Wells Fargo Bank- Port Lavaca

PROJECT LOCATION: Port Lavaca, Texas
CLIENT: Wells Fargo Bank Texas, N.A.
DOC: January 2004

Description:
The program called for a full service branch bank, of approximately 3,000 gsf of conditioned space, to be located on a one-acre site in Port Lavaca, Texas. The functional building design had to meet the newly implemented hurricane resistive construction for structure, roof assemblies, and window and door assemblies. In addition the highly corrosive salt air, strong sun and high heat present on the Texas Coast created a formidable design issue. Formal considerations required an image that was appropriate to the context of the Gulf Coast and needed to be true also to its building type as a retail bank. The image also needed to serve as an eye-catching form. The budget was limited requiring a very straightforward solution, limited palette of materials, and construction systems available in the area. Timing was also an issue because the bank had a current lease that was to expire eight months from the signing of the owner architect agreement.

The bank, organized using a 20-foot grid, presents as a 60 foot by 60-foot square plan with a motor bank facility that extends to the north. In elevation the building also adheres to the 10 foot cube planning module. The use of the module was as much about economy through repetition and simplicity as image.

The front entry is accessed by way of a ten-foot deep verandah facing south. This provides a transition from the harsh sun or the frequent squalls and offers a place to gather. The central banking hall is the focus of the building and is surmounted by a 20 foot square light monitor. This ceremonial space offers indirect light to all adjacent spaces. Back of house banking functions including lobby and motor bank tellers, break rooms, safe deposit vault, workrooms and supervisors offices occur in the zone to the north. To the west are support functions: data and electrical room, janitor, storage and toilets. To the east are located the private bankers and a copier room. To the south, along the front verandah are the conference room and managers office.

The imagery draws upon local vernacular industrial buildings. The central light monitor, a source of natural light during the day, becomes a “light house-like” beacon at night.

Structural steel framing is exposed and finished using industrial coatings. The steel structure provides an armature for steel decking, standing seam galvalume roof and cypress siding. Tidewater cypress siding panels juxtapose steel and are left to oxidize with the coastal climate.

The cypress material is repeated on the interior surfaces of the light well. Colors and other materials are drawn from the neutral palette present in the area: sand, weathered woods, and the grey greens of local plant materials and coastal waters.