Dick Williams House and Studios
Section of phase 4 (1969) studio addition to original house, 1995. Pencil on graph paper. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Archives, record series 12/2/38, box 31, folder 4.
Formidable brick walls, marked with a bright red door make up the facade of the Dick Williams house from the street. From the courtyard, floor-to-ceiling windows and skylights on the ceiling allow light to pour in, merging the interior with unimpeded nature. From the door, a small bridge reaches across a moat of river stones to a teak platform. A. Richard Williams thought of this platform as a stage, and it is vital to understanding Williams's architectural ideology and the house itself. While the bridge features modernist architectural theory with its simple planes of wood, glass, and brick, Williams's uses the bridge to explore the intersectionality of theater, anthropology, and design.
Sources:
Dick Williams House and Studios, Krannert Art Museum
About the Architect
A. Richard "Dick" Williams (1914-2016) was a professor at the University of Illinois's School of Architecture from 1946 to 1970. He then served as a visiting professor of architecture at the University of Arizona from 1988 to 2016. He favored simplicity and pragmatism in design, establishing the Mid-Continent Modern style of architecture. Williams advocated for modest and modern design that could create conversation with nature. This ideology is reflected in many of his designs, such as the College of Education Building on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus. Its sleek walls and large windows are surrounded by greenery, blending structure and organic forms.
While working at Oklahoma State University in 1937, Williams took a leave of absence to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War II. There, he worked as a naval architect, designing minesweepers in the Southwest Pacific fleet. Williams was an avid sailor, and naval design stayed with him, designing his own boats and integrating naval design aesthetics into his work.
As professor at the University of Illinois, Williams served as the Diector of the Graduate Architectural Design Program from 1957 to 1970, where he began a series of collaborative projects in urban design, including redevelopment projects in Columbus, Indiana; and Bloomington, Champaign, Chicago, Downers Grove, and Kankakee, Illinois. Williams was internationally renowned, recognized for pioneering the "Mid-Continent Modern" design aesthetic, seeking a "harmonics of humanity and nature." This style can be seen in the College of Education Building; the Second Appellate Court in Elgin, Illinois; the Second Appellate Court in Elgin, Illinois (1967); the Concordia Seminary Library in Springfield, Illinois (1969); and the St. Ignace Public Library in Michigan (2006). Wiliams also authored several articles and two books, including Archipelago: Critiques of Contemporary Architecture and Education, which can be found in the University's library.
Sources:
Layout
A. Richard Williams (American, 1914–2016), Plan and Section for the Dick Williams House and Studios. From The Urban Stage (San Francisco Center for Architecture and Urban Studies, 1980). Photo: Jeffery S. Poss. Krannert Exhibition Website.
Photos
George Barford (American, 1913–1997), Interior of Dick Williams House and Studios, ca. 1970s. Silver gelatin photograph. University Archives. Krannert Exhibition Website.
This photo is a wonderful example of Williams's interests: large windows introduce light into the space and vines climb up the brick walls, melding together the man-made and nature, and making way for theatre as the piano lies in the center of the image.
Unidentified photographer, Dick Williams Home and Studio, looking north from interior courtyard, ca. 1960s [before 1969]. Silver gelatin photograph. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Archives, record series 12/2/30, box 5, folder 2. Krannert Exhibition Website.
Resources
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A. Richard Williams Papers 1855-2015Call Number: University Archives; 378.77366 ui1202030; from:1 until:8
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Miscellaneous projects and papers of Professor Emeritus, A. Richard WilliamsCall Number: Architecture and Art Library; Vault ; Q. 720.973 W67M; from:v.1 until:v.4
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Archipelago
by
Archipelago is A. Richard Williams's summation of his life in architecture, enriched by his reflections on all that architecture has meant to him. Looking back on a career spanning seven decades as an architect and educator, not only does Williams discuss his personal achievements with design, materials, and sites, but he contemplates the importance of friendships, the lessons of heroes, the inspiration of universities, and the revelations of travel. His affection for diverse locales reveals a heart ever open to appreciating the wonders of oceans and deserts, great cities and remote cabins, churches and libraries, forests and stone.
Call Number: 070.44932 T3422009ISBN: 0252076850Publication Date: 2009-05-14 -
The Urban Stage: A Reflexion of Architecture and Urban Design byCall Number: 711.4 W672UPublication Date: 1980
