S/wing illeetillg 1940 49

AN ARCHITECT REVIEWS FIVE YEARS

WITH ARCHITECTURAL CONCRETE
By N W. OVERSTREET*, A. I. A., and A. J. BOASE**

R. UO,V,SE,': S,iN ',v,ear,s a g ;> , in ,J,"ebr,uar y, t.he term "architec,tural

M concrete was comedo SIN years ago this month
to compile the data for the first issue of ARClIITECTUJLVL CON CRETE.
I started out

\Vhen it was put together I found I didn't have a single story outside
of California. J wired here and there but could pick up nothing on
the drawing boards east of the Rockv Mountains,
Only six years have passed and if they never build another build-
ing of architectural concrete east of the Rockies, we have enough
stories to run that magazine for four solid years and then have to
turn down some of the architects that now send us their material
voluntarily. \Ve can't say that all of the new buildings in the United
States are of architectural concrete but we can say that we have
made reasonable progress.
During that time there has been one architect who seemed to be
getting the "feel" of concrete in buildings a little better than most
of them. That was Mr. N. \V. Overstreet of Jackson, Miss.
Mr. Overstreet is a good old farm boy from the state oflVlissis-
sippi. He was born and raised there and went to school through the
eighth grade and then, like some of the rest of us, had to quit school.
He became a carpenter. Later on, Iwing fired with ambition, he
signed up at what is now Mississippi State College, then known as
Mississippi A, & M. College and graduated in the regulation time
as an engineer.
lIe made such an outstanding record at that college that he was
given a scholarship at the University of Illinois. He attended the
architectural school there and in clue time was graduated as an
architect. After graduatiou he was employed in Illinois and in the
North for three or four years and then moved back to Jackson.
established his office there in 1912 and has practiced architecture there
ever smce.
There seems to he a difTerence of opinion as to why Mr. (her-
street moved hack South. \Vhen I inquired about it some of them
said it was hecauselVlississippi is the best flshing state in the Union
* Architect, Jackson. M'is«
** Manager. Structura l Bureau. F'CA,
50 Portland Cement Association

and that lVl r. Overstreet was the best fisherman. He is one of these
fishermen that grabs a rod in one hand and a frying pan in the other
and he cooks them where he gets them. Mr. Overstreet, as a matter
of fact, is famous throughout the South for his ability to cook fish.
Be it said to 1\lr. Overstreet's everlasting credit that at least 50
per cent of the men practicing architecture today in Louisiana and
Mississippi have either been under his tutelage or in his employ and
those gentlemen refer to Mr. Overstreet as theDean and look to him
for leadership.
FIe introduced into the South modern and functional architecture,
but that doesn't mean that he doesn't know traditional and classical
architecture. As a matter of fact, he has used them both many, many

Mr. Overstreet uses ornamentation sparingly, relying more on line and

mass to express his general theme, as illustrated by the Tupelo, Miss.,
Elementary School.

times in the field. In recent years he has introduced and probably

developed architectural concrete further than anv other man in the
South.
(Mr. 130ase then showed on lantern slides and described briefly
the three following structures, selected from among the many out-
standing jobs byl'vIr. Overstreet. Tupelov Vliss., elementary school:
Bailey School, Jackson, Miss.: Columbia, High School. As
lVI r. Boase completed showing of the slides,Mr. Overstreet came
to the platforrn.)
MR. ()VERSTREET: When I was notified that I had been selected
I said "I\ 0, sir, 1 don't want to appear before an audience. I am
an architect. I get nerved up.' But I finally agreed to be here.
think more of cement since I have seen you fellows, this representa-
Spring
tion of intelligent and fine lcJoking men. l wish to goodness l had
a cement post and reinforced at that, to hold me while I talk.
MR. BOASE: .Mr. Overstreet, when did you design your first
architectural concrete job?

The architectural effects possible by skilful handling of concrete

masses are illustrated in the Edward L. Bailey School at Jackson, Miss.

l\I R. OVERSTREET: w-n, lVlr.Boase. about 1934.

;\lR. BOASE: Flow man v have you built since then?
MR. OVERSTREET: vVe have built about 20.
MR. BOASE: Twenty buildings?
 Portland Cement Association

NIx ()VERSTREET: School buildings, courthouses, some residences

and some jails.
Reinforced concrete of high compressive stress, around 3,600 lb.,
has practically revolutionized the design of jail buildings. Before we
applied concrete to jail buildings the cells were lined with tool-proof
steel, which was very expensive, and you know down in Mississippi
we haven't much money. It is not a question of what you can do in
architecture; it is a question of how economically you can design, save
money and get your requirements within your appropriation, so we
are always figuring some way to save a dollar and give our clients
as much as possible.
For jail building construction, using concrete of 3,600-lb. com-
pressive strength and putting in steel rods, with tool-proof steel rods
in small detention windows, that leaves only the cell doors to be
fabricated with tool-proof steel. [don't know whether you fellows
know or not, what a job it would be to go through 3,600-lb. concrete,
get to these steel rods, break them and continue going on through.
In my estimation, it is better than tool steel and certainly it is a
whole lot cheaper. \Ve have built about seven jails.
MR. BOASE: You told me one time that those buildings cost m
the neighborhood of $2,000,000 and one of our boys figured up that
if each architect in the United States had used each vear as much
concrete as you have, the production of cement would have to be
increased about one-third to take care of the architects alone.
Mr. Overstreet. architects are always talking about an architec-
tural medium. As I get that thing it is a material with which they
can express their thoughts in the exterior of the building. In other
words, as I sec it an architect is somewhat of an artist. He says, "I
think I see" and then he builds a building and he wants me to see
what he is thinking. Is that a correct definition of an architectural
medium?
MR. ()VI-:RSTREET: Yes, sir, it is, but a building must be fireproof,
termite-proof, structurally SCJll11d and still be beautiful. Concrete
lends itself to all of these requirements.
MR. I\oAsE: Then Mr. Overstreet, would you say that architural
concrete is a good medium ~
MR. ()VERSTREET: 1 will have to admit that before all these folks
here.
lVIR. BO,\SE: Now Mr. Overstreet, people have been used to stone
and brick and terra cotta through the centuries. It always seemed
to me when we started out to advertise architectural concrete that
 S3
we had a little problem here because we had to make the layman
realize that a building could be built out of concrete. Therefore, we
carried some ads in such magazines as Time, 13l1sillCSS ~Vcck and
Fortunc. IJo you think that those ads helped you overcome the hurdle
with your clients?
MR. ()VERSTREET: \Vithout a doubt! These ads of vours in the
papers of national circulation have helped greatly. \Vhen readers see
a picture of a building they seem to be interested in the architecture
and if you have one that is appealing in your advertisement naturally
they are attracted.
I f the building is of concrete they are going to investigate and
find out about it. 'fake for instance, a little ultra-modern type resi-
dence that we built for Chester Underwood which cost about $30.000
and which :,ou advertised. \Ve have had letters from all over the
United States for that plan, and even from Hawaii and South
America. It is surprising to me what those ads do.
VVe started constructing our buildings with reinforced concrete
footings, and we built our walls up just above grade of concrete.
Then for our larger buildings for brick construction we developed
the steel rein forced concrete frame, then filled the panels and veneered
it with brick.
Today we believe we need not fill in those panels with tile or
hrick and then face them with stone or brick when concrete lends
itself so admirably to a finish on a building and certainly gives more
strength.
NIL BO,\SE: Mr. Overstreet, if I understand it rightly there arc
about 20,000 architects in the United States. I have always contended
that they are the greatest material salesmen in the country. I suspect
that when a client comes to you, you have to do considerable selling
tel him to accept concrete for an exterior.
A Iter you have sold him that idea and after you have constructed
that building, is he satisfied with his buy?
NIR. ()VERSTREET: Oh yes. At first we did have some difficulty
in selling concrete. At that time it was called monolithic concrete. T
had an interesting experience with the Bailey Junior IIigh School.
There was no trouble selling the board of trustees or the school
board. with the exception of one member. \Vhen we decided on
concrete the brick manu facturer and the bricklayers' union and the
labor paper put out the story that monolithic concrete was some kind
of a special construction that Overstreet was interested in and prob-
ably getting something out of and would need some foreign bunch
54 Portland Cement Association

of fellows tCI come in and build. Thev didn't know what it was. \Ve
had to put out a lot of in formation to counteract their efforts.
I n building of architectural concrete, we made a better showing
in the employment of carpenters and couuuon laborers than we could
have on a brick building.
.\t Columbia on a school job, the board of trustees was sold on
concrete, but the miyor and board of aldermen weren't, so that job
which amounted to about $130,000 had to be bid in both matcrial-.
and concrete won by about $15,000. All jobs so far have demon-
strated the cconornv of concrete.

Carefully designed and well executed curved facade of the auditorium

of the Edward L. Bailey School.

I\ow we are building on a $350,000 school program at Vicksburg.

on which we went through the same condition as at Columbia. The
results were the same. I hope I don't have to draw any more double
sets of plans to demonstrate to these folks that concrete is cheaper
because it CClStS me monev. [don't make anv money as it is.
MR. l\O,\SE: That has been a condition all over the country, but
[ think it is a matter of pioneering and we can't expect to pioneer
in a thing without meeting these obstacles. l have a feeling' that
the resistance is breaking down.
You know,Mr. Overstreet. when we started to advertise this
stuffT went through all textbooks they use in various architectural
Spring Meeting 1940 5S
schools and 1 couldn't find a thing written on architectural concrete.
As a result, we got up the architectural concrete data sheets.Flave
they been of any use to you? 1)0 you use them?
[VI R. ()VERSTREET: Oh yes, they have been very valuable. 'y' ou
know the architect who practices his profession hasn't much time to
do research work. I hope that you will continue to develop and
put your findings ou record for architects and engineers.
JYlILBoASE: Some architects sa v that it costs the architect more
to design in architectural concrete than it does m some other medium.
Does that check with your experience ~
lVIR. OVERSTREET: Well, it may, for this reason: \Vhen yclU go
into architectural concrete it is necessary to design in reinforced con-
crete and that requires engineering skill and architects on other mate-
rials can design without this same skill. This is applicable to the small
architect withont engineering know ledge. So some architects may
hesitate to go into architectural concrete because it requires engineer-
ing ability. If you develop simple methods and details c)f construc-
tion for the architects' use the design problem is greatly simplified.
lYlR.BoASE: [take that to heart fully. [know just what vou
are talking about.
IVl1'. Overstreet. when we first started out to put this stuff across,
the cement industry wasn't willing to trust the run of mine contractor
that you meet up with east of the Rocky:V10untains who has always
don« structural work. Thev could build the frame of a building
where it could be covered up, but here is a job where the finished
product comes directly from the form.
This industry felt that it couldn't afford to let this material
be man-bundled and it hired several men from California, none of
whom had less than fifteen years' experience, as superintendents on
this kind of construction. Have vou had occasion to use those men
and how have they functioned for you?
MR. ()VERSTREET: Contractors at the beginning were skeptical 0 f
fi.guring on architectural concrete buildings. They were afraid of
them. But now, because of the help 0 f your superintendents, the
contractors have become interested in this type of work and they
ha ve taken a pride in it and you ought to see those superintendents
get on the job. They are getting results and giving satisfaction
everywhere.
MR. 1>'OASE :lYl1'. Overstreet, when we started, 1 had hopes that
if we could get contractors that could do architectural concrete and
usc the care that is necessary to get the finish they want, that when
 Portland Cement Association.

they got onto an ordinary structural job such as a retaining wall or

frame of a building, the care they had learned on architectural
concrete would follow through. Have you had occasion to notice any
tendency to that?
NJR. OVERSTREET: Oh yes, that is true,
MR. I"oAsE: Do you think you are getting better structural work
too because of that experience?
MR. ()VERSTREET: I have that feeling.

Long windows, curved returns, massive entrances, all carefully com-

posed, attest to the designer's skill and knowledge of concrete. Columbia,
Miss., High School.

MR. BOASE : 'Nell. we have some troubles with architectural con-

crete. \Ve know that one of the things that some architects complain
about is a lack of uni formity of color on the face of a building.
Some architects want that. 1 find that a few architects will say
"\V ell. that gives spirit to the thing: it life to that wall." What
do you think about that?
J\IR. ()vEHsrREET: I remember when we used to use face brick.
that we wanted all the brick the same color. About the time I started
out the trend was to see how much variation we could make in these
brick and how rough they could be. A play of shadow on the surface
in the sunlight made the surface interesting, and the same thing
would apply to concrete. A variation in the shade of color makes the
surface more interesting than if it was all one shade.
Spring iVIeeiing 19j() 57
That is applied everywhere you look, l.n your stone buildings
around here you will notice a variation of color and also of texture,
lt is uni versally so, and of cou rse the same thing applies to concrete
surfaces,
lVIR, 13CL\SE: Now the other disease is that of cracking-,
IvIR, ()VERS'l'REET: You are not bringing that up?
MR, BC)AsE:Yes sir, ] want to trot it ont here. 1.et's be honest
even though we may get fired.
I think the Long 13each earthquake proved pretty definitely that
cracks do not mean a thing structurally. [don't think they weakened
those walls one bit. VVhat about the cracking from the architectural
point of view?
MR. ()VERSTREET: '[hat is a weakness of monolithic construction,
not from an architectural standpoint of view-owe don't care about
the cracks-but it is the layman that we arc trying to sell these con-
crete buildings to. All that propaganda that the bricklayers and the
brick manufacturers put out about a cracked building-s-my goodness,
that Bailey Junior lligh School has cracked all to pieces. [heard
it everywhere 1 went for a long time. Then the government accepted
the building as satisfactory.
l don't suppose: we have designed a single building but that
has had a few cracks in it and these cracks usually come in before
we accept the building, but when 1 sell a concrete job I have that
thoroughly understood with mv clients. [ say "Now these cracks
are gomg to come into the building so if you accept architectural
concrete 1 want you to be assured that we will have cracks because
there is nothing that we have done yet to eliminate them."
But 1 feel that we are going to eliminate cracks by future devel-
opment and when we do that we have done a big job. [believe that
Art Boase will devise some scheme or do some experimental work
where it can be done. I was showing him large spaces in connection
with this Bailey Junior Fligh School where from an engineering
standpoint you would expect these cracks but we didn't have them
at all. In some minor place they would show up-and 1 think your
Association ought to do everything possible from an experimental
standpoint to eliminate cracks. Cracking is the only thing against
architectural concrete.
\lVe have got to develop something to eliminate cracks or fill the
cracks after they come in the concrete because cracking is the only
thing in the world against concrete.
MR. I30AsE: Mr. Overstreet. we have tried unsuccessfully to hire
50 Portland Cement Association

Dr. Westergaard, Dr. Tirnotshenks and two or three other elasticians,

to try to solve the problem of cracks in walls. At the present time
and for two years we have had an investigation going on by means
of models at M.LT. which is just now beginning to show some
results and I feel with you. that we are going to lick the crack and I
would rather prevent it than repair it.

The massive and strong handling of the beautiful entrance to the

Columbia, Miss., High School gives a feeling of safety and strength.

lVIR. ()VERSTREET: For instance. here at the Columbia School.

just want to bring this out-s-that building was built during January,
February andlYlarch. ()f course. you know we don't have rnuch
freezing weather down there. \Ve did have some this year. but there
is onlv one crack in that Colnmbia School and that is on the front
right below a window. It appeared in three days. The thing to do
is to study these buildings over periods and analyze them.
Spring AI eeiing 1940 59

lVIR. l\()ASE: M r. (lverstreet, at the present time we have 50

buildings under regular periodic observation.
Assuming that the Byzantine type of architecture was developed
to take advantage of terra cotta and the (;othic was invented to
take advantage of a certain stone, do you think that concrete is
applicable to any style of architecture?
Don't you think it is going to come down to a question of dollars
and cents in the final analysis?
MR. OVERSTREET: Concrete is going to be applied to the modern
type of architecture and 1 think the modern type of architecture is
created in America for the American style. It is simple and from a
utility standpoint, very applicable. The Classic will be passe.
MR. BOASE: M r. Overstreet, it was very gracious of you to come
here and give these gentlemen the benefit of your views. They
aren't architects: neither am I and sometimes it gives us an entirely
different slant if the man who is producing the material gets the
viewpoint of the man who uses it. Thank you very much, sir.

•
CUAIR1\L\N lVlcARDLE continued further: Thank you, Mr. Over-
street. It was very nice of you to come here and tell us what an
architect thinks of architectural concrete.
Wherever there is transportation there is use for cement. Air
transportation has been developing over a period of 25 or 30 years
and it is getting to a point where even large numbers of men can be
moved quickly to almost any spot. '[he development of landing fielrls
for air transportation, both commercial and military, is a tremendous
problem.
Our next subject is "Airport Facilities fc)rF'resent and Future
Requirements" and we arc indebted to or A. IL IVIClVlullen, chief
of the Airport Section of the Civil Aeronautics Authority, for taking'
time from his heavy duties to come here and tell us something about
the present and future requirements of airports.
IVlcMullen has been associated with air transportation for a
quarter of a century. lIe was state director of aviation in Florida
and during the three years he was there built 70 new airports and
reconditioned 35 others. His present work qualifies him to tell us of
the present and future requirements better than anyone I know of.
It will be a pleasure to hear Major McMullen.
YOLo XXXIX NO.1

PROCEEDINGS OF THE
SPRING MEETING, 1940

THE WALDORF.ASTORIA - NEW YORK

MAY 13, 14 and 15, 1940

PORTLAND CEMENT ASSOCIATION

33 WEST GRAND AYENUE CHICAGO, ILL.