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Q&A
In Conversation with AIA Gold Medal Winners
David Lake and Ted Flato
18 Texas Architect
9/10 2024
James Russell: You were mentored by the
indelible San Antonio architect-activist
O9Neil Ford. How did working for him innuence your practice? How do you difer?
Ted Flato, FAIA: O9Neil was a great mentor
whose uniquely practical approach to modernism
was a wonderful counterpoint to the architectural
thinking4postmodernism4of the time. And he
brought David and me together. He saw it as an
interesting experiment, to put two very strong, opinionated people together and watch the sparks ny. It
ultimately created an amazing friendship.
Having grown up hiking, sailing, and camping
in Texas, we cared deeply about Texas9s environment. So, when we started our orm, we were able
to leverage that appreciation and knowledge of the
outdoors with the lessons learned from O9Neil and
put our own spin on it. It allowed us to grow our
orm and hone our philosophy: that our architecture
ought to be molded by the environment.
As an example, at Trinity University (one of
Ford9s best projects), we recently rehabilitated
two great midcentury buildings and added a new
building to create a humanities quadrangle. The
new building allowed us to complete a courtyard
around some existing gnarly oaks, as well as to
introduce a new structural system, mass timber,
which O9Neil would have loved. It is sustainable;
it9s structural; it9s beautiful. What a full-circle
opportunity for us. It was a fun time for us to
remember our fond memories of O9Neil exactly
40 years ago.
JR: Ford was known for shaping the discourse of regional architecture, his imprint
on San Antonio, and his activism. As a orm
based in San Antonio and Texas, do you
feel you are carrying that distinct legacy?
How do you translate that experience in San
Antonio to other places with contentious
spaces?
PHOTO COURTESY LAKE|FLATO ARCHITECTS
Texas Architect writer James Russell recently spoke with AIA
Gold Medal recipients David Lake, FAIA, and Ted Flato,
FAIA, about how their architectural philosophy and design
approach has developed over their more than four decades
of practice.
4
In his 50-year career, David Lake has carved a unique
path dedicated to the belief that design, development,
urban advocacy, and environmentalism must merge if
we are to address climate change and help heal and sustain our planet. With a passion for sustainable urban
development, Lake leads Lake|Flato9s urban studio.
4
Ted Flato has received critical acclaim for his straightforward regional designs, which incorporate indigenous
building forms and materials and respond to the context of
their unique landscapes. Flato seeks to conserve energy and
natural resources while creating healthy built environments.
His interest in a myriad of building systems has resulted
in projects focused on mass timber, prefabrication, and 3D
printing, among others.
