p r o j e c t UT c l i e n t The
Pan-American Wellness & Recreational Sports Complex, Edinburg
University of Texas Pan American
a r c h i t e c t SmithGroup/F&S d e s i g n t e a m Anita Picozzi Moran, FAIA; David Mills, AIA; Kenda Draper; Nick Back; Hong Fang,
AIA; Catherine Wilson, AIA; Jared Filbeck c o n t r a c t o r D.
Wilson Construction Company
c o n s u l t a n t s JQ-Dallas (structural/civil); The Office of Christopher Miller (landscape); Blum
Consulting Engineers (MEP); Aquatic Design Group (aquatics); Appliedtech Group (security/ telecom); Nottestad Design (graphics) p h o t o g r a p h e r Craig
Blackmon, FAIA
When one thinks of the Lower Rio Grande Valley – with its luxuriant natural landscape and evolving built environment – one conjures up tropical and bicultural imagery. It is doubtful that its Louis Kahninspired architecture comes to mind. Yet over several decades, the University of Texas–Pan American has developed a vernacular that directly flows from his genius. With its most recent addition, Kahn’s design principles are explored and allowed to mature in UTPA’s Wellness and Recreation Sports Complex designed by Smith Group/F&S (formerly F&S Partners). From modest beginnings in 1927 as two-year Edinburg College, Pan American University (as its name became in 1971) featured buildings that were frugal by higher-education standards. What gave these buildings an air of dignity and hopefulness were carefully selected Kahn-inspired motifs – grandly proportioned arches, archetypal geometry, and a reverential use of brick and cast-in-place concrete – that garnered a significant bang for a small buck. UTPA now offers a spectrum of four-year degree programs, and its architecture has accordingly become more sophisticated. In particular, as the campus began to develop its less visible north side, commissioned architects took turns at holding true to the aforementioned Kahn principles while at the same time interjecting regional, cultural, and sometimes whimsical elements—all of which has infused new life into the design scheme of the campus. Where the earlier buildings spoke together in a homogenous language, the new ones establish their own individual identities within the constraints of the Kahn construct. In the initial planning for the WRSC, says David Mills, AIA, the SmithGroup/F&S lead designer on the project, officials acknowl-
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(above) Kahn-inspired elements are recurring motifs on the later buildings comprising the campus of UT Pan-American. (opposite page) Three cylindrical towers along the east facade of the new complex function as double-height spaces for physical fitness training.
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