Velpeau Hawes, Jr., ’58, FAIA, an outstanding alumnus of Texas A&M’s College of Architecture, has been named the recipient of the Texas Society of Architects’ 2008 Medal for Lifetime Achievement in honor of Llewellyn Pitts, FAIA.
He will receive the award during the TSA’s Oct. 23-25 convention in Fort Worth
He began a 38-year career with several architectural firms in Dallas as a licensed architect and licensed interior designer after four years of service as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army. These firms included Omniplan, HOK, and PGAL, from which he retired in 2000.
Hawes spent most of his career as a principal in firms, managing significant projects. Hawes’ clients have included: Texas A&M University, Raymond D. Nasher, Zale Corporation, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Friendswood Development, Chevron, Neiman Marcus, Gerald Hines Interests, and Mobil Oil. Projects he managed received eight Texas Society of Architects Design Awards and four AIA/Dallas Design Awards.
After retiring from private practice, he managed the design and construction of the Nasher Sculpture Center project for Raymond D. Nasher, a longtime client. Architect Renzo Piano of Genoa, Italy, landscape architect Peter Walker, and Arup Engineers of London designed the center, which was completed in 2003. All three are among the most prominent in their respective fields.
“One of the overriding characteristics of the various team members (on the Nasher Sculpture Center project) was a single-minded commitment to excellence,” wrote Hawes in a Design Intelligence article in 2004. “Much of this came from the passion of Nasher, Piano, and Walker but it was also inherent in the individuals themselves. This commitment was to see that everything possible was done to insure that the goals of the project were met or exceeded.”
Kathryn Jones, a regular contributor to the New York Times who lives in Fort Worth, wrote in 2003 that before the Nasher Sculpture Center, any trip she took to see art in North Texas began and ended in Fort Worth’s cultural district.
“But I had to add 30 miles to my art itinerary after the new Nasher Sculpture Center opened Oct. 20 in downtown Dallas.”
“As I strolled through the Nasher’s light-filled galleries, this new urban shrine to modern sculpture seemed remarkably understated, unusual in image-conscious Dallas,” she wrote.
“One of the most significant aspects of the project’s success was that the construction project manager and I personally interviewed and selected all of the subs and suppliers on the project,” wrote Hawes in Design Intelligence. “We also had commitments from the principals of those firms chosen to provide their best people, assure highest quality, and to be personally available if something went wrong.”
He is continuing to work as an architectural consultant for various projects, one of which is the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, a new 150, 000 square foot, $200 million museum under construction on a 4.7-acre site next to Victory Park in downtown Dallas. Hawes is working with 2005 Pritzker Prize laureate Thom Mayne on the project.
Hawes is also consulting with the Dallas Arboretum on a new children’s garden, parking structure, service center and visitor and education center. The arboretum is a 66-acre botanical garden in east Dallas.
“I’m trying to stay busy in retirement,” he said.
Hawes was elevated to fellow in the American Institute of Architects in 1983, was named a Richard Upjohn Fellow in 1990 by the AIA, and in 2006 received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Dallas AIA chapter.
During his years of service with the American Institute of Architects, Hawes served as Dallas chapter president in 1982, AIA board member from 1985-1988, and AIA Trust board member from 1989-1995.
Hawes and his wife Connie have four grown children and six grandchildren.
He joins a list of architecture graduates from Texas A&M’s College of Architecture to receive the Pitts award. Other winners are:
