Stained Glass Restroom Mystery at Oglethorpe University

The Mystery: What's the story with the stained glass in the bathroom? And while were at it, who was "Cherry Roberts?" This is the men's room in Lowery Hall at Oglethorpe University.
 
 
I don't think this is the original 1929 bathroom, do you? Is the stained glass original, part of the 1991 addition, or what? In any case, this is a good look.

Four "old" buildings are Oglethorpe trademarks: Hearst Hall 1915, Lupton Hall 1925,  Lowry Hall 1929, and Hermance Stadium 1931 all by Mordan and Dillon all in blue Georgia granite. The blue granite shows some beautiful pinks, to my eye anyway.


This is the Lowry's front door. It faces into the quadrangle.


In 1991 they added on to the back. This is where "Cherry Roberts" enters the picture:

"Completed in 1991, the library addition to Lowry hall incorporated the impressive outer architecture into the new interior reading room. Following a remarkable design created and executed by the firm of  Cherry Roberts, the addition was built in the Gothic style of the original Lowry Hall." - AIA Guide to the Architecture of Atlanta


I was keeping my eye peeled for the Atlanta Glass Project and noticed.

Was there a chapel back there? If not a chapel, what? Did they add the stained glass during the renovation?


I raced to the other side and found a bathroom instead of a chapel..

I need to show you the ceiling again. They didn't build the bathroom ceiling all the way to the back wall:


See? The ceiling stops short of the window wall.


They left space for the 4 upper lancet windows shown here on the outside.


On the inside.

Help us solve the mysteries of the glass and Cherry Roberts.


Thanks to Dr. Paul Stephen Hudson, Oglethorpe, and the Atlanta Preservation Center for the 10th Phoenix Flies tours. Here are my pictures: "2013-03-22 Oglethorpe University tour for Phoenix Flies Atlanta Preservation Center"


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Dana Fine Arts by Night

It was a 2-fer, a great event in a great space. I went to the opening of  "Groundstory." at Agnes Scott's Dalton Gallery last Thursday night. The Dalton is in Dana, one of my favorite places especially at night. Follow "Dalton Gallery of Agnes Scott College" on Facebook to learn more.

The Charles A. Dana Fine Arts Building at Agnes Scott College was designed by Edwards & (John) Portman and dedicated in 1965. Wherever you come down on John Portman, you might enjoy the Dana. It's clever, it's fun, and it takes whatever the students dish out.

Let me give you a hint of Dana at that night.


Dana is a modern that echos Agnes Scott's university Gothic style.


It's a classroom, studio, and office building that happens to contains galleries, a theater, surprises, and a lived-in look.


The Dalton Gallery crowd has a personality of it's own: fans like me, artists, professors, students, "Scotties" and "Decaturites." It was shoulder to shoulder and lots of folks knew each other.


Groundstory had more than I could take in one visit. "Louis Tugs a Tug" by Gina Philips got a lot a attention. I want the "Terry Tugs a Tug" a tug version..


There's a charming short movie, "There's No Place Like...," by Benita Carr and Bill Orisich. Don't miss the levitating ladies.


Stefanie Jackson's four (five?) large paintings bowled me over.

There's much more but this post is about Dana at night.

The gallery was closing but once outside I didn't want to leave.


The view changed with every step..



"Groundstory" runs until November 17, 2012 . Follow "Dalton Gallery of Agnes Scott College" on Facebook.

Design Road Trip - Georgia Tech Industrial Design

Hooked on Houses is hosting her "Hooked on Friday's" blog party: today I'm hooked on ID students.

"12 industrial design students from Georgia Tech go for the reality check of a lifetime in a four day immersive adventure to the big apple." They are junior industrial design students in ID3012C Intermediate Design II.

I want to tell you a bit about industrial design at Georgia Tech, the hardworking design students, and a remarkable teacher. I hope you'll go right to their website, "ATLtoNYC.com" and donate some money to them. Want to hear a bit of the story first?

"Damn it feels good to be a teacher" - David VanArsdale
One of the great things about Pecha Kucha is finding out about folks like David. Here he is presenting his 20 slides in 400 seconds.

David and his ID3012C class did it all.

• They made the plan.
  
• The arranged the visits via industry connections, former Tech students and others.
  
• They designed the logo, the bags, the T-shirts, the vinyl sticker.
  
• They raised the money from sponsors, donations, yard work, and Boston butts.
  
• The rented the bus.
  
• The made the marathon trip.
  
• They live blogged it all.
  

Here is the bus with their logo:

They visited a bunch of design houses. I'd never heard of any of them (I don't get out much) but now I have. Here they are at Nulux.

Here are more:

• karim rashid didn't allow studio visits but he is BIG and designs just about everything! Has a fun musical website.
  
• Material ConneXion
  
• ECCO Design Inc
  
• Rockwell Architecture, Planning and Design, P.C among other things, they do set designs for Broadway plays and sets for the 81st Academy Awards.
  
• Utley's Incorporated
  
• Curve ID NIke watches and John Deere tractors!
  
• Smart Design Taxi graphics, hospital scrubs, sink strainers, toothbrushes.
  
• Crush + Lovely Can't figure out what they do but it's fun trying.
  
• Core77.com is the "magazine" for industrial design.
  

They designed a memento for their hosts. Nice:

So what do they teach in Industrial Design at Georgia Tech?
Here is the undergraduate curriculum. I guess this may look familiar to some readers. What I notice is that they have to take Calculus and Physics!!! As a Tech Grad, let me tell you, Georgia Tech is hard. Calculus and Physics at Georgia Tech are "real hard."

The students are blogging it.
Want to know what today's design students are up to? Here are their blogs. I'm sure they'd enjoy your comments.

• Bryan Ake
  
• Kim Bryant
• Cristina DelRosario
  
• Laura Fleece
  
• Chris Godwin
  
• Adam Graiser
  
• Emma Hoop
  
• Megan Joyce
  
• Kate McClean
  
• Jesse Mejia
  
• Sarah Melgen
  
• Phil Young
  

Right now they are working on their final projects.
"Four teams designing four workspaces. A barber, a banker, a bartender, and a barista!"

Yesterday at 3am:

Last but not least, David VanArsdale visiting instructor, Industrial Design Program, Georgia Tech. He did much more than he had to. His students will never forget. I salute him.

Thanks so much.
Terry

Returning you to Hooked on Houses' "Hooked on Friday's"

Agnes Scott's new Julia Thompson Smith Chapel

This new beauty by Maurice Jennings architects of Fayetteville, Arkansas, was dedicated in April, 2008. You've probably seen other Jenning's chapels in the magazines, certainly the breathtaking Mildred B. Cooper Chapel Bella Vista, Arkansas. You wouldn't know about the Smith Chapel unless you cruise Chandler road south of Decatur. Architecture tourists need to find an event there so we can see the inside.


Find out more at the Agnes Scott website.






For Scotties who haven't been to campus for a while, the chapel replaced the Snodgrass Amphitheater.