The Mid-Continent Tower, a 36-story office building in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been recognized with the prestigious 25 Year Award from the Eastern Oklahoma Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The award was presented to the Tulsa office of Dewberry (then known as HTB), which designed the distinctive tower for then-owner Reading & Bates in the early 1980s.
Among the most challenging design and construction projects in the nation at the time, the Mid-Continent Tower was built adjacent to and above the historic 16-story Mid-Continent Building, also known as the Cosden Building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Reading & Bates, an energy resources company, owned the circa-1918 building and sought to expand the property to serve as its headquarters.
Because the existing building’s structural system would not support additional weight, Dewberry’s design concept called for constructing the tower’s base adjacent to the building to its full height, and then cantilevering over the building for an additional 20 stories. In all, 330,000 square feet were added to the original 90,000-square-foot building, aided by a series of five massive steel trusses, each weighing 230 tons.
In order to replicate the original building’s terra cotta façade, the Dewberry team researched available manufacturers to create the 85,000 tiles, spires, cornices, and moldings required for construction. With the peak of Tudor Gothic-revival architecture long past, only one American firm still manufactured terra cotta tiles at the time, a company called Gladding, McBean & Co. in Lincoln, California. The company, which had never manufactured such a large order, expanded its operations to meet the requirements, which included more than 7,000 different shapes and 13,000 hand-made tiles.
The building won numerous awards upon its completion in 1984, including a National Trust Preservation Honor Award. BD+C
Related Stories
| Aug 20, 2014
Seattle's King Street Station thoughtfully restored [2014 Reconstruction Awards]
After years of neglect and botched renovations, King Street Station sparkles once again.
| Aug 20, 2014
Tour an office with no assigned workstations [slideshow]
The New York office of the Gerson Lehrman Group recently redesigned its office without personal desks or cubicles. The company gave each of its 250 employees a locker, a laptop, and told to work anywhere they wanted, according to Business Insider.
| Aug 20, 2014
Architecture Billings Index reaches highest mark since 2007
The American Institute of Architects reported the July ABI score was 55.8, up noticeably from a mark of 53.5 in June.
| Aug 19, 2014
Goettsch Partners unveils design for mega mixed-use development in Shenzhen [slideshow]
The overall design concept is of a complex of textured buildings that would differentiate from the surrounding blue-glass buildings of Shenzhen.
| Aug 19, 2014
HOK to acquire 360 Architecture
Expected to be finalized by the end of October, the acquisition of 360 Architecture will provide immediate benefits to both firms’ clients worldwide as HOK re-enters the sports and entertainment market.
| Aug 19, 2014
A designer's epiphany: 'Let's stop talking and make something'
Making things is important because it reveals gaps in thought, sheds light on the fundamental assumptions that can kill ideas, and forces us to push toward solutions that actually work, writes HDR's David Grandy.
| Aug 19, 2014
Construction boom lures new class of lenders in Nashville, says JLL
In the coming months, a gleaming S-shaped tower will join Nashville's burgeoning skyline. The new tower is just one example of a project financed not with conventional construction loans but with a unique blend of equity and debt.
| Aug 18, 2014
Perkins+Will expands planning practice with strategic focus on underserved U.S. communities
The broadened focus is resulting in comprehensive, long-term plans that will guide new growth in places like Buffalo, N.Y., Kingston, R.I., and Brooklyn, N.Y.
| Aug 18, 2014
SPARK’s newly unveiled mixed-use development references China's flowing hillscape
Architecture firm SPARK recently finished a design for a new development in Shenzhen. The 770,700 square-foot mixed-use structure's design mimics the hilly landscape of the site's locale.
| Aug 18, 2014
Seaside luxury: Arquitectonica, Melo Group introduce Aria on the Bay condo tower in Miami
Melo Group has launched sales for Aria on the Bay, its new 647-unit luxury condominium in Miami. The bayfront condo will overlook Margaret Pace Park, Biscayne Bay and the Miami Beach skyline.