NOT EMBEDDED TA24-S-O-Pages-copy - Flipbook - Page 19
Recognition
constructed after the merging of the two universities were designed by Austin9s Kuehne, Brooks,
and Barr (or subsequent iterations of the firm).
Built between the early 1950s and the mid-1970s,
most of these structures are characterized by their
pared-down modernist style: brick cladding, stone
detailing, and strong horizontal emphasis. Some of
the most notable examples of the architects9 work
on the HTU campus are the Dickey-Lawless Science Building (1954) and the Downs-Jones Library
(1960). The King-Seabrook Chapel and Bell
Tower, along with the Jackson-Moody Building,
were added in 1974 as the onal major construction projects on campus. The Brutalist innuences
on these massive structures are evident even at a
distance, with the highly visible Bell Tower acting
as a beacon for the university across East Austin.
Although no new permanent construction has
taken place at Huston-Tillotson for many decades,
an ongoing renovation process ensures that the
university is continuously adapting to meet the
ever-changing needs of its students and faculty.
The historic architecture of the campus represents
the school9s uniquely hands-on learning approach;
several campus buildings were envisioned and built
by the students themselves during their time at the
university. Through active participation in the
design and construction process, these students
were granted agency over their own learning and
future careers. The sense of ownership, pride,
and community that such a pedagogy cultivates
is incredibly valuable4what better way to build
your legacy than by constructing it yourself, brick
by brick?
Huston-Tillotson is part of Six Square, Austin9s
Black cultural district. Named for the six square
miles allotted for Black Austinites in the infamously
segregationist 1928 Austin Master Plan, the area,
formerly known as the
