Dallas gem: a rural house in the big city Texas needed a native architectural style and David Willlams provided it By David Dillon Arenectre Cro} The News ‘The Elbert Williams house in Dslas is rurst ‘Texas architecture transported tothe suburbs. Designed in 1952 by David R. Wiliams — no relation to Ebert — itis a compendiam of Texat vernacular details: brick wale. wood sates, Sandingseam metal roof and massive chimneys ‘The interiors are mainly brick and Texas pine, painstakingly detailed by Joel craftsmen. The Fowse 1s ated to catch the prevailing breezes, ‘with numerous porches and broad overhangs of Tering protection from the harsh Texas sun. Itisa “Texas house inthe most ase sense —bullt out of local materials in direct reponse to the impere- tives of local climate and geography. ARCHITECTURE ‘The Texas Society of Architects recently ‘named it one ofthe tates 20 greatest buildings, ‘bat st so qulet and niimposing thet you can drive past almost without noticing it Tt just ‘tends in with the other University Perk homes. "The designer, David Williams, was bora in Childress, Texas, in 1290, He studied arenitecture at the University of Texas, then dropped out a Week defore graduation and went to Mexico tO Dulld new towns for Guif Oi. He mode enough ‘money t spend several years in France and Tal, then came to Dallas to set up a practice in 1924 Like many American architects ofthe 25, Wi gms eas caught between the romance of Burope ‘add the desire to develop an architectural syle agpropriate to his own region. although he de signed is share of period knockofts, mostly peudoSpanish and pseudoMexican residences, be also embraced the Emersonian idea that Amer sega architects, lke American writers and aris, Id be sufficiently inventive and sel-rliant draw freely upon their own cultural heritage {A logical regional architectare has 38 its ort al the simple early forms of building native tts ‘ym locale” Willems wrote, “and it grows By pes fanctonal mete ine an tnigenoee {This was merely a regionel expression of the nal fascination with vernecular American famhitecure, but in Texas the message needed Fepeating, Whole sections of Dallas and Houston ‘were turning Into stage set versions of Stratford ogavon and the Cote dAzur. "Ein the late 1920 he ad ONei! Ford — first is lege and later the oct falented interpreter of ideas — drove allover the sate in search of Wve inspiration, In the Austin Hill Country ey discovered a stock of stray, square lime ‘houses built by the pioneer settlers They ‘porches, mall deep windows, metal Tots, fe were refreshingly fre of extraneous orn. pnt Ia the Alsaan commanity of Castroville, jesse see WILLIAMS on Page SC. f Pasar aning Rows Geol Pees, ‘The Williams home'on McFarlin Boulevard.Wood shutters and a standing-seam roof are typical of early Texas architecture. Williams house inspired by native Texas architecture ‘Continued from Page IC they found houses with balconies and wrap round porches ike those in the old country. Fer ther south, along the Rio Grande, in towns such 2s Roma and San Ygaalo, they came upon low, hunky adobe and'caliche hovses with thick Walls nd imposing end chimneys, an ideal 1e- Sponse tothe harsh desert climate Ford extolled these native houses as “rel, straight tothe point, ot copied from anything and romante a8 hell.” They looked a6 they did ‘at of necessity rather than some rarefied no tion of style. He and Williams weren't interested {in copying them, only in borrowing certain ba- Se forms and principles that conld serve atthe foundation of new Texas architecture ‘Tho Elbert Williams house represents a re fined and sophisticated expression of this ver ‘nacuar tradition In addition to its use of native materials and practical, energyeaving features Sch as overhangs and shutter, it interior plan is simple and functional. Rooms flow carally {nto one another, a every interior space has cross ventilation, including baths and Hallways ‘Nell Fora was responsible for some of the interior detailing, bis brother, Lynn, carved the ors, mantels, beams and window fremes, using Simple naive deigns such aa fvepooted sar ‘We ave to go beck to the work of Greene and {Greene in California to find a5 conscious an ef fortto integrate architecture and the decorative ‘moe Williams house har been widely a cisimed without being widely smiate. AL ot Gitiouing bas made many ofits energy eving features seem superfans, even if they aren Interest architectaral rafts declined after the Great Depression, and by the Sixties had vir {ly esappeared, even ta Oeil Ford’ office. Partof the enduring appeal ofthe Ebert Wit tiams house, therefore, i tat it recalls 8 van ished era inte history of Texa arehitectre. At the same time tillustrates dozens of rational fcommonsensical design principles tat ae alld tony oa thaywue te aL