See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/364325989

Modern Venatio and the Case of Dorton Arena in Raleigh, NC (1949-52)

Article · January 2021

CITATIONS READS

0 788

1 author:

Marcos Amado Petroli

10 PUBLICATIONS 3 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Marcos Amado Petroli on 14 October 2022.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

1-b-6
MODERN VENATIO AND THE CASE OF J.S. DORTON ARENA IN RALEIGH,
NC (1949–52)
house in Raleigh (currently, demolished), and the American ly characterized by the two monumental arches and the ex-
Marcos Amado Petroli inventor Richard Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983), known for ternal silhouette of the grandstand, was itself the generator
Assistant Professor, Architecture Department, Judson University; 1151 N. State Street, rm. 408, Elgin, IL, 60123; his research with geodesic domes.3 During that period, Now- of the architectural form, often called by some scholars as
marcos.petroli@judsonu.edu icki also collaborated with the Finnish-American architect “architecture-as-structure-and-conversely.”4
Eero Saarinen (1910–61) in designing the Brandeis University In some respects, the way that the arches cover a longi-
Master Plan (1950–52), a project that included a wide, domed tudinal span can be compared and contrasted with the mas-
roof covering the auditorium, itself a mention to Saarinen’s sive pre-stressed concrete architrave-like superstructure of
ABSTRACT.
dome at the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, the São Paulo Museum of Art (1957–68), by the Italian-born,
This paper investigates the case of J. S. Dorton Arena (1949–52) in Raleigh, North Carolina, by the Polish architect Maciej (Matthew) Michigan (1946–55). Saarinen, who was about the same age Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi (1914–92). The structural
Nowicki in partnership with the Norwegian born, American structural engineer Fridtjov (Fred) Severud. The Arena contextualizes the post- as Nowicki, was an architect famous by his arcuated, expres- technology of the Arena’s roof preceded covered stadiums
war use of arcuated structures, which served, among other ways, as emblems to convey new types of civic monumentality. Originally sionist structures, including his design for the David S. In- such as the Houston Astrodome, completed in 1965, and
proposed as a livestock judging pavilion for the North Carolina State Fair, “the Fair of the Future,” this building was widely advertised as galls Hockey Rink at Yale (1953–58), seen by many as a direct technologies like “superdomes” that currently dominate
a “modern coliseum” and one of the precursors of the “modern tent.” Despite its structural ingenuity, the Arena contrasts archetypal re- reference to Dorton Arena. sports-stadium design. The arena won several awards in
call with the energy of a spectacular “cowboy” exhibition: attributes of a monumentality that echoes the ancient Roman entertainment Structural challenges were solved in partnership with both architectural and engineering fields, including the
venatio. Thin, light, and geometrically elementary, the Arena symbolizes a grand finale in the mechanization of American stockyards and the engineering firm Severud-Perrone-Sturm-Bandel (cur- First Honor Award of the American Institute of Architects,
agricultural facilities, in which advanced technology and formal refinement represented a growing wealthy class of country people. rently known as Severud Associates), led at that time by the and the Gold Medal in Engineering of the Architectural
Norwegian-born, American structural engineer Fridtjov League of New York. The building soon received internation-
(Fred) Severud (1889–1990), a talented engineer that worked al recognition, including a feature and the display of the
in many modern monuments and large public buildings model in 1957 at the Triennale in Milan, and was listed in the
state fairs, as well as creating an innovative constructive throughout the country. The structure of the Arena, strong- U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
1. INTRODUCTION
system. The Arena’s roof was the first stadium-like structure
J. S. Dorton Arena (1949–52) is an amphitheatre in Ra- designed to enclose a large, column-free space, and is consid-
leigh, North Carolina, and the main exhibition hall of the ered to be one of the precursors of the “modern tent” (Fig. 1).1
annual North Carolina State Fair (NCSF). The building dis- The Arena was designed by the Polish architect Maciej
plays numerous attractions, from conventions, concerts, (Matthew) Nowicki (1910–50), when he was working with the
and auto shows, to all types of large events. The Arena can be American architect William H. Deitrick (1895–1974) and serv-
described as a pair of monumental and intersecting parabol- ing as an instructor at the North Carolina State College
ic arches supported by slender, yet colossal columns around School of Design.2 The curriculum of the institution was
its perimeter. The building was covered by a thin, light, and open to avant-garde structures and formal analyses, and in-
arcuated cable-supported roof, a smart way of keeping with cluded faculty such as the Argentine architect Eduardo Cat-
the character of traditional tent-like ephemeral buildings of alano (1917–2010), famous for his 1954 hyperbolic paraboloid

Fig.2. Matthew Nowicki, Dorton Arena, Raleigh, NC, United States, c. 1949–50. First proposal (left), “Round Pavilion;” and second proposal (right), “Paraboleum.”
Fig. 1. Matthew Nowicki, Dorton Arena, Raleigh, NC, 1949–52. © The Nowicki Family. Courtesy: Special Collections Research Center, NC State University Libraries, © The Nowicki Family. Courtesy: Special Collections Research Center, NC State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC, Collection “Matthew Nowicki Drawings and Other
Raleigh, NC, Collection “Matthew Nowicki Drawings and Other Material,” MC 00190. Material,” MC 00190.

60 The 16TH International Docomomo Conference - Inheritable Resilience - 1. Space of Sports MODERN VENATIO AND THE CASE OF J.S. DORTON ARENA IN RALEIGH, NC (1949–52) - Marcos Amado Petroli 61
 There are many possible building references for the Are- exhibitors developed their own etiquette of behaviour and
na (never explicitly admitted by Nowicki), including the habiliment, often assuming and displaying a romanticized
work of the Russian engineer Vladimir Grigoryevich Shuk- life of “cowboys,” when the Manifest Destiny was still at the
hov (1853–1935), and two previous unbuilt projects by Now- forefront of American ideology.9 In some respects, the hu-
icki, a sports centre and a Parliament building in Warsaw, man control over nature, extremely celebrated in state fairs,
Poland. The latter, developed in 1946, had a roof composed of can also be seen as a reflection of the historical triumph of
linear cables in a “bicycle wheel” configuration, and is com- the “white man” upon the wilderness that filled the vast
monly accepted among scholars as the main referential primitive landscape of North America; or, as the Ger-
scheme for the Dorton Arena.5 Nonetheless, Nowicki also man-American philosopher Hannah Arendt (1906–75) ar-
worked for a brief period at Le Corbusier’s firm in the 1930s, gued once, because one of the aspects of modernity was the
a time to possibly be aware about the tensile structure pro- victory of the animal laborans over the homo faber.10
jects for the National Stadium in Paris (1936, unbuilt), and During the post-war years, the original purpose of the
the Pavillon des Temps Nouveaux at the Paris Exhibition of fair was transposed to a more consumable, festive, and per-
1937.6 The actual structure itself in these cases can be seen as formative plane. A large part of the attendance in modern
a derivation from the Hebraic temple in the wilderness, a state fairs was based on touring carnivals and grandstand
form which Le�Corbusier had first advanced as exemplary acts, organized by midway companies that included a varie-
in the pages of Vers une Architecture (1923). But the ad- ty of freak shows, spectacles with animals, fun houses,
vanced structural technologies and the machine character dance games, and food concessions. The main attraction of
of the buildings also lead to certain metaphors with aero- the midway was a popular burlesque act, commonly called
nautical features, in particular, the “inversion of the dirigi- “girl show,” and the location of this attraction articulated the
ble.”7 whole “horseshoe-shape” layout of the carnival.11
After the Second World War (WWII), when a certain ap- Nowicki, who was hired by J. Sibley Dorton to design the
prehension overshadowed the manifest destiny of the ma- NCSF Master Plan, “The Fair of the Future,” 12 planned each
chine age, a new rhetoric started to make sense in ways of building based on a particular character, form, and technol-
combining together, both traditional and modern methods ogy. Early schemes for the fairgrounds emphasized balance
(1946 is the year of Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation in Mar- rather than symmetry. The main buildings in the master-
seille). Despite its structural ingenuity, the Dorton Arena plan — the carnival (midway), the amphitheatre (Dorton
follows a traditional Greek-Roman bisymmetrical type of Arena), and the racetrack, were monumentalized. Similar to
amphitheatre. Indeed, classical amphitheatres such as the world’s fairs and other types of public expositions, monu-
iconic Roman Colosseum, which included a lightweight ve- mentality was one suggestive condition of program at the
larium and held the entertainment venatio (i.e., the hunting, NCSF, which also included a need to counteract the civic em- Fig. 3. Matthew Nowicki, North Carolina State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, NC, United States, c. 1949. Studies for the Master Site Plan, in collaboration
with Walter Weissman. © The Nowicki Family. Courtesy: Special Collections Research Center, NC State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC, Collection
taming, and killing of wild and exotic animals), could serve bellishment proposed by the classical tradition. Nowicki ac-
“Matthew Nowicki Drawings and Other Material,” MC 00190.
as an ideal archetype for the job. Originally proposed as a knowledged such requirements, claiming that:
livestock judging pavilion, this building indeed was widely
advertised as a “modern coliseum” by J. Sibley Dorton, man- (…) a unit planned for crowds should have a different scale
ager of NCSF at that time and the leading force behind the from one planned for an individual, so that the scale of mod-
construction of the Arena and a permanent state fair (Fig. ern architecture must allow for a certain flexibility. (…) Monu- wooden barrel vaults (a form that reminds the La Zarzuela the personal. (…) That which he left undone through his death
2).8 mentality does not depend on any form but is a problem of Racetrack in Madrid, Spain, 1935), and large reinforced con- must now call forth the creative efforts of a whole genera-
New post-war entertainment venues, such as amphithe- scale. (…) monumentality, in the sense of a contrast between crete cantilevered systems. Other buildings in the master- tion.15
atres, arenas, expo pavilions, and stadia, embodied much of architecture of exceptional importance and the size of an in- plan included butterfly steel roofs and vaulted canopies.
the search for a modern identity, which was often related to dividual, has its true and eternal qualities of which man According to Nowicki, “ceilings by Freyssinet in France and
3. THE ARENA
nationally or regionally identifiable modern manners. Ad- should not be deprived. Within the realm of its favourite scale, Wright’s mushroom columns of the Jonson Wax factory in
vanced technology undoubtedly played a fundamental role modern architecture should no doubt distinguish a variety of this country may well be considered the precursors of a fu- A typical livestock judging pavilion usually was planned
in the characterization of architecture as a vehicle of social treatments that will be appropriate to the expression of its ture wave that will bring unpredicted solutions in form.”14 to be octagonal, round, or oval. These shapes followed the
progress. However, the many facets of the social, industrial, diversified contents.13 Unfortunately, almost none of these constructions were central exhibition space in the building, commonly known
and political context of the Arena led to coexistent structur- built. About a year after Nowicki started to developed the as “the show ring.” The size of these spaces, however, was
al metaphors, including a type of country saddle roof. The carnival (originally the main attraction of the fair) drawings, he was victim of a flight accident in Egypt. His limited by the structure and technology of the roof, which
was organized into an equilateral triangle, and was elevated partner, William H. Hendrick, and his wife, Stanislawa (Sia- dictated the free span into certain dimensions of width,
on a massive platform (the access to the carnival reminds sia) Nowicki-Sandecka, finalized the design of the Arena. In height, and length. These pavilions were often constructed
2. “THE FAIR OF THE FUTURE”
the organization of Villa Stein at Garches, 1927). The amphi- 1951, the American historian Lewis Mumford (1895–1990), a with large windows and skylights to provide ample natural
The modernization of state fairs was fostered by a new theatre (Dorton Arena) followed a circular shape, and was close friend of Nowicki, wrote: lighting for appraising animals or crop products. However,
corporate body of packers and farmers (the late nineteenth planned to be covered by a large dome. The racetrack, like an since many of these buildings were still been constructed
century “cattle kingdom”), which invested on scientific ancient Roman circus, followed an oval shape (Fig. 3). His architecture recognized no provinciality of time or place with bearing walls, the ratio between the area of windows
means to educate agriculturalists regarding new technolo- The structure of the grandstand at the racetrack fos- or method: it took the measure of man and sought to bring and walls needed to be carefully calculated. These condi-
gies and efficient farming practices. Throughout the years, tered a set of experimental forms, including tensile roofs, together the regional and the universal, the mechanical and tions for plentiful light and wide-span roofs encouraged a

62 The 16TH International Docomomo Conference - Inheritable Resilience - 1. Space of Sports MODERN VENATIO AND THE CASE OF J.S. DORTON ARENA IN RALEIGH, NC (1949–52) - Marcos Amado Petroli 63
 cient Roman god that looks to both the future and the past, 16 Benjamin D. Lisle, Modern Coliseum: Stadiums and American Culture, Philadel-
phia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017.
a modern entertainment venatio is a double-edged Rudis, a 17 Matthew Nowicki, “Origins and Trends in Modern Architecture,” Bruce H. Schafer
sword that ambiguously celebrates the triumph and the (ed.), The Writings and Sketches of Matthew Nowicki, Charlottesville, University of
Press of Virginia, 1973, 10.
brutality of humanity over nature. As Sigfried Giedion stat- 18 Nowicki, “Origins and Trends in Modern Architecture,” 7–10.
ed once, “a new outlook must prevail if nature is to be mas- 19 Nowicki, “Origins and Trends in Modern Architecture,” 10.
20 Sigfried Giedion, Mechanization Takes command: A Contribution to Anonymous
tered rather than degraded. The utmost caution is impera-
History, Minneapolis, The University of Minnesota Press, 2013, 256.
tive. This calls for an attitude turning radically away from
the idolatry of the machine.”20

R EFER ENCES
COMAS, Carlos Eduardo, “Protótipo e Monumento, Um Ministério, O
Ministério,” Projeto, No. 102, August 1987, 136–49.
GIEDION, Siegfried, Mechanization Takes Command: A Contribution to Anony-
mous History, New York, Oxford University Press, 1948.
MCLAURIN, Melton, & ALONZA, Melton, The North Carolina State Fair: The First
150 Years, Raleigh, N. C., Office of Archives and History, N. C. Dept. of Cultural
Resources, 2003.
LISLE, Benjamin D., Modern Coliseum: Stadiums and American Culture, Phila-
delphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017.
NOWICKI, Matthew, “Composition in Modern Architecture,” Bruce H. Schafer
(ed.), The Writings and Sketches of Mattew Nowicki, Charlottesville, University
of Press of Virginia, 1973, 5–6.
Fig. 4. Matthew Nowicki, Dorton Arena, Raleigh, NC, United States, 1952. Photograph: Marcos Amado Petroli (April 14, 2019). NOWICKI, Matthew, “Origins and Trends in Modern Architecture,” Bruce H.
Schafer (ed.), The Writings and Sketches of Matthew Nowicki, Charlottesville,
University of Press of Virginia, 1973, 7–10.
MUMFORD, Lewis, “Monumentalism, Symbolism and Style,” Architectural
Review, CV (April 1949), 173–80.
URBANSKA, Marta A., “Maciej Nowicki: A Tribute to a Neglected Genius,” Lo-
structural transition, which required a certain level of engi- Early drawings of the Arena show that Nowicki was re- cal Life News, Lifeboat Ltd., 1999.
neering inventiveness. ferring to the building as an “amphitheatre;” and later to a
From ephemeral wooden light structures, to more per- “paraboleum.” Initially, Nowicki proposed a dome to roof the
manent fireproof structures, livestock judging pavilions Arena, working in compression, but eventually he changed NOTES
1 Henry Petroski, “Dorton Arena,” American Scientist (Nov-Dec 2002), accessed
started to represent a growing wealthy class of country peo- to the current floating, hung structure. The use of colossal May 16, 2021, https://www.americanscientist.org/sites/americanscientist.org/
ple. During post-war years, the idea that ephemeral exhibi- parabolic arches to support the roof evoke Le Corbusier’s files/20051220153327_306.pdf.
2 Political unrest in Poland after WWII compelled Nowicki to move permanently
tions could become permanent spaces for consumption proposal for the Palace of the Soviets (1930, unbuilt). Years
to the United States. He arrived in Chicago and worked as Cultural Attaché to
pushed such typologies to evolve to a new scheme: an later, Severud applied similar concepts in cases such as the the Polish Consulate (his father was the first Consul of the reborn Polish state in
Chicago in 1920). Nowicki got his undergraduate degree (1926) and his master
“all-weather, all-purpose” space that could be used for differ- Yale Ice Hockey Rink in New Haven, the Reception Building
studies (1936) in Warsaw, Poland. He also studied in Chicago, IL, in 1922. Later, he
ent programs throughout the year (Fig. 4).16 at Washington Dulles Airport (1962). Other cases based on became an associate professor at the Warsaw Polytechnic. Nowicki also served as
For Nowicki, “the concept of a short-lived structure to be tensile principles and reinforced concrete arches include the the representative of Poland in the design committee for the United Nations (UN)
Headquarters in 1947, and later as a consultant in the final design of the UN.
removed with the rapid change of technology has been re- São Cristóvão Pavilion in Rio (1962), Brazil, by the architect 3 Dean Kamphoefner hired figures such as George Matsumoto, Harwell Hamilton
placed by a notion of architecture that will be our contribu- Sérgio Bernardes (1919–2002). Harris, Terry Waugh, Duncan Stuart, Lewis Mumford, James Fitzgibbon. He also
invited Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, and Richard Neutra as part of a dis-
tion to the life of future generations.”17 Nowicki argued that tinguished visitors program.
the answer to every architectural problem would be a flexi- 4 Marta A. Urbańska, “Maciej Nowicki: A Tribute to a Neglected Genius,” Local Life
4. A GRAND FINALE News, Lifeboat Ltd., 1999, accessed on May 16, 2021, https://www.local-life.com/
ble space. After stating that “form follows form and not krakow/news/25-maciej-nowicki-a-tribute-to-a-neglected-genius.
function,” he claimed that constructive diversity was also Like any conclusion of a performance, entertainment, or 5 See, for example, T. S. Sprague, “‘Floating Roofs:’ The Dorton Arena and the Devel-
opment of Modern Tension Roofs,” Paulo J. S. Cruz (ed.), Structures and Architec-
responsible for providing strength to an expanding and “vir- rodeo, the Arena symbolizes an arrival point to the mechani-
ture: New Concepts, Applications, and Challenges, London, Taylor & Francis, 2013,
ile” civilization, leading to formal experimentation.18 Accord- zation of American stockyards and agricultural facilities 1096–1103.
6 Nowicki also met Le Corbusier later in 1947 for the design of the UN in New York.
ing to Nowicki: since the replacement of the old single-family abattoirs for
7 Kenneth Frampton & Yukio Futagawa, Modern Architecture, 1920–1945, New York,
more hygienic, centralized public slaughterhouses during Rizzolli, 1983, 409.
Maturity brings a ‘sense of medium’ (…) As a result, we now the mid-nineteenth century. Indeed, the Arena was a fore- 8 Melton McLaurin & Melton Alonza, The North Carolina State Fair: The First 150
Years, N. C. Raleigh, Office of Archives and History, N. C. Dept. of Cultural Resourc-
rely in our expression on the potentialities of materials and runner in terms of structural and formal solutions at the es, 2003, 41.
structures. (…). This interest in structure and material may eve of the second machine age. However, the Arena (and the 9 John William Malone, An Album of the American Cowboy, New York, Franklin Watts,
Inc., 1971.
find within the buildings medium decorative qualities of or- NCSF) revealed itself as a more complex object, much ac- 10 Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1958.
nament that are much too involved for the purist of yesterday. credited to Nowicki’s ability to uncloak programmatic re- 11 A. W. Stencell, Girl Show into the Canvas World of Bump and Grind, Toronto, Ontar-
io, ECW Press, 1999.
The symbolic meaning of a support has also been rediscov- quirements related to issues of civic representation. Light, 12 Term coined by J. Sibley Dorton. Apud McLaurin, & Alonza, The North Carolina State
ered. (…) The period of functional exactitude expressed its thin, and geometrically elementary, are particular modern Fair: The First 150 Years, 41.
13 Matthew Nowicki, “Composition in Modern Architecture,” Bruce H. Schafer (ed.),
mysterious longings for ornament through the decoration of attributes of cable-supported systems and glass envelopes;
The Writings and Sketches of Mattew Nowicki, Charlottesville, University of Press of
function; our period of functional flexibility expresses them however, within the context of a cowboy’s universe, a live- Virginia, 1973, 5–6.
14 Nowicki, “Composition in Modern Architecture,” 4.
in the decoration of structure.19 stock judging pavilion’s roof can very well allude to a saddle
15 Lewis Munford, “Matthew Nowicki,” Student Publication, Raleigh, The School of
as well a latter-day velarium. If the Arena is a Janus, an an- Design, North Carolina State College, 1951, 7.

64 The 16TH International Docomomo Conference - Inheritable Resilience - 1. Space of Sports MODERN VENATIO AND THE CASE OF J.S. DORTON ARENA IN RALEIGH, NC (1949–52) - Marcos Amado Petroli 65

View publication stats