pace’s video art collection. The architect’s other minimalist insertions in the interior – a concierge desk of sand-blasted mirror and stainless steel, for example – contrast sharply with the texture of the building shell and exterior, but ultimately fuse together as part of the overall strategy for the rehabilitation. Landscaped gardens on the east and west sides have transformed the building’s context from the industrial to a lushly intimate environment. The yard on the east side features a striking sculpture composed of reassembled airplane parts by Los Angeles-based artist Nancy Rubins. On the west side are hardscaped areas for gathering, as well as the reclaimed smokestack and boiler house – now being converted into a community gathering space. Across Camp Street, to the north of the building’s main entry, is another green space known as Chris Park, created by Linda Pace as a memorial to her son. Artwork is integral to the park’s design, with two steel pergolas, designed by Poteet, and limestone benches set on and around a central plaza. With its units selling briskly to a creative and well-heeled clientele, the Camp Street Residences is helping to raise private investment and public interest in the city’s near-south side. For several years the area has attracted artists who could afford to rent studio space in dilapidated industrial buildings, but this latest residential development may be the key to opening up an under-used sector that is unknown to most San Antonians.
r e s o u r c e s cast stone :
Pyramid Stone; brick veneer repair fasteners :
Hohmann & Barnard; laminates : Wilsonart; roof and deck insulation : BMCA; membrane roofing : GAF Materials Co.; metal roofing : MBCI Metal Roof & Wall Systems; metal doors and frames : Deansteel Manufacturing Company; metal windows : A & S Window Associates; unit skylights : Imperial Glass Structures; decorative glazing : Bendheim; signage and graphics :
ASI Modulex;
fire protection :
Smoke Guard Systems (Ed
Flume, dist.)
Stephen Sharpe is editor of Texas Architect.
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