Harris, Harwell Hamilton, 1903-1990

Harwell Hamilton Harris (1903-1990) was born in Redlands, California. He apprenticed with the noted modernist architects Richard Neutra and Rudolf Schindler until 1933, at which time he established his own practice in Los Angeles. In 1943, he taught for one year at Columbia University before returning to California. From 1952 to 1955, he was the Dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin. He taught at North Carolina State University from 1962 until retirement. Harris was a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (1965) and a recipient of the Richard Neutra Medal for Professional Excellence (1982) and is remembered for his influential modernist-style architectural works in California, Texas, and North Carolina.

Harwell Hamilton Harris was born on July 2, 1903 in Redlands, California. The son of Fred Harris, an architect and rancher, Harris grew up in the Imperial Valley area and later attended San Bernardino High School. In 1923, he moved to Los Angeles to attend the Otis Art Institute and in 1925, he began to study drawing and painting with Stanton Macdonald-Wright at the Art Students League.

Harris' ambition to be a sculptor, however, was changed after visiting Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House. Soon thereafter, he applied to the architecture program at the University of California at Berkeley. He never attended the program, however, as he found employment with Richard Neutra and R.M. Schindler. Neutra discouraged him from attending formal classes in architecture although he did attend classes given by Neutra at the Los Angeles Academy of Modern Art. While in Neutra's office, he worked on such seminal projects as the Lovell Health House and the Rush City Competition. During this period, Harris became familiar with the principles of the Modernist movement and served as secretary of the American chapter of the Congrés Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM). In 1931, Harris met his future wife, Jean Murray Bangs, who would have a strong influence over his life and his professional career. They were married in 1937.

In 1933, Harris left the Neutra office to establish his own independent practice in Los Angeles. His first commissions were for small homes, based on a modular system, in which he applied the modernist principles he had learned in the offices of Neutra and Schindler. Among these early homes were the Pauline Lowe House (1934) in Altadena and the Fellowship Park House (1936). Fellowship Park, Harris' own house, won the 1936 House Beautiful Small House Competition and established his reputation in California. In 1937, John Entenza, the influential editor of California Arts and Architecture, commissioned Harris to design his own home. The Weston Havens House (1939-40), dramatically perched on a hillside outside of Berkeley, used inverted gables in a novel structural solution that allowed Harris to maintain sensitivity to this peculiar site.

With the advent of World War II, it was difficult to obtain new commissions and building materials were scarce. Harris designed several model homes including an early solar house (1946) for the Libbey-Owens-Ford glass company and the "Segmental House" (1941) for the Revere Copper and Brass Company. Designed with the returning veterans in mind and utilizing a modular system, the segmental house could grow from an inexpensive, one-bedroom home to a six-bedroom, four-bath house to accommodate the growth of a family over the years. Harris also designed the Ingersol Utility Core for Donald Deskey at this time. In 1943, Harris moved to New York where he taught at Columbia University and was involved in the CIAM Chapter for Relief and Postwar Planning.

Upon his return to California in 1944, Harris and his wife Jean rediscovered the work of Greene and Greene. The influence of their Japanese-inspired bungalows can be seen in Harris's work of the 1940s including such projects as the Ralph Johnson House (1947-48) in Los Angeles, the Gerald M. Loeb Pavilion (1947) in Redding, Connecticut, and the Clarence Wyle House (1946-48) in Ojai. Harris's sensitive use of native woods added to the intimate quality of these homes.

In 1952, Harris accepted the position of Dean for the School of Architecture at The University of Texas. Although he lacked both formal architectural training and administrative experience, he expanded the School's programs and attempted to revolutionize the methods of teaching. Harris directly involved some of the students in the design process when he collaborated with them on the Texas State Fair House (1954), offering them actual experience with the design and construction process. Harris hired new faculty whose innovative ideas clashed with the traditional Beaux-Arts methods still in use in Texas. Later known as the "Texas Rangers," Harris hired Colin Rowe, John Hejduk, Robert Slutsky, Werner Seligmann, and Herbert Hirsche. The autocratic nature of Harris's new theory for teaching design, however, created enormous tensions within the school, which interfered with his own private practice. As a result, Harris resigned as dean in the summer of 1955. He moved to Dallas where he continued to practice, designing homes that were brilliantly adapted to the harsh Texas climate. Among his many Texas works are the J. Lee Johnson House (1955-56) in Fort Worth, the Seymour Eisenberg House (1957-58) House in Dallas, and the Dallas Trade Mart for Trammell Crow (1958-60) in Dallas.

In 1962, Harris accepted a teaching position at the North Carolina State University in Raleigh. He continued his private practice, designing numerous buildings including the Stanley Bennett House (1970), the Saint Giles Presbyterian Church (1967-69), and a new, combined home and office for himself (1968). Harris retired from teaching in 1973 and from private practice in 1975.

Harris has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Richard Neutra Medal for Professional Excellence (1982). Harris's work was published extensively and has appeared in numerous exhibitions, including the Museum of Modern Art (1939, 1943, 1943, 1945, and 1953), the National Gallery of Art (1957), and the Cooper-Hewitt Museum (1977). In addition, several one-man exhibitions of his work have been held at the North Carolina State University (1981), the Museum of Art in Fayetteville, North Carolina (1982) and The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture (1985). Harris was made a fellow in the American Institute of Architects in 1965 and received an honorary doctorate from North Carolina State University in 1985.

Architect Harwell Hamilton Harris (1903-1990) was an early proponent of regional modernism in California and Texas.

He taught architectural design at North Carolina State University and the University of Texas School of Architecture where he was the dean (1952-55); he was made a fellow in the American Institute of Architects in 1965.

Harwell Hamilton Harris was born in 1903 in Redlands, California. Harris originally trained to be a sculpture but decided to change to architecture upon seeing the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. While never formally trained as an architect, Harris apprenticed with the noted modernists Richard Neurta and Rudolf Schindler. Harris established his own practice in Los Angeles in 1933 and maintained it for nearly twenty years, with only a one-year gap in 1943, when he taught at Columbia University. During this time, he married Jean Murray Bangs and she remained an important influence on his work until her death.

In 1952, Harris became the Dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin. Though lacking both formal training and administrative experience, Harris was able hire in a number of new faculty members, bringing an important modernist flare to the school. Internal tensions caused Harris to resign in 1955, at which time he moved to Dallas, Texas. In 1962, he accepted teaching position at North Carolina State University, where he taught until his retirement. In addition to his work in academy, Harris is remembered for his influential modernist-style architectural works in California, Texas, and North Carolina.

Harris was a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (1965) and a recipient of the Richard Neutra Medal for Professional Excellence (1982). In 1985, North Carolina State University awarded him an honorary doctorate. At his death in 1990, he donated his private collections and drawings to all the universities at which he worked, with the majority going to the University of Texas. The Harris Lecture Series at North Carolina State University is named in his honor.