A New Respite for High Plains Drifters

Detail and Color Add Finesse to TxDOT Travel Center

Fast-paced schedules mean contractors must remain ambitious and stay on target in order to receive bonus incentives and avoid penalties on two major Houston-area TxDOT projects with combined contracts totaling more than $1.6 billion.

By Sean Donahoe

The Texas Department of Transportation's newest Travel Information Center on Interstate 40 in Amarillo offers motorists and weary travelers an air-conditioned break and the opportunity or learn about the Lone Star State's attractions.

While crossing the high plains, visitors should be mindful of the signs along the highway or they may miss the beautiful brick structure that blends in with the surrounding panoramic landscape.

Opened in 2003 and serving more than 120,000 visitors in its first year, the 10,000-sq.-ft. building serves as a gateway to West Texas. The center, which replaced a 34-year-old structure, is located near historic Route 66 and Palo Duro Canyon and offers travel information such as maps and tourist brochures. There also are exhibits and picnic and rest areas.

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Designed as a sculptural interpretation of the surrounding geology and ecology, the structure features seven different brick colors that carefully match the region's geological rock strata.

A creek was created to provide drainage from the high corner of the site downward into an excavated "borrow" pit created years ago during IH-40's construction. The creek was planted with cottonwoods and other native plants, while surrounding vegetation was left intact.

The building seems to rise from the creek as though it were an extension of the canyon. Exposed structural steel and weathered wood are reminiscent of the Old West.

But it is the masonry and strict attention to detail and color that sets this project apart. The general contractor was Plains Builders of Amarillo, with masonry work by Broadus Masonry of Amarillo. In order to match the subtle colors of the surrounding landscape, the design team collected dirt samples from nearby and also used photos of selected canyon areas.

The result is a stunning mix of colors typical of the American Southwest. Of the seven different modular brick colors, six were supplied by Acme Brick's Denton plant, and the seventh was an Endicott product.

Designed by Richter Architects of Corpus Christi, the facility was awarded a 2003 Brick in Architecture Award, a biennial award sponsored by the Brick Industry Association and Architectural Record magazine.

"Richter's design [on the Brooks County project] displayed a high degree of creativity and innovation with a keen attention to detail," said Doris Howdeshell, TxDOT's travel division director. "Their history with the department and expertise in the design of rest areas made them a natural selection to design the Amarillo center."

TxDOT and Richter are teaming up on other projects, again with the design goal of incorporating the natural beauty of the Texas landscape.

"Though quite different from the Amarillo project, we have two projects under construction, a travel information center renovation in Gainesville and a control tower/administration building for the Galveston-Bolivar ferry," said Elizabeth Chu Richter, head of the design team at Richter Architects.

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