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TxDOT Kenedy County Safety Rest Area
by Elizabeth Chu Richter, AIA
PROJECT TxDOT Kenedy County Safety Rest
Area, Kenedy County
CLIENT Texas Department of
Transportation
ARCHITECT Richter Architects
DESIGN TEAM David R. Richter, FAIA;
Elizabeth Chu Richter, AIA; Samuel D. Morris, AIA; Lonnie M. Gatlin;
Stephen T. Cox, Assoc. AIA; Sheldon N. Schroeder, Assoc. AIA; Manuel H.
Ramirez
CONTRACTOR Rio Valley Construction
Company
CONSULTANTS Govind & Associates
(civil); Doug Wade, ASLA (landscape); Callins, Haggard & Associates (MEP);
WSC, Inc. (structural)
PHOTOGRAPHER David R. Richter, FAIA
Texas has one of the best road systems anywhere in the United States. On
an average day, more than 400 million vehicle miles are traveled along Texas
roadways. To many of us, one of life's simple pleasures is getting on the
road again, turning up Willie Nelson on the car stereo, popping a soda, and
stepping on the gas.
Behind the scene, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is at
work providing a safe and effective transportation system that is
environmentally sensitive and aesthetically pleasing. A system of highway
rest areas - 98 across the state - is one of the many ways TxDOT provides
the public with a comfortable and safe travel experience. By providing a
place where fatigued drivers can stop and take a break, highway safety is
increased.
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The TxDOT Kenedy County Safety Rest Area is located in the South Texas
brush country, along a remote stretch of U.S. Highway 77, five miles south
of Sarita (pop. 500). The narrow site measures 135 feet x 750 feet and sits
between the highway's divided north and south paths.
Ecologically, the region is a coastal plain with groves of mesquite and
huisache, punctuated with ribbons of live oaks permanently bent low by the
coastal winds. At this site, beneath such wind-swept oak trees, wild
grapevines loop from tree to tree. The design respects the site's oak motte
by holding the structures low, and the detailing was intended to be viewed
from beneath the tree canopy. The buildings are linear gabled structures
reminiscent of the small-town train stations that once dotted this area's
rural landscape. The architecture also reflects the Mexican cultural
traditions of this part of South Texas, as well as its ranching, hunting,
and "oil patch" heritage. Modular, vaulted, bent-pipe trusses support heavy
planked-wood roof deck and recall the region's ad hoc ranch gates of
salvaged oil-field pipe. Branding-iron medallions, two feet in diameter,
acknowledge the local ranching families that either sold or donated land for
the construction of the highway. Ceramic tiles are decorative and discourage
graffiti.
As night falls, the landscape seems to disappear around this 24-hour
facility. In its place, the bent pipes and ranch brands light up to extend a
welcoming gesture to the weary travelers mesmerized by hypnotic headlights
on the highway.
--Elizabeth Chu Richter, AIA, is a principal of Richter Architects.
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RESOURCES
site, street, and mall furnishings: Dumor/CSSI;
recreational facility and playground equipment: Miracle Recreation
Equipment; concrete materials: Alamo Concrete Products;
masonry units: Acme Brick, Featherlite; waterproofing and
dampproofing: Chemrex, Sonneborn; building insulation:
Dow Chemical; metal doors and frames: Ceco Door Products;
wood and plastic doors and frames: Eggers; entrances and
storefronts: Vistawall; tile: Daltile; plumbing
fixtures: Acorn Engineering Co & Murdock Fountains.; paints:
Sherwin-Williams
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Albert
Sterling & Associates, Inc.
