Fort Worth Inc: Architect Wins AIA Fort Worth Design Award With Structure on Historic Glen Rose Square

Thank you, Fort Worth Inc. for covering the 110 Walnut Street studio project (2023 AIA Fort Worth Design Award Winner).

Excerpt from the story below:

Texas modern architect Jeff Garnett has been recognized with the 2023 AIA Fort Worth Design Award for the studio project at 110 Walnut Street in Glen Rose, the charming outpost and county seat of Somervell County, 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth.

The 110 Walnut Street studio serves as Garnett’s own artistic retreat and home base and features a creative design choice. He uses it as a working studio and meeting space. Before construction, the property was a 25-foot empty lot overgrown with weeds, which sits on the historic town square between a locally-owned restaurant — originally a Coca-Cola bottling plant — and a semi-vacant two-story historic building.

“The way I approached this project is the same way I approach a project on an empty field on a ranch. You have to pay respect to your surroundings, both inside and outside. If the view is there, I’ll take advantage of the view, even if it's 10 feet away. If it’s not there, I'm still going to create a space where you have that open feeling, that sacred space to unwind and slow down.”

Read more here: Architect Wins AIA Fort Worth Design Award With Structure on Historic Glen Rose Square - Fort Worth Inc.

Bold Journey Magazine: Meet Jeff Garnett

Thank you Bold Journey Magazine for the interview!

Excerpt from interview below:

With each new project, I spend an extensive amount of time at the future build site prior to generating any preliminary sketches. I intentionally hold on sketching any initial ideas on paper until I have fully immersed myself into the site and existing landscape. Experiencing the breeze, sunset, observing the surrounding context… all of these things must be taken into account to properly integrate the building into the site.

Read more of the interview here: Meet Jeff Garnett - Bold Journey Magazine

Preservation Magazine: (Petrified Wood) Sycamore Grove

Thank you for the interview, Preservation Magazine! And thank you to Preservation Texas and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. These groups work extremely hard to raise awareness and celebrate the places that have shaped America.

Interview excerpt here:

The Sycamore Grove filling station, also known as Outlaw Station, is a striking roadside remnant of the petrified wood–infused architecture that defined Glen Rose, Texas, during the first half of the 20th century. Built around 1929, the ruin once served as a gas station and, later, a speakeasy. According to local legend, various outlaws such as John Dillinger passed through the building, says Ann Carver, the chair of Glen Rose’s Historic Preservation Commission.

But Carver and Jeff Garnett, a Glen Rose–based architect, say it’s the station’s architecture that stands out—because of its beauty and the fact that only a few buildings constructed of petrified wood remain in the city. Sycamore Grove is not in immediate danger, but a letter from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) sent to the property owners in May sparked concern.

TxDOT has proposed a state highway realignment that could entail construction alongside the site. The department tells Preservation that the preliminary design will not affect the station directly, and that it will keep studying any potential impact as the project’s environmental review continues.

Additionally, the department says plans to protect the building during construction will be finalized later. Garnett says he believes TxDOT will do what it can to safeguard the station, but he notes that even if it’s untouched by the construction, increased traffic and vibrations from noise could threaten its long-term stability. “We feel like it’s still in jeopardy,” Carver says.

Read full article here: Places Restored, Threatened, Saved, and Lost in Preservation Magazine's Fall 2023 Issue | National Trust for Historic Preservation (savingplaces.org)

Luxe Magazine: A Fine Line

Check out the latest issue of Luxe Magazine for an interesting feature regarding artificial intelligence in design.

Excerpt from interview:

Today’s top talents weigh in on the pros and cons of AI for residential architecture.

In an industry that values the trained eye and a studied approach, it’s perhaps no surprise that many architects are wary of artificial intelligence programs that whip up new renderings at the push of a button. “It’s fascinating software, but it is frightening,” says Fort Worth-based architect Jeff Garnett, who does not use AI in his work but has tested the software after hours. “Design is a human creation, and we have to hold onto that as long as we can.”

Read full article here: Weighing The Pros And Cons Of AI For Residential Architecture (luxesource.com)

Texas Architect Magazine: Palo Pinto Cemetery

The award-winning Palo Pinto Cemetery project is featured in the latest issue of Texas Architect Magazine.

Excerpt from magazine below:

The Palo Pinto Cemetery is theoretically located in a remote, rural area on what used to be an abandoned hay field that was prone to flooding. The 12,000-sf series of structures functions as a cemetery and memorial park, focusing on the remembrance of loved ones and the well-being of visitors in need of healing. The cemetery consists of a circular sanctuary for memorial services; a series of columbarium structures with inbuilt niche spaces for cremation urns; storage; a restroom facility for visitors; and a memorial tree garden. Seating is scattered throughout the site, surrounded by native plantings and shade trees. The overall facility is constructed primarily of mass timber and native stone. Sustainable building components are a driving factor in the overall design, with emphasis on natural lighting, rainwater collection, solar energy, and green roof construction.

Jury Commentary:
“How challenging it is to make architecture that is a sacred space about loss and be able to produce an environment of respect and silence and meditative qualities. … It also feels like a tabula rasa project in the attempt to produce forms of ambiguous space as opposed to more defined spaces inside and outside and with the use of local vernacular materials. It’s an aspirational project, and I think the architecture itself has a kind of economy to it that says quite a lot at the same time about the possibility of that as a sublime sacred space.”

2023 AIA Fort Worth Design Award

The 110 Walnut Street project (studio headquarters of Jeff Garnett Architect) received the 2023 AIA Fort Worth Design Award.

The 110 Walnut Street building is located on the historic town square in rural Glen Rose, Texas.  The building is sited between a local restaurant (originally a Coca-Cola Bottling plant building) and a semi-vacant two-story historic building. 

110 Walnut primarily functions as a working studio and meeting space for a local architect.  Prior to construction (and prior to new ownership), the empty lot sat vacant and often full of overgrown weeds and debris.  

The studio building carefully slips between the existing adjacent buildings and is intentionally minimal in both size and proportions out of respect for the surrounding historical context.  The front façade is slightly recessed in relation to the adjacent historic buildings, allowing the historic masonry of each neighboring structure to turn their respective inside corners 1 full brick course, providing a subtle distinction between old and new.

The front facade facing the street consists of native limestone, board formed concrete elements, and custom steel windows and doors.  The building signage is intentionally secondary, allowing the materials to be the primary focus.

An approximately 35-foot-tall existing rubble stone wall sits directly adjacent to the studio.  This historic side wall was the driving force behind the entire design scheme – natural lighting, historic appreciation, and strategic design restraint.

2023 Texas Society of Architects Studio Award

The Palo Pinto Cemetery project received the 2023 Texas Society of Architects Studio Award.

Thank you to jurors Neil Denari, FAIA, of NMDA, Los Angeles; Anand Devarajan of Anand Devarajan Architecture, Los Angeles; Friedrich Ludewig of ACME, London; and Mónica Ponce de León, AIA, of MPdL Studio, Princeton.

The Palo Pinto Cemetery is a place for peace, healing, and remembrance. 

Conceptually located on 25 acres at the outer edge of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, Texas, the Palo Pinto Cemetery is a 12,000 square foot series of structures which primarily functions as a cemetery and memorial park, focusing on the remembrance of loved ones and the well-being of visitors in need of healing.

The cemetery consists of a welcoming circular sanctuary for memorial services, a series of pavilion (columbarium) structures with inbuilt niche spaces housing cremation urns, storage and restroom facility for visitors, and an anchoring memorial tree garden. Various seating components are strategically scattered throughout the site, surrounded by native plantings and shade trees. 

Sustainable building components are a driving factor in the overall design, with emphasis on natural lighting, rainwater collection, solar energy, and green roof construction. The overall facility primarily consists of mass timber construction and native stone.

The Palo Pinto Cemetery is not just a final resting place, but also a setting where a deeper level of peace and healing can take place.